MIT 3D Prints Electric Motor
MIT researchers 3D printed a functional electric motor in just three hours, overcoming major technical hurdles. This breakthrough hints at a future where complex, repairable components can be fabricated on-demand at home or in small workshops.
- The innovative 3D printer was retrofitted with four distinct extruders to handle five different materials in various forms, including solid filament, pellets, and liquid ink. - The materials used to construct the motor included a combination of dielectric, conductive, soft magnetic, hard magnetic, and flexible substances. - After the three-hour printing process, the only additional step needed to make the motor functional was to magnetize the hard magnetic components. - The total cost of the raw materials used to print the electric motor is approximately 50 cents. - This new method cuts down the prototyping time for a custom motor from several weeks or even months to just a single day. - In performance tests, the 3D-printed linear motor produced several times more force than comparable motors that depend on complex hydraulic amplifiers. - This on-demand printing capability could drastically reduce downtime in factories by enabling the creation of replacement parts onsite, rather than waiting for deliveries from a global supply chain. - The research was led by Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a principal research scientist at MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratories.
