Paper
4 June 2014 3-D printing of liquid metals for stretchable and flexible conductors
Chris Trlica, Dishit Paresh Parekh, Lazar Panich, Collin Ladd, Michael D. Dickey
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
3-D printing is an emerging technology that has been used primarily on small scales for rapid prototyping, but which could also herald a wider movement towards decentralized, highly customizable manufacturing. Polymers are the most common materials to be 3-D printed today, but there is great demand for a way to easily print metals. Existing techniques for 3-D printing metals tend to be expensive and energy-intensive, and usually require high temperatures or pressures, making them incompatible with polymers, organics, soft materials, and biological materials. Here, we describe room temperature liquid metals as complements to polymers for 3-D printing applications. These metals enable the fabrication of soft, flexible, and stretchable devices. We survey potential room temperature liquid metal candidates and describe the benefits of gallium and its alloys for these purposes. We demonstrate the direct printing of a liquid gallium alloy in both 2-D and 3-D and highlight the structures and shapes that can be fabricated using these processes.
© (2014) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Chris Trlica, Dishit Paresh Parekh, Lazar Panich, Collin Ladd, and Michael D. Dickey "3-D printing of liquid metals for stretchable and flexible conductors", Proc. SPIE 9083, Micro- and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications VI, 90831D (4 June 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2050212
Lens.org Logo
CITATIONS
Cited by 7 scholarly publications and 2 patents.
Advertisement
Advertisement
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission  Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace
KEYWORDS
Metals

3D printing

Liquids

Printing

Gallium

Oxides

Polymers

Back to Top