Is Lockheed Martin Really Building A Diamond 3D Printer?
News have been circulating about a patent that inventor David J Findley filed for Lockheed Martin for a diamond 3D printer capable of creating diamond objects in any shape. Does this mean we are soon going to be 3D printing diamonds? The short answer is probably not, however the patent is definitely real and – while it does open up the perspective of creating artificial diamonds in any shape and geometry – it is actually quite similar to current – albeit still mostly experimental – technologies to 3D print objects using high performance ceramics and zirconia, such as the ones from Lithoz, 3DCeram and Prodways. Not to mention that, since diamonds are notoriously difficult to cut (i.e. shape subtractively), being able to shape them additively would make plenty of sense.