(ECNS) - China has developed a new 3D printing technology capable of producing millimeter-scale complex objects in just 0.6 seconds, setting the fastest speed recorded so far, according to a study published on Wednesday in Nature.

The technology, dubbed "Digital Incoherent Synthetic Holographic Light Field (DISH)" printing, was developed by a research team led by Dai Qionghai, a professor at Tsinghua University.

Although 3D printing is widely used in research and manufacturing, it has long faced challenges in balancing speed and precision. The new method allows high-resolution printing of structures as fine as 12 micrometers, with a processing rate of up to 333 cubic millimeters per second, the researchers said.

Wu Jiamin, a member of the research team, said the technology overcomes the speed limitations s of traditional layer-by-layer or point-by-point scanning methods by projecting complex three-dimensional light patterns in a single step, enabling rapid fabrication.

The technology could be applied to manufacturing fields such as photonic computing components, smartphone camera modules and parts with sharp angles and complex surfaces, according to Dai.

Future applications could include flexible electronics, miniature robots and high-resolution biological tissue models, the researchers suggested.

(By Zhang Jiahao)