<ul><li>Researchers at the American National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) have discovered a quasicrystal form of metal in 3D printed alloys.</li><li>Quasicrystals have a non-repeating structure in 3D space and were originally discovered in the 1980s.</li><li>An Aluminum-Zirconium alloy used in powder bed fusion printing was found to have small zones of quasicrystals, which prevented cracking.</li><li>Understanding the properties of this alloy opens up the possibility of intentionally developing metallic quasi-crystals in other alloys.</li></ul>

D20-shaped Quasicrystal Makes High-Strength Alloy Printable

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