3D printing live rock?

[encrustingacro]

Most artificial live rock these days are made from some sort of cement and a calcium carbonate based aggregate, usually aragonite sand or oyster shells. A problem with this is depending on the ratio of aggregate to cement, the rock might not be porous. In order to create pores in the rock, many people incorporate water-soluble salt into the sand-cement mix, and then place the rock in water to dissolve the salt. However, the salt may not necessarily dissolve as the salt grains could be fully encased in the rock with no way of letting water in. The salt might also dissolve in the sand-cement mix, as water is needed to activate the cement. There are also other problems with this method of making artificial rock, such as the unsustainability of creating cement, and depending on what type of cement you use, the posibility of the rock leeching unwanted chemicals into your tank.
To solve the problem of low porosity in artificial rock, I propose an entirely new method of making artificial rock: 3d printing the rock using selective laser sintering. Selective laser sintering (SLS), is using a laser to sinter a (usually plastic) powder together. We can replace the plastic powder with a finer grain sand. To make the 3d printed rock porous, you can either only partially sinter the sand together, or you can mix water-soluble salt into the sand and then dissolve the salt in water. If you mix salt into the sand, you could get the same problem that the cement based rock has: the salt grains might be fully encased in the sintered sand. However, this can be solved if you use both partial sintering and mixing in salt. This method of creating live rock also might solve the issues of using cement being unsustainable, and rocks leeching chemicals into your tank. A drawback of using this method to make live rock is that SLS 3D printers are very expensive. However, DIY SLS printers can be made.
What are your thoughts on this method of making artificial rock? Any suggestions or problems you see?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

With all the other options for establishing a strong biofilter, why worry about whether or not the rock is porous?

The only drawback I've found dealing with something like Caribsea 'life rock' is that it's a pita to frag...

 

[Eric Cohen]

Most artificial live rock these days are made from some sort of cement and a calcium carbonate based aggregate, usually aragonite sand or oyster shells. A problem with this is depending on the ratio of aggregate to cement, the rock might not be porous. In order to create pores in the rock, many people incorporate water-soluble salt into the sand-cement mix, and then place the rock in water to dissolve the salt. However, the salt may not necessarily dissolve as the salt grains could be fully encased in the rock with no way of letting water in. The salt might also dissolve in the sand-cement mix, as water is needed to activate the cement. There are also other problems with this method of making artificial rock, such as the unsustainability of creating cement, and depending on what type of cement you use, the posibility of the rock leeching unwanted chemicals into your tank.
To solve the problem of low porosity in artificial rock, I propose an entirely new method of making artificial rock: 3d printing the rock using selective laser sintering. Selective laser sintering (SLS), is using a laser to sinter a (usually plastic) powder together. We can replace the plastic powder with a finer grain sand. To make the 3d printed rock porous, you can either only partially sinter the sand together, or you can mix water-soluble salt into the sand and then dissolve the salt in water. If you mix salt into the sand, you could get the same problem that the cement based rock has: the salt grains might be fully encased in the sintered sand. However, this can be solved if you use both partial sintering and mixing in salt. This method of creating live rock also might solve the issues of using cement being unsustainable, and rocks leeching chemicals into your tank. A drawback of using this method to make live rock is that SLS 3D printers are very expensive. However, DIY SLS printers can be made.
What are your thoughts on this method of making artificial rock? Any suggestions or problems you see?

I think it's a great idea to try it and see how it turns out. Seems like you have a lot of the challenges already in mind, but you won't really know until you make a piece and sink it Keep porosity in mind so it has good bacteria growing benefits.....I think your big challenge will be the floating problem......

 

[Tamberav]

The biggest benefit I see is you could make some really cool shapes. Could always use some nice tonga.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

With all the other options for establishing a strong biofilter, why worry about whether or not the rock is porous?

The only drawback I've found dealing with something like Caribsea 'life rock' is that it's a pita to frag...

For the average aquarium, I'm not sure it really makes any difference, but from a potential scientific standpoint, being able to control the porosity of the rock would be very useful for a number of reasons. The only thing I can think of that might currently affect the average aquarium, however, is that the porosity of the substrate in a marine environment (such as the rock in an aquarium) influences which strains of bacteria and other microbes take root or establish dominance (with low porosity typically favoring faster growing microbes, and high porosity allowing slower growing microbes to flourish despite competition). That said though, some people prefer the more porous rock regardless of technical reasonings because it's more natural.

From a scientific standpoint, controlling rock porosity (especially if controlled with a high level of precision) could make for some very interesting experiments, and it could allow researchers to more effectively create a uniform testing environment, thus removing a number of potentially confounding variables.

 

[Vivid Creative Aquatics]

Most artificial live rock these days are made from some sort of cement and a calcium carbonate based aggregate, usually aragonite sand or oyster shells. A problem with this is depending on the ratio of aggregate to cement, the rock might not be porous. In order to create pores in the rock, many people incorporate water-soluble salt into the sand-cement mix, and then place the rock in water to dissolve the salt. However, the salt may not necessarily dissolve as the salt grains could be fully encased in the rock with no way of letting water in. The salt might also dissolve in the sand-cement mix, as water is needed to activate the cement. There are also other problems with this method of making artificial rock, such as the unsustainability of creating cement, and depending on what type of cement you use, the posibility of the rock leeching unwanted chemicals into your tank.
To solve the problem of low porosity in artificial rock, I propose an entirely new method of making artificial rock: 3d printing the rock using selective laser sintering. Selective laser sintering (SLS), is using a laser to sinter a (usually plastic) powder together. We can replace the plastic powder with a finer grain sand. To make the 3d printed rock porous, you can either only partially sinter the sand together, or you can mix water-soluble salt into the sand and then dissolve the salt in water. If you mix salt into the sand, you could get the same problem that the cement based rock has: the salt grains might be fully encased in the sintered sand. However, this can be solved if you use both partial sintering and mixing in salt. This method of creating live rock also might solve the issues of using cement being unsustainable, and rocks leeching chemicals into your tank. A drawback of using this method to make live rock is that SLS 3D printers are very expensive. However, DIY SLS printers can be made.
What are your thoughts on this method of making artificial rock? Any suggestions or problems you see?

Interesting concept. Made me go looking and I came up with this

Controlled Porosity 3D Printing | Additive Manufacturing

Controlled porosity 3D printing provides advantages like complex geometries, gradient structures and solid-to-porous print in a single pass.

mottcorp.com

This example of laser sintering porous materials is for stainless steel and other metal, but I dont see why it wouldn't work with a ceramics. The same company also has what they call "high purity porous Ceramics"

I also found this: A Brief Introduction to Porous Ceramics.

Introductory Chapter: A Brief Introduction to Porous Ceramic

Open access peer-reviewed chapter

www.intechopen.com

Have not read it yet, but plan to the next free moment I get, but i did scan through the section titled, "Methods and techniques for fabricating porous ceramics.

Very interesting.

 

[WeberKettleGuy]

The biggest benefit I see is you could make some really cool shapes. Could always use some nice tonga.

I’d totally drop some money on a 3d printed stargate to lean up against the live rock off to the side. I’m that nerd.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I’d totally drop some money on a 3d printed stargate to lean up against the live rock off to the side. I’m that nerd.

 

[alabella1]

I'd love to see this in action!

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

We currently 3d print houses with cement and forms so ya I think a 3d printer should be able to print a sand glue mixture.
Do I think 3d printing is there at that stage? No I do not.

People are 3d printing toys, pen holders, pop can lids. Ect. Lol.

I have yet to see something 3d printed I saw value in. Lmk
D