Momentum - The Magazine for Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Vol. 3 No. 4 Winter 2018 | Page 17

process," said Daniel Rau, one of the co-authors and a Ph.D.
student in the DREAMS Lab. "Because it’s so simple, (DIW) gives
us incredible flexibility on the ink, synthesis, and the properties it
has."
Even after 3D-printing the material via the DIW process, the
subsequent parts had similar properties to the commercially avail-
able Kapton film. The DIW material has similar mechanical prop-
erties up to 400 °C, and its degradation temperature is 534 °C, only
slightly lower than the commercial Kapton that degrades at 550 °C.
Christopher Williams, director of the DREAMS Lab and associ-
ate director of MII, said that beyond multi-material printing, they
can also now print Kapton directly onto an existing material, which
stereolithography cannot do.
"As soon as we were able to print Kapton, people asked us about
applications," Williams said. "The answer we often gave was
printed electronics, but that's challenging to do in stereolithogra-
phy. This new technique could really enable that as we look towards simultaneous printing of
conductive materials and this excellent insulator."
Read the whole story at VTNews
MOMENTUM
FALL 2018
PAGE 17
Daniel Rau, a doctoral
student in mechanical
engineering, works with a
3D printer in the DREAMS
Lab.