Tampa native creates innovative 3D printing process

Nick Diaco, a Tampa native, has spearheaded an innovative project that improves 3D printing technology. 

3D printing is a manufacturing process where objects or items are made from a digital model. This computer model is sent to a 3D printer, which then builds the desired object from materials such as plastic or metal. 

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate student, the 27-year-old has focused his research on resin 3D printing, which is commonly used in the medical and jewelry industries. 

It’s recognized for its high resolution and quality. 

This type of printing relies on a resin, or a type of liquid that solidifies into plastic, and light to manufacture products. 

“[Items are created by using] a light projector, so you can think of it almost exactly like a movie projector where you’re projecting just an image of light onto the bottom of a vat of resin through a small window and wherever that light hits, it cures,” he explained. 

Through research, Diaco realized that different forms of light could change the resin’s structure. 

Alongside a team of students and professors, Diaco decided to create a new resin material that hardens in ultraviolet light and becomes dissolvable in visible light once it is placed in certain solvents (baby oil, et cetera). 

This is especially useful for supports that secure the object when it’s being made, he said. 

“You have to 3D print things with support structures that kind of hold up the 3D part in place as you print it. It’s made out of the same material as the part itself and it has to be manually removed afterward. 

“It actually introduces a lot of manual labor to remove it and to polish it and sand the surfaces and it also generates a ton of plastic waste,” he added. 

Once the structures made from Diaco’s resin are dissolved, they can be recycled. 

Diaco’s research was inspired by a job he had at Jabil, the St. Petersburg-based manufacturing company.

“When I was working at Jabil, I was basically given this as an assignment just to work on this type of resin printing and to make it faster [and to] make it more efficient,” he explained. 

As Diaco explored the resin 3D printing technology, he recognized there were areas for improvement. This led him to investigate dissolvable materials. 

He believes his resin could have an impact on the manufacturing industry as a whole. Not only could it reduce the amount of plastic waste, but it could save companies valuable time and money. 

Diaco’s resin consists of readily available components. 

“We didn’t synthesize anything new ourselves,” he explained. “We just mixed together existing ingredients in a new way that no one had ever done previously.” 

He is the first one to admit that his project builds upon previous research. Using all the available information to create a new resin “was the real challenge.”

Diaco’s research was the focus of a paper published by the Advanced Materials Technologies journal on June 2. 

He has about one more year left in his Ph.D. program and hopes to commercialize the technology when he graduates. His goal is to start his own company. 

To learn more about Diaco’s research, read this MIT article.