Chinese researchers 3D-print titanium single crystals over a meter long

Researchers in China have developed a pulsed 3D-printing process that builds titanium-alloy rods more than a meter tall made entirely of a single crystal. Described in Nature, the method removes constraints of conventional crystal-growing techniques and targets applications from reactor components to laser mirrors.

• Pulsed 3D printing grows titanium single crystals over 1 meter tall
• The study was published in the journal Nature
• The method removes limits of conventional crystal-growing techniques
• Target applications include reactor components and laser mirrors