Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Optomec, based in Albuquerque, has come up with a way to print electronics which it calls Aerosol Jet. This works by atomising liquid electronic materials into a dense aerosol, which is then focused by a sheath of gas into a beam and deposited in layers. It can produce electrical circuits and components, including wires, resistors, capacitors and semiconductors, with features as small as 10 microns across (a micron is one millionth of a metre). Optomec has been working on printing LED lighting onto wallpaper and control circuits onto the wings of a small drone (which itself was 3D printed by Stratasys).

In another example, 3D Systems has worked with Align Technology of San Jose, California. Instead of using metal braces for straightening teeth, Align produces sets of transparent plastic “aligners”. A scan of the patient’s mouth is used to devise a treatment plan, which in turn generates a digital file which is used to 3D-print a set of 20 or so moulds. Each mould is slightly different, and from them a series of clear plastic braces is cast. When worn over several months, each brace steadily moves the patient’s teeth into the desired position. Last year Align 3D printed 17m of them.