A research team at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands made a small boat model that is only one third the size of a hair with a 3D printer. The boat was built to study how microscopic objects called microswimmers swim through microcavities filled with liquids.
Even if it is printed with a 3D printer, it is not possible to print such a fine model by laminating materials on the foundation like normal products. Therefore, the research team printed the model using a technique called two-photon polymerisation (2PP), which makes a laser focal point on the material, hardens it, and moves it to form a model.
Called 3D Benchy, the boat is complex around the driver’s seat and requires some geometric tricks when printing to a 3D printer. The research team said that they chose this model for fun and to see if the model could be printed finely in micrometer size rather than normal size. As a result, they were able to create not only cute boats, but also spiral-shaped objects less than 5 microns in diameter.
Bacteria and sperm, these small representatives in nature, gain propulsion through tail-like things called cilia, but the ship is said to gain propulsion through the reaction of liquid hydrogen oxide by attaching a small piece of platinum to the back.
The study is published in the journal Soft Matter. In the thesis, it is possible to control and design artificial microsweemers with 3D printing technology, and it is expected to be applicable to medical diagnosis and drug delivery in the future. Related information can be found here .