February 12, 2024
Researchers at the University of Missouri have spent eight years finding a way to create a complex microfluidic filter that would allow doctors to efficiently harvest cancer cells from patients’ blood without harming the cells. They can now easily make a prototype thanks to a new Nanoscribe Quantum X Shape high-resolution 3D printer at the College of Engineering.
“We have been working on producing a new design since 2021, and this printer demonstrated in a demonstration that it can do this in 20 seconds,” said Elliott Leinauer, a postdoctoral researcher in electrical engineering.
The quantum prototyping and wafer-scale processing of any 3D shape. It is the fastest and most accurate 3D printer for demanding micro-manufacturing tasks on the market.
The College of Engineering is one of the few U.S. organizations to have the printer and one of fewer than 100 worldwide.
“The significance of the Nanoscribe printer is that it can print at resolutions smaller than the fundamental length scale of many interesting engineering problems, including biological cells and even the wavelength of light,” said Matt Maschmann, associate professor of mechanical engineering and air – and space technology. “At the same time, it can produce patterns up to 3 inches in diameter, making it a very robust tool for many applications.”
These applications range from life sciences to microelectronics to advanced optics for security and defense, said Maschmann, who is also co-director of the MU Materials Science & Engineering Institute.
“This device is exciting for our research into new metamaterials for advanced optics developed by and for artificial intelligence,” said Professor Derek Anderson, principal investigator on the ERDC grant. “We have done a lot of computational and simulation work, and this device allows us to create prototypes to validate, compare and further develop our studies.”
Maschmann envisions using Quantum The printer can also create tiny geometric designs that would allow him and his collaborators to grow carbon nanotube films in specific patterns.
The technology can also be applied to advanced heat transfer applications.
“It can manipulate liquid droplets to improve two-phase heat transfer,” Maschmann said. “When small droplets come into contact, they give off a lot of surface energy, energy large enough to cause liquid to jump off a surface, which is great for heat transfer.”
Leinauer compared the technological advancement of the Quantum-X form to the direct transition from the 30-ton computers of the 1940s to the latest smartphone.
“Mizzou is already a world-class research institution, but that’s what sets us apart,” he said. “This is groundbreaking technology. It allows us to pursue novel ideas that were simply not feasible due to the limitations of traditional manufacturing processes such as photolithography. This printer completely transforms what can be manufactured with relative ease, freeing researchers from the limitations of yesterday’s manufacturing capabilities to accelerate innovation.”
The printer is located on the third floor of Lafferre Hall and is available to researchers across campus and external users. Contact Joseph Mathai at mathaic@missouri.edu to learn more.
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