A potentially money-spinning licensing agreement has been struck by UWE Bristol’s Centre for Fine Print Research (CFPR) with American suppliers Viridis3D granting them exclusive rights to market ViriClay, a new 3D printable ceramic material with wide-ranging potential for domestic and commercial applications in the arts and consumer product markets.
A team led by Professor Steve Hoskins and Dave Huson at CFPR’s Bower Ashton campus has developed and patented the process which will be of major interest to the whiteware and tableware industry because it reduces by more than 30% the total time, labour and energy required to make 3D printed ceramic objects.
Research fellow Dave Huson said: “This new development could open doors for artists working in ceramics to create designs using a computer which were not possible in the past. For example, we can design an object, such as a ball inside a lattice sphere, which is impossible to create in any other method, but can now be made in a single process using the new technology. We are hopeful that this deal will now enable others to benefit from our research findings.”
Professor Hoskins, who spearheaded the research, added: “We have proved a conceptually new approach to 3D print in ceramics. Prior to this ceramic prototypes were cast in plastic or plaster so it was not possible to fire a prototype and test the glazes.”
ViriClay prints can be produced from many digital sources including CAD and 3D scan data and the material is compatible with standard 3D printers. The research was funded with the help of the Swindon-based Arts & Humanities Research Council.
