Mediated Matter’s New Platform 3D Prints Glass with Stunning Precision

The nozzle that extrudes the material is made of ceramic and heated by hand to ensure that the filament is produced at a consistent diameter – necessary for making sure the 3D printed glass cools in a slow and controlled manner.

“Now consider printable optoelectronics, or the possibility of combining optical fibers for high-speed data transmission by light, combined within glass printed building facades”.

Meanwhile, more details about this particular glass manufacturing technology are available at the source links, in case you want to start 3D printing your glass ashtrays and vases.

The technology was developed by the Mediated Matter group at the MIT Media Lab in cooperation with the Mechanical Engineering Department, the MIT Glass Lab and Wyss Institute.

GLASS from Mediated Matter Group on Vimeo. If not for the extreme temperatures, this would nearly be an FDM 3D printer with glass. Well in a nutshell, it’s a dual-heated chamber platform that covers all the manufacturing functions.

3D printing has come a long way in the last few years with printers getting cheaper and printing materials becoming easier to work with. The upper chamber acts as a Kiln Cartridge while the lower chamber serves to anneal the structures. “Glass can be distributed in a more sophisticated way throughout the cross section of each component, and intricate inner features are feasible which enable the incorporation of internal channels to distribute water, air and other biological mediums”. Some of the early work using the system will go on display at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in 2016.