This Week in 3D Printing

Week of 8/24/2015

This Week’s Contents

! In the News ! Research Insight of the Week ! 3D Prints of the Week

In the NewsSummary and Analysis of Headlines around 3D Printing

Google Invest $100 Million Funding for Carbon 3D Printing

Google Ventures, the venture capital arm of the internet search giant which focuses on bold new companies that may revolutionize the world as we know it, has announced $100 million funding into Carbon3D. The company stunned the word with news of a Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) technology capable of printing incredibly quickly in precise detail. Google has announced that it is primarily interested in the algorithms Carbon3D is developing for fast printing, while Carbon3D will benefit from access to continued data from failed prints. By analyzing failed prints, Carbon3D is able to improve the calculations used during the printing process, improving overall print times as well as the reliability of their devices.

Source(s): 3DPring.com

US Airforce Investigating 3D Printed Flexible Hybrid Electronics Dr. Benjamin Lever introduced research being conducted in the area of flexible electronics at the Air Force Research Lab at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base during the 2015 meeting of the American Chemical Society. The US AirForce is attempting to develop flexible semiconductors that can be printed directly onto a substrate, such as a flexible polymer-based plastic while being no more than a few nanometers in thickness. The AirForce is attempting a stretching liming between 30% (similar to human skin) to 100% (completely foldable). One of the primary uses of such electronics would be the development of a patch which can be worn on an AirForce member’s uniform which collect and transmit health information enabling live monitoring of a soldiers condition. However, the limit of such technology is only limited by the human imagination. Source(s): 3Ders.org

Saving the Life of a Green-Billed Toucan with 3D printing

Researchers in Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil have saved the live of a green-billed toucan bird by creating a 3D printed prosthetic beak. The young bird unfortunately flew into a window and broke its beak, leaving it unable to eat. Without the aid of human feeding from veterinarians, the bird would starve to death. So the veterinarians turned to on of the countries leading industries: 3D printing technology in the medical field. Using photogrammetry and a special modeling software, technicians were able to develop a 3D printed beak replacement which was installed in a hour long surgery. The bird has since regained the ability to eat on its own, leading to an ordinary life.

Source(s): 3DPrint.com

DARPA Testing Vacuum Based 3D Printing DARPA, the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is turning to 3D printing to investigate the possibility of developing ‘on-the-fly’ vacuum tubes. Vacuum tubes were an integral part of the technology revolution that lead to televisions, microwaves and computers. While phased out and replaced by solid state electronics, the Department of Defense (DoD) currently employs more than 200,000 vacuum electronic devices (VEDs) to power critical communications devices and radar systems. The DoD turned to DARPA to investigate whether it made more sense to replace these devices with semi-conductor technologies or invest in increasing production of older vacuum tube-based technology. VEDs still present the best option for microwave based frequencies, and DARPA has turned to investigating millimeter-wave frequencies above 75 GHz, which requires absolute precision that 3D printing offers. Source(s): 3DPrint.com

Minimalist 3D Printed Electric Scooter Available

The usefulness of 3D printing to augment our daily lives is becoming more and more apparent every day. Designer Josep Bolart has recently announced the ‘Paolo,” a 3D printed electric scooter that seeks to advance the use of electric scooters as a mode of transportation in cities around the world. Bolart’s scooter touts a minimalist design featuring high functionality, and includes a 2 kW motor offering up to 50 Nm (36.8 lb-ft) of torque, regenerative front breaks and a monoshock and air-ride system. The scooter is available for consumers in an assortment of colors in 2016, and as 3D printing is a key design element, consumers will be able to customize their bike with other 3D printed parts from home.

Source(s): 3DPrint.com

MIT Advances Glass 3D Printer As the list of materials compatible with 3D printing grows and picks up pace, a group called Mediated Matter has teamed up with MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Wyss Institute and MIT’s Glass Lab to develop an advanced process of precise glass 3D printing. Called G3DP, the team has utilized cutting edge technology combined with traditional age-old glass making tools to create incredibly intricate 3D printed glass structures. The device essentially acts as a small kiln, which heats to 1900 degrees F, melting glass while the alumina-zircon-silica nozzle builds structures layer by layer, and is then cooled with compressed air to solidify. The process creates a highly accurate glass printed material. Source(s): 3DPrint.com

New 3D File Platform Launches Offering Hundreds of 3D Designs

Kwambio, a member of the startup incubator Techstars Boston Accelerator Program, has launched a 3D file platform accessible from a variety of devices including their own iOS app, allowing users to download quality 3D files and designs. The company is on a mission to give users a unique, improved experience to find an awesome file and 3D print it. Kwambio not only will help you choose a file to 3D print, but guarantees it will print on your 3D printer, offering customization and personalization with no 3D modeling skills required.

Source(s): 3DPrint.com

Student Utilizes 3D Printing to create Snowboard Binding System

One of the promises of 3D printing is the ability to quickly and intuitively use additive manufacturing to address a variety of everyday problems. Robert Leen, a snowboarder and design student at the Centre for Advanced Design in Engineering Training at Deakin University, has applied this theory to one of his favorite pass times, snowboarding. In the early 1990s, inventor Gary Hammerslag realized that snowboard boots suffered form a shortcoming due to traditional laces, and designed the BOA System to provide a snug fit and safety. Leen sought to incorporate the BOA Closure System into a 3D printed snowboard binding, which resulted in the GripTight BOA System. By utilizing 3D printing, Leen’s design offers an inexpensive and on-demand solution to a everyday problem. Source(s): 3DPrint.com

Student Invents 3D Printed Baby Bottle

A sad statistic is that worldwide, millions of babies die every year due to complications of preterm birth. Seeking to address one of the primary and visible problems facing preterm births, the challenge of nursing and pumping breast milk, Ravid Koriat Barkan, a recent graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, has designed a new style of feeding system for newborns and premature babies. The FEEDER system was designed specifically for newborns in neonatal intensive care units, and is meant to streamline and improve breast milk collection, storage and delivery to children. The bottle lets caregivers make extremely accurate measurements of the amount of milk to be given a premature baby, which is crucial to a baby’s development and success.

Source(s): 3DPrint.com

MIT Develops 3D Printer Capable of Printing Up to 10 Materials at Once Since Star Trek pioneered the idea of on demand printing for a variety of items, the so called Star Trek Replicator, researchers and sci-fi fanatics have sought to create a similar device. It seems that a group of researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) may have finally succeeded. The team has developed a 3D printer called MultiFab, a vision-assisted multi-material 3D printer capable of printing with 10 different materials within a single build. Not only can the device print a wide variety of material, but it is able to do so in credibly fine detail, with layer heights as small as 13 microns. Source(s): 3DPrint.com

Research Insight of the WeekQuantifying the 3D Printing Landscape

Recent Research Suggest 3D Printing could have an economic impact of

$550 billion A year by 2025

Source: McKinsey, 2014

3D Prints of the WeekShowcasing some of the most interesting applications of 3D Printing, from the amusing to the artistic to the innovative

3D Printed Hearts Aid Baby Heart Surgery

! Researchers in China have turned to 3D printing to replicate a tiny baby heart to aid in training for surgery.

! Chen Chen, a Chinese baby born with five holes in his heart, was saved when doctors scanned and 3D printed a exact replica of the heart to examine and practice on before surgery.

! Since the first surgery on July 3rd, and subsequent July 21st surgery, Chen Chen is recovering and his family have 3D printing to thank for saving his life.

3D Printed Ferrari F1

! Maurizio Casella is a 3D printing designer in Italy who focuses on elaborately crafted vehicles.

! Casella has released his latest's model Ferrari F1 with over 20 different models available for print.

! He has released the 3D files available to personal download, allowing individuals to print their own version of Ferrari’s F1 car.