Photo of the Week: Tailored Glass Using 3D-Printing Technology

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory mechanical engineer, Megan Ellis, demonstrates an innovative additive manufacturing process - Tailored Glass Using Direct Ink Writing Technology - to print silica-based optics and glass components with customizable forms and spatially varying material properties. As a part of the process, the flow of multiple glass-forming inks is finely controlled to achieve the desired structure and optical properties. Subsequent heat treatment renders a dense, transparent glass product.

Photo credit: Garry MdLeod/LLNL