Uploaded June 2019 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
Hello everyone
Why only print a picture when you could print a real model? May I present, a 3D printer!
Research labs nowadays employ 3D printing in various ways. On one hand side to visualise complex molecules or proteins, and on the other hand to make prototypes. They’re used for the design of prostethics in medicine or even in the automobiles or the airplanes industry.
To make such a 3D print, a three-dimensional model of your desired object has to be made (in this video a small molecule). Once you are happy with how it looks like, it needs to be “sliced”. Meaning that the whole model is divided into hundreds of horizontal layers. This is necessary to afterwards print the structure layer by layer over the course of a few hours. Our 3D-printer works after the stereolithography (SLA/STL) technique. In this process a laser induces radical polymerisation of a monomer resin locally at defined coordinates on the building plate. The plate is raised and the resin is stirred after each layer to build the 3D-structure.
After the print, you only need to wash the model with isopropyl alcohol, clip away the supporting structure and you have your model ready!
Have a nice Thursday! 👋🏽
#NCCR #NCCRmse #Science #biology #chemistry #lifescience #physics #engineering #research #researcher #technology #tech #3DPrinter #CAD #SLA
Hello everyone
Why only print a picture when you could print a real model? May I present, a 3D printer!
Research labs nowadays employ 3D printing in various ways. On one hand side to visualise complex molecules or proteins, and on the other hand to make prototypes. They’re used for the design of prostethics in medicine or even in the automobiles or the airplanes industry.
To make such a 3D print, a three-dimensional model of your desired object has to be made (in this video a small molecule). Once you are happy with how it looks like, it needs to be “sliced”. Meaning that the whole model is divided into hundreds of horizontal layers. This is necessary to afterwards print the structure layer by layer over the course of a few hours. Our 3D-printer works after the stereolithography (SLA/STL) technique. In this process a laser induces radical polymerisation of a monomer resin locally at defined coordinates on the building plate. The plate is raised and the resin is stirred after each layer to build the 3D-structure.
After the print, you only need to wash the model with isopropyl alcohol, clip away the supporting structure and you have your model ready!
Have a nice Thursday! 👋🏽
#NCCR #NCCRmse #Science #biology #chemistry #lifescience #physics #engineering #research #researcher #technology #tech #3DPrinter #CAD #SLA
