Indika Perera, Research Scientist, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Additive manufacturing, better known as 3D printing, holds the promise for revolutionizing the lighting industry. During the past several years, the number of companies exploiting 3D printing to make attractive, custom lighting fixtures has been increasing. The U.S. Department of Energy is funding Eaton Corp., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center, and Xerox Corp. to investigate the development of an integrated LED lighting fixture that uses additively manufactured components, including thermomechanical, electrical, electronic, and optical structures. The main focus of this effort is to demonstrate the benefits to design, cost and performance enabled by 3D printing processes. This presentation will explain the lessons learned in producing these components, technology gaps encountered and the potential benefits realized using an additive manufacturing approach.