3D Printing Utilized In Target Fabrication

Targets are used in high-energy-density physics, when, once ablated by lasers, are platforms for experiments that study astrophysical phenomenon, hydrodynamic instabilities and a myriad of other physics. Target fabrication has long suffered from difficulty in the repeatability of features from target to target. At the University of Michigan, micro-machined acrylic structures are often used to mitigate variations in targets for any single campaign. However, there are limitations to what can be conventionally machined. Ever sophisticated target designs are broaching the limitations of our traditional means of creating the acrylic structures that have long been such an integral element to our success in target fabrication. 3D printing has opened up new opportunities to build targets that could never have been machined by conventional means. Here, we present the advantages and limitations of 3D printing when utilized in target fabrication.