3D printing is not exactly a new concept and has been around for a while now, but the researchers from Cornell have printed a device that works perfectly well. The device in question is loudspeaker which has been tested after completely printing it using the said technology.
3D printing the outer shell of an electronic is not unheard of, however, acquiring all the internal components in the same manner and making them work is definitely an accomplishment. And two students from Cornell, Apoorva Kiran and Robert MacCurdy from the mechanical engineering branch have managed to achieve this feat.
A loudspeaker is not something that has a complicated interior. Apart from the plastic exterior, which is easy to create, it features a conducive coil and a magnet and the real challenge was to reproduce these products and make them work.
Obviously, the outer covering is made of plastic and as for the wire, they used silver ink for it. Reproducing a magnet digitally was a rather tedious task and the students asked a chemical and bio-molecular engineering student, Samanvaya Srivastava to help them out. He came up with a concoction featuring strontium ferrite which was used to create a magnet-like substance for the 3D-printed loudspeaker.
Also, it is not possible to use a single printer to print all these materials. The researchers working under Hod Lipson, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, had to use two different printers for the process. This is just a first step in the direction and it will be a long time before it is possible for people to 3D print electronic items that work.
Engadget spotted this piece of news on the Cornell website.