MIT’s Mediated Matter Group has demonstrated an optically-transparent glass 3D printing process. The process, dubbed G3DP, or Glass 3D Printing, was developed with the help of MIT’s Medical Engineering Department, the Wyss Institute and MIT’s Glass Lab. It is based on a dual-heated chamber concept. The upper chamber acts as a “Kiln Cartridge,” which works at around 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit and can contain sufficient material to build a “single architectural component.” The lower chamber works to shape the structure after the molten material is sifted through a nozzle that is comprised of alumina-zircon-silica.
MIT’s Mediated Matter Group focuses on “Nature-inspired Design and Design-inspired Nature” to create a set of biologically-inspired technologies and structures aimed at enhancing the relationship between natural and man-made environments.