MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian scientists are developing a 3D printer capable of using high-strength engineering plastics to build parts for robots, Russia's Foundation for Advanced Research (FPI) told Sputnik on Friday.
"Besides offering solutions to scientific problems, the 3D printer is planned for use in solving practical problems, such as making components for underwater and terrestrial robots. The first Russian 3D printer to work with engineering polymers and their composites will soon be made," the foundation said.
"New materials and equipment for processing them are being created in a laboratory at the Kabardino-Balkarian State University renowned for its polymer material science department. It has worked since the 1960s and has the technological capability to create world-class polymers with properties superior to their foreign competitors," the statement said, adding that the new-generation polymer manufacture project should be complete this year.
3D printing permits for a broader variety of shapes than conventional injection molding and thus offers more custom parts for robots that require enhanced performance to operate in extreme conditions.
FPI was created in 2012 and has been tasked with assisting scientific research related to government security. Its areas of work cover both military and the socio-economic areas.
