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How likely is Apple's new 3D printed color metal glass?

From: [url][/url][tag]http://www.bmgchina.com/showxfs.aspx?id=476[/tag]

On January 16, California-based tech giant Apple obtained a patent for a "color object 3D printing method and device" for color 3D printers. The main inventors of the patent were Geoff Stahl, software director of the Apple Technology Development Group, and Howard Miller, a former Apple 3D printing specialist.


The patent provides three possible implementations, each of which slightly changes the overall thinking. One of them is to use "non-temporary program storage device" to read the 3D print file, apply the color automatically, and send the code to the 3D printer. The second embodiment includes a platform for handheld 3D printing objects during 3D printing, and a "color application header for cooperation with 3D print heads," while the third embodiment proposes a "computer-implemented printing of custom objects. method".


As early as 2012, Apple began to apply for patents related to 3D printing. On November 21, 2013, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued five new applications for patents on metallic glass (amorphous alloys) by Apple. Among the five patents, two related to 3D printing technology: 1 Passing blocks Metal glass (BMG) builds layer-by-layer manufacturing methods and techniques; 2 selectively deposits molten bulk metal glass (BMG). In December 2013, Apple once again filed a patent application for 3D printing, which can be used for inkjet printers that can print on 3D structures. In December 2015, the patent application for full-color 3D printers was first exposed. If this research yields results, Apple is likely to introduce 3D printing technology into the mainstream.


Can "Color Object 3D Printing Method and Equipment" Print Out Colored Metallic Glass? Many years ago, a metal glass enthusiast once asked an expert on gold-based bulk amorphous alloys: whether gold is made from gold-based bulk amorphous alloys. The scientist gave a negative answer: “The gold-based bulk amorphous color is also an ordinary metallic luster, not a golden one.” So this 3D printing technology is unlikely to print out colored metallic glass. But there are also enthusiasts who ask, can not be given in the printing process, the special process of oxidation? This may also be colored. Everything is possible!


According to the latest update of the "Global Half Year 3D Printing Spending Guide" published by IDC, global spending on 3D printing (including hardware, materials, software, and services) will reach nearly 12 billion U.S. dollars this year, an increase of 19.9% ??compared to 2017. . By 2021, IDC expects global spending to reach nearly $20 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.5%.


Amorphous China Xiao Bian believes that the introduction of Apple's new 3D color printing patent will greatly increase the attention of the 3D printing industry, and it also shows that the 3D printing industry has great potential for development. The special performance of metallic glass 3D printing will be one of the brightest pearls. .