Pulsed 3D printing grows creep-resistant single crystals more than a meter long for high-temperature applications

Researchers from China have developed a new 3D-printing process capable of building titanium-alloy rods more than a meter (3.3 feet) tall composed entirely of a single crystal. The new method, described in the team’s recently published study in Nature, eliminates some of the constraints associated with conventional crystal-growing methods and opens up new opportunities for technical applications, ranging from reactor components to laser mirrors.