World Industrial Reporter

Innovation Delivered Daily

  • Innovation
    • Innovation Article Archive
    • Innovative Companies
    • Innovation Strategies
    • New Equipment Innovations
  • New Products
  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Markets
    • Market Trends
    • Tradeshow Reports
    • White Papers
  • Logistics
  • Newsletters
World Industrial Reporter » Innovation » Virginia Tech Creates New Process to 3D Print Piezoelectric Materials

Virginia Tech Creates New Process to 3D Print Piezoelectric Materials

January 22, 2019

190716 web

Virginia Tech assistant professor Xiaoyu Zheng and his team have successfully developed a new method to 3D print piezoelectric materials.

Piezoelectric materials come in only a few defined shapes and are made of brittle crystal and ceramic. Zheng’s technique on the other hand makes these materials go beyond shape or size.

The material can also be activated, leading to next-gen intelligent infrastructures and smart materials for tactile sensing, impact and vibration monitoring, energy harvesting, and other applications.

The new model allows the researchers to manipulate and design arbitrary piezoelectric constants, resulting in the material generating electric charge movement in response to incoming forces and vibrations from any direction.

And unlike conventional piezoelectrics where electric charge movements are prescribed by the intrinsic crystals, the new method allows users to prescribe and program voltage responses to be magnified, reversed or suppressed in any direction.

Current piezoelectric fabrication techniques depend on the natural crystal used. The orientation of atoms are fixed at the atomic level.

Zheng’s team has successfully produced a substitute that mimics the crystal but allows for the lattice orientation to be altered by design.

“We have synthesized a class of highly sensitive piezoelectric inks that can be sculpted into complex three-dimensional features with ultraviolet light,” says Zheng.

“The inks contain highly concentrated piezoelectric nanocrystals bonded with UV-sensitive gels, which form a solution – a milky mixture like melted crystal – that we print with a high-resolution digital light 3D printer.”

According to the researchers, the material has sensitivities 5-fold higher than flexible piezoelectric polymers.

The stiffness and shape of the material can be tuned and produced as a thin sheet resembling a strip of gauze, or as a stiff block.

Zheng sees the technology making a leap into robotics, energy harvesting, tactile sensing and intelligent infrastructure which are made entirely from piezoelectric material.

“Traditionally, if you wanted to monitor the internal strength of a structure, you would need to have a lot of individual sensors placed all over the structure, each with a number of leads and connectors,” says first author and doctoral student Huachen Cui. “Here, the structure itself is the sensor – it can monitor itself.”

Image credit and content: Huachen Cui/Virginia Tech

Share on

Filed Under: Additive Manufacturing, Innovation

U-M Scientists Use Light to 3D Print Objects 100 Times Faster
Berkeley’s Replicator Uses Light to Create 3D Printed Objects
Avatar

About Aruna Urs

Aruna is an industrial journalist. He writes on innovations that emanate at the intersection of science and engineering having a profound impact on the manufacturing sector.

Follow me
Suppliers

High Accuracy, Non-Contact, Absolute Linear Sensor

Santest Model GY series are high accuracy, non-contact, absolute type linear sensors employing magnetostrictive, Wiedemann effect. An ultra-sonic wave generated by a moving magnet near a magnetostrictive wave-guide on which the sonic wave propagates to the head of the transducer.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Super High Response Speed Servo Valve

With “Dual Halbach Magnet Array” configuration, which makes the strongest magnetic field more than twice as much as the conventional model. Santest Direct Acting Servo Valve has achieved world-class highest frequency response speed of 800Hz. DA Series also has excellent contamination resistance. Find out more about how this patented servo valve works.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Precision Micrometer for Large Measuring Ranges

The optoCONTROL 2520-95 precision micrometer is designed for static and dynamic measurement tasks with a large measuring range. It detects geometrical parameters such as diameter, gap, height and position and combines high linearity with high measurement speed.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Beckhoff will be there: new highlights at the SPS Connect from November 24!

Beckhoff is accompanying the SPS Connect with new technology highlights, AI-based dialog formats, exciting round tables and inspiring presentations. Prebook now and secure free tickets!
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Automatic Spot Finder IR Camera with 80×80 Pixels

An all-rounder imager for numerous industrial applications: From metal processing to plastics, in fire prevention tasks as well as in the automotive sector. The spot finder function allows accurate temperature measurements of moving objects.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Subscribe

Get the latest WIR reports straight to your inbox.

Free Newsletter Subscription

Find us on the social web.

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy Policy
FREE NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

Get the latest WIR reports straight to your inbox.

  • Innovation Article Archive
  • Innovation Strategies
  • Innovative Companies
  • New Products
  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Market Trends
  • Tradeshow Reports
  • White Papers
  • Logistics
  • Newsletters
  • Fun Stuff
  • Industry Links
Follow us

© 2021 Thomas Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site you agree.OkRead more