But here comes some good news. The Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics (LICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has achieved a new breakthrough in 3D printing.

Researchers there have developed the solvent-free and photocurable polyimide ink for stereolithography apparatus (SLA) and digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing. The ink boasts a glass transition temperature which is greater than 200℃, and the new material possesses excellent solubility, which is a key property for the development of high performance polyimide ink for 3D printing.

When processed by a conditioning oven at a temperature of 300℃ or immersed in hot oil, the items printed with the new polyimide ink show no signs of fractures or flexural deformation, which means the rendered material could endure constant heat at high temperatures.

The new ink works wonders in producing spare parts and components with extremely complex shapes, delicate structures, and other special properties, such as good heat resistance, chemical inertness, excellent solubility and high mechanical strength.

It means there is huge potential for the technology to be applied in a wider range of industries, such as machinery, electronics, aerospace aviation, and automotive industry. And 3D printing will become faster, more precise and more practical, thanks to the new progress in the ink materials for the technology.

The researchers have published their finding in the Journal of Materials Chemistry with the title of "Solvent Free and Photocurable Polyimide Inks for 3D Printing".

This project has received support by the West Light Foundation of China Academy of Sciences, the Special Recruitment Project of LICP, the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province and Gansu Puruite Technology Co., Ltd.