Material scientist at UC San Diego have been experimenting with resin printing that can expand. Using a Anycubic resin printer just like the one in the MakerSpace, they added a resin mixture to it that would react to heat after the finished printed piece was removed from the printer. One part of the mixture is known as the blowing agent which is able to create the cellular structure consistent with foam. The other part of the mixture was the monomer which served as the base of the resin. After much experimentation of ratios of the selected monomers, blowing agents, cure times, and photoinitiater the scientists were able to expand the prints to 4000%.
This form of printing could have manufacturing potential making smaller printers able to produce foam items that are much larger than what most resin printers can handle. These foam prints could be used to manufacture parts for space and aircrafts or marine floatation. It could also make transporting these parts easier since they could be expanded at the location where they are needed.
See the video below to see the 3D prints in action
