To do all this, though, you need a device called a transducer.

但完成该过程，你不能缺少一台叫做‘压电式换能器'的设备。

Because of this, our ears evolved into something we now call a transducer.

正因为如此，我们的耳朵进化成了我们现在称之为传感器的东西。

A transducer is anything that changes energy from one form to another.

传感器可以是任何东西，它可以将能量从一种形式转换为另一种形式。

That vertical piece is the force transducer.

那个垂直的部件就是力传感器。

The other force transducer's right up on the top.

另一个力传感器就在顶部。

Then, the transducer uses the reflected waves to create an image.

然后， 换能器使用反射波创建图像。

To make a transducer by painstakingly micro-machining a brittle block of ceramic material can take many hours of work, though.

压电式换能器需要用到陶瓷材料，而精密地加工一块精细的陶瓷材料就要耗费几个小时的工作时间。

Transducers are made from arrays of tiny piezoelectric structures that convert electrical signals into ultrasound waves by vibrating at an appropriate frequency.

压电式换能器是由具有‘压电'效应的一系列敏感元件机构组成。敏感元件机构通过‘定频'震荡将电信号转换成超声波。

However GE, a large American conglomerate, is now proposing to make ultrasound transducers by " additive" manufacturing—or three-dimensional printing, as it is also known.

而GE作为美国的一个庞大的企业集团正考虑采用‘对比添加式'的加工流程（或者又称大家所熟悉的‘3D印刷'）来加工超声波压电式换能器。

The GE process for making a transducer begins by spreading onto the print table a thin layer of ceramic slurry containing a light-sensitive polymer.

GE对加工换能器的方法是首先在印刷台上撒上薄薄的一层陶瓷粘土，其中混入一种光敏聚合体。