Energetic materials form a crucial part of a lot of goods like fireworks, explosives and propellants. Shaping and producing these materials, however, can be quite a precise task considering their volatile nature. It appears that Researchers at Purdue University have cracked the code on 3D printing energetic materials. Their method also ensures quicker, safer, cheaper and environmentally-friendly production.
Purdue University Professor of Mechanical Engineering Jeffrey Rhoads and Emre Gunduz, former Purdue research assistant professor were the core researchers on this ground-breaking project. Their new technique allows printers to produce clay-like materials with a thick and sticky consistency. The level of precision that the technique provides improves safety in both manufacturing and the end-product. Attention to detail, as one can already guess, can be a matter of life and death with explosives and fireworks.
“We have shown that we can print these energetic materials without voids, which is key,” Rhoads said. “Voids are bad in energetic materials because they typically lead to inconsistent, sometimes catastrophic, burns.”
Purdue’s Printing Method
The researchers employed the use of 3 piezoelectric inkjet printers. The printers deposited layers of aluminum copper (II) oxide nanothermite to form the objects. The researchers employed the use of a PipeJet P9 500 μm pipe to demonstrate the successful deposition of nanothermite in varying geometric patterns with micrometer precision.
In doing so, the researchers had just created a means of shaping these materials safely and without the use of solvents for viscosity. Traditional methods use tons of solvents to achieve the right material qualities but this method foregoes that component. The lack of need for solvents also greatly helps decrease costs, as the researchers have stated.
As for now, the team have gone and formed their own company, Next Offset Solutions Inc. Through this organisation they can carry out more specific research on this field. The potential for this technique is immense. It could allow for massive cost reductions, better efficiency and, as the study highlights, the seamless integration of energetic material into small-scale electronic devices.
The study is also available here.