Researchers at a laboratory in Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, have deepened their research on metal 3D printing technology, also known as metal additive manufacturing, to upgrade the traditional materials manufacturing industry.
Metal 3D printing is a laser-based technology that constructs objects layer by layer by fusing metal particles. It employs heat or light energy, such as a laser or electron beam, to melt or bond the metal powder, spreading it over previous layers.
According to a researcher at the Institute of Advanced Additive Manufacturing of Ji Hua Laboratory, 3D printing has a great advantage in fabricating arbitrary shapes without any limitations and has great potential in preparing controllable porous structures.
"In traditional methods of processing, we need to produce these channels first and then weld them at the corresponding points, which can result in tiny welding defect pores in the welding area. However, 3D printing completely avoids the possibility of welding defects because it is integrally formed. Our whole industry is gradually developing in the direction of larger sizes, more lasers, and higher efficiency," said Gao Chaofeng, doctoral student at the Institute of Advanced Additive Manufacturing of Ji Hua Laboratory.
Another researcher at the lab pointed out that they aim to make more progress in new material and key components development in some key areas.
"We aim to solve some of the main difficulties in the industry at present, such as improving the quality and performance of products and reducing costs. In the long run, we strive to develop new materials and future technologies in China, especially in equipment such as key components for engines and aerospace fields," said Bi Yunjie, deputy director of the Institute of Advanced Additive Manufacturing of Ji Hua Laboratory.
Ji Hua Laboratory is one of the first four provincial-level laboratories initiated by the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government. Since its establishment more than six years ago, the laboratory has mainly focused on new display equipment, semiconductor equipment and key components, intelligent robots, high-end medical equipment, advanced remote sensing equipment, additive manufacturing equipment, and new materials and devices.
Chinese scientists leverage metal 3D printing to upgrade traditional material manufacturing industry
The 2024 U.S.-China People's Dialogue is being held in Beijing, bringing together personages from academia, business, tourism and other fields to share experiences and exchange views on how to further promote mutual understanding between people, especially the younger generation of the two countries.
The topics under discussion during the event from Wednesday to Saturday focus on tourism and ecology, artificial intelligence, and sports and education. Chinese and American attendees will discuss the prospects of cooperation and share their views and suggestions on the future development of China-U.S. relations.
Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee of U.S.-China Relations, drew upon his personal stories of engagement to discuss the value of the bilateral people-to-people connections, calling for carrying forward the goodwill and achievements built up over decades of interactions.
"The people-to-people relationship is the foundation of the U.S.-China relationship. It is the foundation. We, as the National Committee of United States-China Relations, when we hosted the Chinese ping-pong team in 1972, that fundamentally altered America's perception of China and Chinese. And in the prior year, 1971, the Chinese hosting of the American ping-pong team fundamentally altered China's perception and Chinese perception of America and the American government and that led, that put the United States and China on a trajectory. What we need to think about is how do we strengthen that," he said.
The non-governmental connections between Chinese and American people have been growing and deepening since young table tennis players from the two countries kick-started the progress toward normalizing China-U.S. relations in Beijing more than 50 years ago.
Kuliang, a place in east China's Fujian Province, has witnessed the deepening bond between Chinese and American people ever since a number of U.S. citizens began living there over a century ago.
A group of American veteran pilots of the Flying Tigers who fought alongside the Chinese army and people against the Japanese invasion during World War II have also contributed to promoting friendly exchanges between the two countries.
At a time when the U.S.' so-called "political correctness" of being tough on China has led to the low ebb in the bilateral relations, participants at the dialogue believe that the current problems and differences will not change the aspirations of the people on both sides for friendly cooperation, saying that the relations will certainly improve through more exchanges and dialogues.
"In this digital age, we have so much information, but because the information is so, lacks context that sometimes it can actually be more dangerous than helpful, right? So that's why I think we need to have people-to people-contact here. The next generation will not have enough people who know anything about China. We have to solve that problem," said David Moser, associate professor of Foreign Language at Beijing Capital Normal University.
Launched in 2023, the annual U.S.-China People's Dialogue brings together leading American and Chinese nationals from a wide range of business, social, and cultural fields to explore ways to foster greater people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and to chart a path forward.
2024 US-China People’s Dialogue held in Beijing
