The World’s First 3D Printed Diamond Composite


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Diamond is harder than anything else in nature. It is a key component in a large range of wear resistant tools in industry, but since it’s so hard and complicated to machine it is almost impossible to form complex shapes.

source/image: Sandvik

To solve this, Sandvik has developed a proprietary process making it possible to 3D print diamond composite, meaning that this super-hard material now can be printed in highly complex shapes – and can thereby revolutionize the way industries use the hardest natural material on the planet.

The additive manufacturing process is quite advanced. The Sandvik 3D printed diamond was created using a 3D printing process that is known as stereolithography. A very precise mixture made up of polymer and diamond powder is printed layer by layer by making use of ultraviolet light. However, that is not where the process ends.

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The difference between Sandvik’s diamond and natural or synthetic diamond is that Sandvik’s is a composite material. Most of the material is diamond, but to make it printable and dense it needs to be cemented in a very hard matrix material, keeping the most important physical properties of pure diamond.

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