Additive manufacturing of glass: CO2-Laser glass deposition printing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing is used in several industrial sectors where polymers and metals are established materials. Different academic studies prove that additive manufacturing methods can be applied on glass materials using powder or fiber based material sources. In terms of quartz glass, with melting temperatures around 2200°C, laser sources are used to achieve the necessary intensities. In the present study, additive manufacturing of quartz glass is achieved by melting a quartz glass fiber with a CO2 laser source. A combined laser head focusses the laser radiation onto the glass fiber in order to melt the fiber. A three axis system is used to move the printing stage and glass substrate. The experimental investigations show that CO2-laser glass deposition printing allows for the creation of arbitrary 3D quartz glass structures. This method is envisioned to replace conventional manual glass manufacturing processes for production of complex hollow glass structures which are present in the medical sector.