Improving 3-D printing of plastic parts

Robots that can build homes, marathoners' running shoes and NASA's upcoming spacecraft all have one thing in common: 3-D printed parts. But as enthusiasm for 3-D printing continues to grow and expand across markets, the objects printed by the process can have weaknesses. Now, one group reports that using a simple modification to the manufacture of the starting materials improves the toughness of these printable plastics.