Continuous oscillatory baffled reactors (COBRs) may be baffling to many, but for Victor Sans and his team at the University of Nottingham, the equipment is vital to their work. The complex structure of the reactors, which are used to crystallize solids from continuous flow reactions, makes them superior to simpler tubular flow reactors in that it reduces solid deposition and improves reagent mixing. Unfortunately, that complex structure also means that they're very difficult and time-consuming to fabricate - they're made from blown glass and require high-powered pumps that typical research labs don't have. Sans and his team decided to see if there was a simpler way to manufacture COBRs - and of course there was, in the form of 3D printing. Read more at 3DPrint.com: https://3dprint.com/164586/3d-printe...of-nottingham/