Interested in improving your business with 3D technologies but don’t know where to start? Visit Top 3D Shop and check out our 3D scanner reviews!
Aerospace Corporation Lockheed Martin has applied for a patent describing a 3D printer for printing synthetic diamonds.
According to the description, a precursor polymer called poly (hydridocarbine) is used as a starting material, which has a structural similarity to diamonds and is capable of converting into diamonds and diamond-like carbons under the action of a relatively low temperature under normal pressure.
The printing process involves alternating layers of ceramic powder and dissolved polymer. The finished model is heated to 100 ° C in an inert atmosphere and, as a result of pyrolysis, crystallizes into a synthetic diamond structure. Residual ceramic powder is removed. This is just one of the methods suggested by the developers. The remaining options are exploring the possibility of using other precursor polymers and diamond nanopowders.
Of course, so far this is just a patent application, so it is too early to speak with confidence about the creation of such installations. Nevertheless, if the idea succeeds, Lockheed Martin will get the technology for making diamond bits with complex geometries, heavy-duty drills and saws, blades and even armor. Another promising, albeit unlikely direction is jewelry, but much will depend on the quality and purity of the finished models. If the results are acceptable, it is possible that diamond jewelry with complex stones may appear.
One can only guess about the cost of such installations, but the supply of consumables is also questionable. About four years ago, a group of researchers from Moscow State University led by Alexander Ilyich Sizov pointed out the low availability of high-quality carbon precursor polymers and considered promising mechanochemical methods for the production of poly (hydridocarbine). Some simplified synthesis methods by electrolysis of chloroform and hexachloroethane were presented in 2008 and 2009 by a research group from the Middle East Technical University led by Professor Levent Toppare.
