3d printing with glass. Where are we?

In the 800 years of history of glassmaking techniques in our marvelous island of Murano we never stopped in experimentation.

In the last five years the 3D glass printing technique is evolving at great speed.
In the era of globalization, Murano still maintains an artisanal dimension that certainly cannot compete with companies of international importance that can invest millionaire budgets in research.
In any case, I predict that this technology will have several applications, above all to make semi-finished products for use in the production of artisanal and artistic objects.
Wanting to get an overview of the latest technologies I have seen that different techniques are emerging, I come across this two articles published by the American Ceramic Society and MIT which gives us an exhaustive overview of the current state of progress.

https://ceramics.org/ceramic-tech-today/glass-1/3d...

http://news.mit.edu/2015/3-d-printing-transparent-...

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Photo: Andy Ryan

 

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The ability to introduce variations in color into the stream of molten glass is one of the unusual properties of the new 3-D glass printing system.

Photo: Chikara Inamura

  

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An exhibition of the 3-D printed glass structures.

Photo: Chikara Inamura