Acoustic Levitation 3D Printer AcoustiPrint Completes Prototype: Positioning Material Particles in Mid-Air Using Sound Waves

ETH Zurich's robotics laboratory demonstrated the acoustic levitation 3D printer AcoustiPrint prototype on December 3. The device uses a phased array of 512 ultrasonic transducers to form stable acoustic traps in mid-air, suspending and precisely positioning micrometer-scale material particles, then curing them with laser or UV light.

Unlike traditional 3D printing, AcoustiPrint requires no support structures and can simultaneously print multiple disconnected components in mid-air. The research team lead said the technology is particularly suitable for manufacturing complex hollow structures and micro-medical devices. The current prototype achieves 50-micrometer precision at approximately one-tenth the speed of traditional FDM printing.