April 21 (UPI) -- Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, in Germany, have developed a method for 3D-printing with glass.
The 3D printer is supplied with a novel mixture of high-purity quartz glass nanoparticles and a small amount of liquid polymer, which works as a binding agent. Scientists use stereolithography to cure the printed product with light, before washing out any remaining liquid in a solution bath. Any polymer that remains trapped in the glass is melted away during a final heating stage.