Harvard Scientist Created 3D Printing of Rechargeable Batteries

[Eddie]

Not only can you print in Plastic, Metal, Wood, Ceramic, and human cell! Now you can print in Lithium to make rechargeable batteries. Thanks to a Harvard Scientist. She has come up with a method of printing rechargeable batteries to go in the items that she prints. Also, circuit boards, wires, and more can be printed (nothing too new).

3D printing is not only getting cheaper, it’s becoming more diverse. The range of materials you can print with is expanding, and therefore the range of objects you can print is also growing. And one Harvard scientists has come up with a way to 3D print rechargeable batteries alongside the electronics they will power.
Jennifer Lewis is a materials scientist working out of Harvard. What she has done is to formulate new inks and create special nozzles and extruders for 3D printing batteries and other simple electronic components. These so-called functional inks contain nanoparticles of different compounds, for example, lithium for batteries and silver for wires. They get printed at room temperature as a liquid, but become a solid after printing.

Other advantages include the ability to experiment with different designs rapidly, and to print very small components. For example, Lewis can 3D print a battery that is just 1mm square with an accuracy of 100nm and the reliability of a commercial battery. Now imagine taking delivery of a 3D printer and these functional inks, and creating a working, rechargeable device you just designed on a PC, all while sitting at home. That could, and probably is going to happen in the near future.
The work into these functional inks, nozzles and extruders wasfirst introduced back in June and is still at the early stages. However, Lewis has reached a point now where patents exist covering how they function, and the tech is starting to be licensed. Lewis wants to get them into the hands of manufacturers, but also doesn’t see a reason why a 3D printer couldn’t be offered for home users.

Read the complete article at: http://www.geek.com/chips/harvard-sc...eries-1578215/

[TeddyYan]

Very interesting. I would think that a battery would need more than one material. I'd be interested to see more of how the actual battery is printed. This is great news those for making mechanical object using a 3D Printer. Basically all your needed pieces could be printed. I'm sure a lithium printer would be quite pricey though.