Liquid metal 3D printing selected as one of the top ten most influential research studies at MIT in 2024

On January 6, 2025, Unionfab (one of the top 3D print provider in Asia)learned that MIT News recently selected the 10 most attention-grabbing research projects of 2024. These include: Liquid metal 3D printing, anti-tampering tags, conversing with your future self, converting carbon dioxide into useful products, generative AI database tools, reversing autoimmune hair loss, exploring the internal mechanisms of large language models, noise-cancelling silk, the impact of exercise on the nervous system, and the flaws in the world models of generative AI.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed an additive manufacturing technology that can quickly print with liquid metal, producing large components such as table legs and chair frames in just a few minutes.

Their technology, called Liquid Metal Printing (LMP), involves depositing molten aluminum along a preset path into a bed of tiny glass beads, where the aluminum quickly hardens into a 3D structure.

In today's era, the demand for customized large metal structures in the industrial and construction sectors is increasingly strong, and the shortcomings of traditional manufacturing methods in terms of efficiency and cost have become more pronounced. For example, existing metal additive manufacturing processes such as arc additive manufacturing are capable of creating large components, but the production process is slow and often results in structural flaws, which greatly limits their widespread adoption. In light of the urgent need for rapid output and large-scale production, researchers are actively seeking new technological pathways to resolve the difficulties of balancing efficiency and precision inherent in traditional processes.

A research team from MIT has successfully developed an innovative additive manufacturing technology called Liquid Metal Printing (LMP), which can smoothly print large metal objects, such as table legs and chair frames, in just a few minutes. The operating principle of LMP technology involves pouring molten aluminum along a predetermined path into a base bed made of stacked glass beads. The liquid aluminum rapidly cools and solidifies, thereby creating a stable structure and resulting in a dramatic increase in manufacturing speed. Research data indicates that compared to traditional manufacturing methods, this technology increases printing speed by a factor of ten and also consumes less energy.

Although the LMP technology makes some compromises in resolution, it has significant development prospects in various fields such as construction, building, and industrial design. After all, large structures in these areas do not typically have stringent requirements for ultra-high resolution, making this efficient manufacturing model more compatible with their needs. Furthermore, LMP technology has a notable advantage in that it can use recycled metals as production materials, which not only significantly reduces costs but also enhances its environmental friendliness.

During the experimental phase, the research team successfully printed aluminum frames for chairs and tables. These components are solid and durable, and subsequent machining poses no challenges. They also demonstrated how to cleverly integrate the low-resolution parts produced by LMP technology with other materials to create functional furniture. The researchers came up with a solution by filling the printing bed with glass beads of 100 microns in diameter, which effectively overcame the stability issues during the cooling of the molten metal. Meanwhile, the use of numerical models to predict the deposition process significantly improved both the precision and reliability of the printing.

Even though such impressive results have been achieved, there is still room for improvement in this technology, such as enhancing the uniformity of nozzle heating and strengthening the control over the flow of molten metal. The research team has already formulated a plan to optimize the equipment's structure, aiming to develop LMP technology into a reliable tool specifically for melting recycled aluminum to create complex components. Industry experts have commented that LMP technology has found an ideal balance between rapid production and achieving complex geometric structures, and it is highly likely to spark a disruptive wave of transformation in the metal manufacturing industry in the future.