Someone has deliberately designed a ceramic material made for 3d printers. It's supposed to replace the one they use in a normal expensive printer, but I'm sure we could figure out a way to use this stuff.
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www.sciencedaily.com]
Thanks to Boing Boing for this one.
The recipes are:
Xtra-White, Redart TerraCotta or Stoneware Buff Slip . . . .62.50 %
Sugar (extra fine) . . . . . . . . 31.25
PVA (PolyVinyl Alcohol) . . . 6.25
MaltoDextrin Printing Slip
Xtra-White, Redart TerraCotta or Stoneware Buff Slip . . .66.66 %
Sugar (extra fine) . . . . . . . . 16.67
MaltoDextrin . . . . . . . . . . . 16.67
100.00 %
The PVA Printing Slip mixture produced quite acceptable results (with all slips) but the PVA is a little more costly when compared to MaltoDextrin (which is available at the grocery store under the brand name Benefiber). The MaltoDextrin Printing Slip was also stronger in greenware form.
A solution of 16–18% ethanol (by volume) in water with a bit of food coloring works nicely as a binder. The food coloring lets you see if the fluid is deposited properly, and it burns out during firing. Our ethanol-water solution is vodka based (denatured alcohol tended to clog the printhead), so don’t tell your graduate students how it’s made.
