The Rensselaer Lighting Research Center (LRC) has partnered with Eaton Corporation on a research project to develop a complete, additively manufactured, integrated LED-luminaire. Under funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE), the project will address the main barriers to widespread adoption of additive manufacturing technology (also known as 3D printing) as applied to solid-state lighting solutions.
3D Printing a Fully Integrated Luminaire
Over the next two years, the project partners will conduct material science, electronics, printed optics, and advanced manufacturing research to investigate the transformational potential of a fully additively manufactured, LED integrated luminaire, with a focus on reducing the cost of the luminaire’s dominant subsystems.
Components of a solid-state lighting luminaire will be fabricated using additive manufacturing methods, including mechanical and thermal management structures, electrical and electronic structures (on three-dimensional representative substrates), and optical and light reflective surfaces.
SSL R&D Funding Opportunity Program
The project, led by Eaton, was competitively selected through the DOE’s Solid State Lighting R&D Funding Opportunity program, and draws upon the LRC’s growing expertise in the field of 3D printed lighting research.
For more information about the LRC’s 3D printing research, please visit https://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/solidstate/3DPrinting.asp.
