MIT's Mediated Matter Group focuses on "Nature-inspired Design and Design-inspired Nature" to create a set of biologically-inspired technologies and structures aimed at enhancing the relationship between natural and man-made environments. Their latest project, showcased in a mesmerizing video reel, demonstrates an optically-transparent glass-printing process.
The process has been dubbed G3DP, or Glass 3D Printing, and was developed with the help of MIT's Medical Engineering Department, the Wyss Institute and MIT's Glass Lab. According to the group, G3DP behaves as an additive manufacturing platform designed to print optically-transparent glass.
It is based on a dual-heated chamber concept. The upper chamber acts as a "Kiln Cartridge," which works at around 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit and can contain sufficient material to build a "single architectural component." The lower chamber works to shape the structure after the molten material is sifted through a nozzle that is comprised of alumina-zircon-silica.
However, there is only so much that words can explain. Here's a video of the G3DP in action:
GLASS from Mediated Matter Group on Vimeo.
