In classic 3D printing, an object is built up layer by layer over the course of minutes or hours. Chinese engineers place a photopolymer material in a transparent container and use holographic projection to transform it into a solid structure instantly. According to the South China Morning Post, it takes only 0.6 seconds to create an object measuring a few millimeters.
The secret to the record—breaking speed is the use of a rapidly rotating periscope and a high-speed mirror device that direct light at the photosensitive resin simultaneously from different angles. After the process is completed, the finished product sinks to the bottom of the container under the influence of gravity, freeing up space for the next model and making production virtually continuous.
The authors of the development emphasize that the main achievement lies not only in the record speed, but also in the versatility of the method. In the future, the team plans to improve the projection system by using multiple beams and different colors of the spectrum to work with complex multicomponent materials.
