A national researcher has developed a technology that combines 3d printing with nano-technology. SNU Engineering revealed on the 27^th that Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Ho Young Kim succeeded in conducting nano-scale 3d printing. The related research journal was published in the March edition of the international journal ‘Nature’ as a highlight and is currently receiving tremendous amounts of attention. 

Professor Kim said “In an age where 3d printing is becoming a buzzword in the industrial and technological sense, for national technologies to retain a competitive edge, I felt that we urgently required 3d printing technologies with precision in the nano-scale. If this technology is utilized, it will pave the way for the development of nano life supports, nano filters, nano robots and other new smart nano technologies.”

To achieve this feat, professor Kim conducted preliminary experiments on implementing the layer-by-layer style manufacturing of 3d printers in the nano-scale. Through the use of eletrospinning, he succeeded in building layers of nano material in a chosen location. He achieved the feat of manufacturing the world’s first structure resembling a nano wall.

If this technology is implemented in the current 3d printing industry, the manufacturing of nano-scale 3d structures will become easier and more precise. The biggest advantage of this technology is the development of nano structures without the use of complicated chemical processes and equations. Additional structures can also be added onto pre-existing structures to give it more characteristics.

Professor Kim mentioned “If the development of 3d nano printing equipment becomes a reality, it would have a huge influence of various industrial and academic factors. I plan to research on the development of smart materials and structures that react to their surroundings through the use of materials with special characteristics using this technology”.