Copper 3D Printing
Additive Manufacturing in Liquid Environments
Scientific Illustration / 3D Visualization / Published in Additive Fertigung, Jan 2023
The challenge: Represent a highly technical process — electrochemical 3D printing of metal microarchitectures in aqueous solution — in a single striking image that works as editorial art: instantly readable to a general trade-magazine audience, yet scientifically grounded enough for a specialist readership.
The approach: I built the composition around a lattice structure forming mid-print, rendered in metallic gold to evoke copper, with a fluid, organic form above it representing the aqueous growth environment. The Cu²⁺ ion notation grounds the abstraction in the underlying electrochemistry, while a spectrum of blue-toned lattice fragments below suggests the layered, iterative nature of the printing process.
The result: A conceptual illustration accompanying the feature article on Dr. Ramachandramoorthy's ERC-funded research into additive microfabrication for MEMS — bridging scientific accuracy and visual identity for a specialist trade readership.
This work was created in collaboration with Max-Planck-Institut for sustainable materials. All rights reserved. Please do not reuse without permission.