ETHAN TOWNSEND
Stern and Kaitlyn Becker (class of 2009), assistant professor of mechanical engineering and another co-author, were inspired to create the building blocks in part by their experiences as students in MIT's Glass Lab.
“I found the material fascinating,” says Stern, who went on to design a 3D printer that can deposit molten recycled glass. “I started thinking about how glass printing could find its place.”
“I am excited about expanding the design and manufacturing space for sophisticated materials with interesting properties, such as glass and its optical properties and recyclability,” says Becker, who began exploring these ideas as a faculty member. “As long as it is not contaminated, glass can be recycled almost indefinitely.”
For their new study, Becker, Stern and co-authors Daniel Massimino, SM '24, and Charlotte Folinus '20, SM '22, of MIT, and Ethan Townsend of Evenline used a glass printer coupled to an oven to print crushed glass bottles to melt down a material that can be applied in layer patterns. They printed prototype bricks from soda lime glass, which is typically used in glassblowing. Each has two round pins made of a different material, similar to the knobs on a Lego brick, so they can interlock. Another material between the bricks prevents scratches or cracks, but can be removed if a structure is to be dismantled and recycled. The figure-eight shape of the prototypes allows them to be installed in curved walls, although recycled bricks could also be remelted in the printer and formed into new shapes. The group is examining whether a larger portion of the interlocking elements could also be made from printed glass.