The race to the bottom -- accelerating nano 3D printing | Jan Torgersen | TEDxVienna

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www.tedxvienna.at/
After his studies in mechanical engineering at the Vienna University of Technology, Jan Torgersen started his phd work at the Insitute of Materials Science and Technology. Jan's field is Additive Manufacturing Technologies; the technology involved in 3D printing. He developed a new printer that is able to produce nano-scaled objects suitable for numerous applications in photonics, surface modifications and biomedical engineering. This printer is currently the fastest of its kind and brings the technology closer to industrial applications. How it works got illustrated recently by a video that went around the world, showing the construction of a racing car model in the scale of a human hair.
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[@Jonathansa01]

What it would have been like if young Arnold Schwarzenegger chose the scientific path?

[@niteshtyagi11]

Johnathon Windsor 😂

[@ArcadeGames]

I'm excited about this technology, being able to print individual atoms will be a major turning point. Just imagine being able to assemble anything right down to the atom, it blows my mind.

[@MrVibriocholerae]

+ArcadeGames then you should change your info box to "i want to go forward to the 40's.. "..

[@GeneralSzadek]

+ArcadeGames The way he presented this topic to the audience is pretty confusing. Especially, for people who are not from this research field. The technique is used to excite special molecules which then induce a polymerisation process. So we are talking here about an effective resolution of around 50 nm, which is still a little bit away from an atomic scale (ca. 0,1 nm). So, the reaction mechanism of this technology will never allow a one-by-one atom fabrication. It is also not able to fabricate liver, skin or other organs. It´s "just" able to produce a appropriate scaffold for the cells. No more, no less. Whereby "appopriate" is a challenging topic for itself. The following procedure, which leads to an tissue, has nothing more to do with this technology. So yes, it is a very promising tool, but more like a welding machine, which contributes to a much more complicated construction.

[@TraderTimmy]

Try checking out the father of nano technology, DR. Eric Drexler. He actually has laid out the plans for how to develop atomically precise manufacturing devices. And it more than what this video gets into. You will love it.

[@brenthasty8967]

idea print a box around the Cancer cell that blocks o2 to starve it

[@kathleenmckeon9926]

I thought it was a very thought provoking and educational talk. My hat is off to him for doing such a good job with the language, I do not think I would have the nerve to do such a difficult subject not in my own language. For that matter, I could not do it in my own language.

[@Niamato_inc]

A decade later this technology still haven’t left the lab. Mind boggling stuff!

[@whatsupbudbud]

Wow, this is just amazing. My gf just said that FemtoLasik technology is also used to destroy tissue underneath the retina without cutting the flap. Cool stuff, thanks for sharing!

[@cteyemrdy6927]

cool

[@TheCryptoInvestor]

my hope is that one day nano printing will provide abundance and finally the planet will be at peace.

[@CFella210]

Nice thought Thomas but this will not stop mans greed!!!

[@Zoza15]

If you want to crate a world of abundance, then you have to eliminate the monetary system..

[@IvaNiftyChannel]

i'm optimistic. What i am sure about, in half a century, the problems of today will stop plagueing us.....one way or another.

[@davidsirmons]

Only if that abundance applies to all. If it only applies to a few, it's elitism.

[@DanHolly3]

I feel like he was downplaying the technology the entire time. It is amazing! We have not yet realized what this technology can do for us. "There is plenty of room at the bottom!"

[@JosephAMuniz]

I'm not trying to downplay current 3d printers, but owning a Flash Forge, MakerBot and a Rostock, 3d printing is overhyped and lacks so much. In essence, most all commercially available 3d printers are overpriced hot glue extruders. CNC Milling systems have existed for almost 40 years, using the same "gCode" bin/ascii instructions. 3D printers take allot of screwing with,and the technology is quite disappointing when you consider the much more sound and far superior technology of using a 3d printer with a high speed cutter (AKA, CNC Mill) to create a 2 part injection mold that allows for a far superior/accurate/incredibly quick and so much better end product. I use my 3d printers to create molds, and have modified one of my printers/projects to mill out molds. 3d printers have great novelty, but if you want to produce a durable product with extremely high precision and strength, injection molding is far far far superior.

[@robn2497]

i note 2 year old post and i take your point. however 3d printing as a concept is the hype or over hype the lame 3d printer designs are separate from the concept. for example a DRO cheap china made one costs the same as your novelty printer approx $1000 thats just purchasing electronic measuring device to control your novelty machine. this dro has +- 5 microns perhaps +- 1 micron for short scales limiting total volume of 3d space. think about 25 or 30 years time where desktop 3d printers cost $1000 including dro at these scales. then will you be exited ? besides your example of injection molding is mass production of identical components this method directly opposes 3d printing where each part can be incrementally modified. try doing that to an injection moulding machine. last point. today i wached a 3d metal printer. print . then transfered to mill for your nice surface finish.... milll then load milled part into injection moulding high volume system. so yeah wait anothe 2 years = overhype ect...

[@eeefox1]

so be creative and I'LL BE BACK....

[@teebat]

much better accuracy, and he was saying they would be able to "print" inside your body without cutting you open, and new microchips with new nano tech ...graphene/nanotubes, mean faster processing, and so on and so on...curiosity my friends

[@TheKackleExpress]

same here bro

He did some things while giving the talk that probably angered a some people, namely saying the equivalent of "No, you're wrong, that isn't 3D printing". His stance made him look like he thought he was smarter than everyone else, the sort of superior stance. He could've been lynched by an angry mob. Had he thrown in a couple of jokes, eased the tension, and then backing up his claims, he would've had a better image. I say this because I've been in a similar situation and it didn't end very well.

[@davidsirmons]

With that accent, I thought he was going to say: "I want to PUMP......YOU UP!" :D

[@ZopteY]

Interesting but i dont see how its different then any other 3d printer else than its much mucc smaller...? Can someone explain, cause as far as i could tell from the video, it was just layer by layer...thanks.

[@InteractiveSunny]

Sorry, but I couldn't stop thinking 'Get to the choppa!' when I hear him speak :) ... good presentation though.

[@Saltshaker122]

No wrong. Nano printer also called a replicated/molecular assembler, or what ever you want to call it. When it comes to objects that are built today like buildings and inorganic material this is 3d stuff. So what a molecular assembler should be called is a 4d printer. My reason is that a 4d object has geometry on the out side and inside of a object like a cube in a cube that is connected together. That is what life forms are made of. Not random atoms put together in the same object.

[@TraderTimmy]

also, I was reading Eric Drexler, the father of nano technology, and he usually uses the term APM, atomically precise manufacturing. Just like you were saying pretty much. A device which not only assembles things at the molecular scale, but also reconfigures molecules to create various types of molecules. Of course, the funny thing is, the devices Drexler describes do assemble things one layer at a time, at superfast times. But the initial device this video describes is something completely different. But it is interesting none the less.

[@mechadense]

Tim King - Yes, todays "two photon lithography (TPL)" nanoscale 3D printing must not be confused with "atomically precise manufacturing" (APM) ! TPL is far from having control over every single chemical bond like e.g. the today (2017) already existing atomically precise structural DNA nanotechnology. ... more ... TLP is top down and not atomically precise. TPL isn't even on the direct path to advanced high throughput HT-APM (that is improved versions of TLP won't ever synthesize strained gemstone parts with atomic precision and resolution). TLP may though play an important role in aiding in the development towards HT-APM. Meeting in the middle with the bottom up atomically precise structures. About the "one layer at a time" approach for future advanced nanofactories as outlined in the "productive nanosystems" video: (NOT talking about the TLP here !!): The main reason for this far term design goal is that scaling side-length of robotic systems down a million-fold scales natural operation frequency up by the same factor. Directly coupled to natural operation frequency is productivity (that is mass throughput). Filling the whole production volume with productive machinery (that is the old naive and now obsolete molecular assembler nanobot concept) would lead to almost a million-fold increase in throughput. Which is obviously waay too much since physics prevents one to provide macroscopic input and output of resources and wastes in a matching speed. Remember: Macroscopic IO has a million-fold lower natural operation frequency and throughput. When one matches the internal productivity to the IO capabilities that physics actually allow then one can put all the machinery into a (from human perspective) thin layer. Integrated system design allows for specialized sub-units making only a single type of part. This increases efficiency (much above unspecialized general purpose compact molecular assemblers). Beside that the flat design allows to do input and output of all the resources more efficiently (less path less surface less friction). Regarding the necessity of scaffolds for creating products with overhangs: The convergent assembly hierarchy can potentially be continued up to the size of the whole macroscopic product solving this issue if present. Instead of "one layer at a time" it' becomes more of a "one convergent assembly stage at a time" (at every stage) principle.

[@kewlkidz4465]

If you could print DNA then it would be possible (in the future) to 'print' out new species. I don't actually know this for sure so if I'm wrong then thats ok but it's just a idea I had while I was watching it.

[@GeneralSzadek]

+Kewl Kidz We are already able to produce DNA with any sequence you want. This is everday life in the labs, for instance, in order to produce specific primers for the PCR. And still we are far away from creating complete new life forms. The molecular mechanisms are still too complicated for us. But good try ^^

[@JohannaMueller57]

charisma: 0

[@isn0t42]

It doesn't matter that he's not used to public speaking. The tech he's talking about is incredibly intriguing and it's the first time I hear about something like that.

[@gravitronrutherford1631]

Can this technology 3D print nanobots

[@walter0bz]

small, light self replicating robots for colonizing space.. easier to launch.

[@elfoxy1997]

hehe, maybe he could print a helicopter.

[@madhomer4101]

democracy, you choose them to be your leaders

[@johnnymartinARTIST]

How bout a translator...