Two University of Freiburg researchers have received a lucrative Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). In their project, they are developing novel and sustainable 3D printing techniques that could fundamentally transform the field of plastics processing. The funding will run for six years and amount to ten million euros.
Prof. Dr. Bastian Rapp and Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rühe have received a Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The European Union (EU) will provide funding for their joint research project ‘CHiC2PRINT’, which combines innovative, sustainable 3D printing technology with high-performance and inexpensive plastics from industrial production. Rapp is professor for process technology and Rühe professor for the chemistry and physics of interfaces at the University of Freiburg’s Faculty of Engineering.
The funding will run for six years and amount to ten million euros. The ERC awards Synergy Grants to interdisciplinary research teams whose project fulfils the criterion of scholarly excellence and may be expected to produce highly innovative results. This year, 48 of more than 950 submitted proposals were selected for funding.
Virtually limitless geometries
’We’re absolutely thrilled about this funding’, says Rapp. ‘We’re in the process of writing a new chapter of 3D printing technology: Soon it will be possible to produce objects in established plastic systems much faster than is currently possible with injection moulding.’ Up to now, classical injection moulding has enabled the cost-effective production of robust plastic products, but the technology is limited in its ability to produce complex shapes. 3D printing, by contrast, allows virtually limitless geometries but often requires special materials or expensive production processes. Rapp, Rühe, and their international research team have set their sights on overcoming these limits.
A materials technology trick
To achieve this, the researchers are developing a technology that allows commercially available plastics to be structured through targeted exposure to light. Unlike in conventional 3D printing, the material is not built up layer by layer. Instead, complex structures are created directly within an existing plastic object through the use of light. The basis for this is so-called volumetric printing. This technique is combined with a materials technology trick from photochemistry that allows commercial plastics to be made light-sensitive – thus making them accessible for 3D printing. In the long term, this could lead to components whose shape and properties can be precisely adjusted, for example with varying degrees of strength within a single workpiece.
Entirely new approaches
Another important aspect of the technique is the sustainability of the materials used. Until now, 3D-printed objects have generally not been recyclable and must be incinerated or disposed of in landfills, making them problematic from an environmental standpoint. In the project, the objects produced are to be completely disassembled into individual components at the end of their life cycle (‘debonding’). The individual components are separated in such a way that the original plastics can be recovered and reprocessed. ‘The ERC grant is a great incentive for us to develop innovative and sustainable 3D printing techniques’, says Rühe. ‘The combination of novel printing technology that sounds almost like science fiction with entirely new approaches to making a wide range of materials 3D-printable and much more sustainable could revolutionize the entire field of plastics processing.’