There’s a big story going around the internet today about some really cool research into 3D printing OLEDs.
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities have published some research that is sure to pique the interest of home 3D printing hobbyists. They have modified some consumer hardware to fully 3D print flexible OLED panels at room temperature. That’s pretty cool.
The research team were able to produce a display prototype measuring 1.5 inches square with 64 pixels – with no dead pixels! This may not sound too impressive, but when you consider the hardware necessary to produce these for industry, it’s a pretty cool trick.
Before you get your hopes up too much though, there’s a quote that stands out from their announcement, from Michael McAlpine, a Professor at the University:
We wanted to see if we could basically condense all of that down and print an OLED display on our table-top 3D printer, which was custom built and costs about the same as a Tesla Model S.
Ouch. that Model S bit might sting a little.
Some of you may be thinking… but wait, didn’t they start 3D printing flexible OLEDS nearly 10 years ago? Yes, that is true. However this version is theoretically something that could be done at home. At least it can be if you have “Model S” money to throw at your 3D printer. Just like everything else though, give it a few years and it may be more affordable.
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