Fast 5 times faster, dual wavelengths! Light-cured continuous additive manufacturing!

2026-01-05

3D printing enables the aerospace, medical, automotive, manufacturing and many other industries to customize parts and prototypes in an unprecedented way. It significantly enhances flexibility and cost-effectiveness, while reducing waste and shortening production time. However, many 3D-printed products are not the most durable.

The team of chemists and materials scientists from Sandia National Laboratory hopes to change this situation.

▲ More durable non-metallic materials

/Five times faster!
The Sandia National Laboratories has developed a new 3D printing process that can print stronger non-metallic materials in a record-breaking time, and it is five times faster than traditional 3D printing.

The team developed the SWOMP - Selective Dual-Wavelength Olefin Complex Dissociation 3D Printing Technology. As the name suggests, it uses dual wavelengths of light. The team drew inspiration from a technology called continuous liquid interface 3D printing and a 3D printing method that uses dual wavelengths of light for acrylic polymerization.

▲SWOMP (Selective Dual-Wavelength Olefin Re-Complexation 3D Printing) simultaneously uses two different wavelengths of light to alter the 3D printing method of certain materials.

By using dual wavelengths, on the one hand, the printing is still carried out layer by layer, and on the other hand, the second wavelength of light is being used to prevent polymerization at the bottom of the barrel. Therefore, the printing material does not stick to the bottom, which means that the solidified polymer components can be lifted more quickly, and this significantly speeds up the printing process.

This new process is not only about improving the efficiency of 3D printing, but also aims to make 3D printing materials stronger and more versatile. Currently, most photopolymer resin materials are based on acrylic, which are not the strongest materials.

The team turned to bicyclohexadiene materials, which are typically used in the production of paints, varnishes and plastic flame retardants. By changing the components of the material from acrylic groups to alkyne groups, it was possible to print harder materials. By developing a method to polymerize this material more rapidly using light, it was possible to use it more effectively in 3D printing.

▲ More durable non-metallic materials

The team hopes to see these 3D-printed components in use in rockets, engines, batteries and even fusion applications in the near future. They are already discussing with researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to explore their applications.

According to the paper "Continuous Additive Manufacturing using Olefin Metathesis", the advancement of chemistry has enabled the implementation of selective dual-wavelength olefin metathesis copolymerization for continuous additive manufacturing (AM). The resin formulation based on bicyclohexadiene is effectively initiated at one wavelength (such as blue light) and undergoes rapid catalyst decomposition and polymerization inhibition at the second wavelength (such as ultraviolet light).

▲Dual-wavelength SWOMP

The research has found that this continuous 3D printing rate is competitive compared to existing 3D printing technologies and is much faster than traditional SLA. This technology is expected to have a wide-ranging impact on additive manufacturing in terms of material and performance selection, and will stimulate the emergence of new dual-wavelength 3D printing processes.

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