In a world where 3D printing is being applied to everything from houses to rockets to guns, the question comes up as to where manufacturing might be headed next.
A new device, called LeviPrint, adds a unique feature to the manufacturing process: acoustic levitation. By trapping small objects in high frequency sound waves, LeviPrint can be used to build a variety of different structures without touching any of the pieces.
LeviPrint moving a small sphere with acoustic levitation.
UPNA
In a video released by researchers from Spain’s Universidad Publica de Navarra, or UPNA, LeviPrint can be seen building a variety of different things, including a bridge, a hoop made out of liquid glue droplets and a cat’s ears.
A bridgelike structure built by LeviPrint.
UPNA
Asier Marzo, a researcher from UPNA, told CNET that he envisions LeviPrint’s touch-free technology could someday prove useful in the biomedical field, where cross-contamination could be an issue, or in manufacturing watches and phone cameras, because of their small and easily damaged parts.
A depiction of the sound waves LeviPrint uses to levitate and manipulate elongated objects.
UPNA
He also mentioned that its acoustic levitation could be useful in future 3D printers, but more hardware and software engineering would be necessary before LeviPrint could be considered a member of the 3D-printer category.
Watch this:
New Device Uses Levitation for Touch-Free Building
3:38
To see LeviPrint in action, check out the video embedded in this article. And to read a preprint of the paper, check out this link.
