3D Printing of Liquid Metal

Traditional metal 3D printing usually adopts laser melting deposition method. Due to the high-melting point of metal, printing is difficult to complete at room temperature, and the manufacturing cost is often high. Low-melting point metal or liquid metal has the characteristics of low-melting point, easy to realize solid-liquid transition, good fluidity, easy to combine with nonmetal, etc. Its printing mode is completely different from that of high-melting point metal, and the mode is extremely diversified. This chapter introduces several 3D printing technologies based on liquid metal, including direct melting deposition printing of low-melting point metal using traditional melting deposition method, liquid phase 3D printing with liquid cooling environment added in the printing process, and corrosion 3D printing with Ga having corrosion characteristics to Al. In the future, on the basis of the research on the characteristics of liquid metal itself, more kinds of printing methods can be excavated to finally realize the integrated forming and packaging of structural parts or electronic devices, thus opening up new directions for the development of implantable medical equipment, aerospace, electronic circuits, energy environment, and other fields.