The UB receives a grant to develop a 3D printer capable of printing metal microstructures
A team of researchers from the research group Characterization and Processes in Materials Science of the University of Barcelona (UB) has received a seed grant from the 2023 Knowledge Industry Grants call to develop a prototype 3D printer capable of printing metal microstructures, a solution with innovative applications such as catalysis to remove pollutants.
The 3D-µPrinting project, financed with 20,000 euros, is led by Professor Lector Serra Húnter of the Department of Materials Science and Physical Chemistry of the Faculty of Chemistry of the UB, Dr. Oriol Rius Ayra, and he is accompanied as a scientific entrepreneur by Dra. Alisiya Biserova Tahchieva from the same department.
Advances in additive manufacturing technologies have made it possible to 3D print materials such as metals, ceramics, polymers or composites. However, there are still certain technological and economic limitations in order to obtain structures on a micrometric scale.
Current techniques for printing at a microscopic scale are based on methods that make it expensive to obtain the object or have a very slow printing speed. The high cost and limitations in terms of the materials they can print cause these technologies to be limited to a very small set of the scientific community and therefore do not reach the industrial sector or the maker community or the rest of the society
To overcome these limitations, the new prototype will implement a new head adaptable to commercial printers on the market. The ability to be able to print these three-dimensional metallic structures on a microscopic scale will allow the use of 3D printing technologies to be expanded to a wide variety of fields such as, for example, electronics, three-dimensional conductions, and phase catalysts heterogeneous in order to remove pollutants and generate oxygen or hydrogen.
In addition, the characteristics of the 3D-µPrinting printing technology will make it possible to reduce waste or leftover materials, generating a positive impact in the economic, social and environmental spheres, in the new products manufactured with this disruptive printing system.
The project, with file number 2023 LLAV 00035, has received a Knowledge Industry aid of the Llavor modality from the AGAUR for innovative projects with the potential to be incorporated into the productive sector.
The UB, leader in AGAUR projects
The University of Barcelona (UB), through the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (FBG), its technology and innovation transfer office, leads the ranking of Catalan universities with the highest number of projects achieved in the call for grants of the Knowledge Industry 2023 of the Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat of Catalonia.
Specifically, the UB has received a total of 1,169,680.53 euros in funding for the development of thirteen innovative projects. The call, promoted by the Agency for the Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR), aims to promote the knowledge generated in the scientific environment so that it can reach the productive fabric.
This outstanding position of the UB and the FBG reflects their commitment and excellence in research and innovation, collaboration with the business and industrial fabric, and consolidates their reputation as a leader in knowledge transfer.