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You would be hard pressed today to find a technology more versatile than 3D printing. Making significant impacts that span nearly every industry worldwide, whether you are considering dental 3D printers, titanium spinal implants, luxury car components, or futuristic buildings, we’re witnessing many changes we just never expected. But 3D printing also offers versatility in materials, from metal to PEEK—as well as shapes and sizes and properties. There is a machine for every job it would seem, from the macro- to the micro-level. And while we certainly see innovations emerging from the tiny to the enormous, there is a great deal of interest in 3D printing at the super tiny level—as in nano.
Smaller than tiny and tinier than micro, the nanoscale operates at one billionth of a meter or better yet, as 25,400,000 nanometers in an inch. And this is where the hearts of many researchers lie as they work diligently, innovating in the realm of materials science and 3D printing. At Virginia Tech, however, researchers are not content with operating with nanos. They want to see if they can scale them right back up as well and still retain the use of their special qualities.
Image Credit: Virginia Tech News
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