via GregEnslen.com | Tech Corner with Greg Enslen, 05/08/13: 3D Printing Part 2: A few weeks ago I touched on the emerging technology of 3-D printing, the creation of physical objects using a desktop machine to “print” the object. I found a few more cool projects:
3-D Printing Primer
Manufacturers often create prototypes or small models of different parts for testing or before scaling up to production. Often these models and prototypes have to be created somewhere else — CAD (computer aided design) files are created and sent to the manufacturer, who creates the prototype part and ships it back.
3-D printing is starting to change all of that. Over the past few years, desktop 3-D printing has really started to take off, growing out of a “do it yourself” DIY culture of creating things in workshops or in small studios. Now, with the advent of cheaper 3-D printers, small companies (and large) can “print” parts and create small objects and prototypes on-site in a short time.
Fascinating Projects
Projects and printing efforts are growing quickly as machines become cheaper and more easily available. Here are a few interesting projects, several of which I found from reading www.dvice.com:
International Space Station
Why fly replacement parts up to the space station when they could just print them out themselves? Made in Space, a 3D printer company based in Moffett Field, California, has been working for three years to perfect 3D printers capable of working in microgravity. They’ve tested their printer by flying parabolas, airplane flights that simulate zero gravity. According to CTO Jason Dunn, Made in Space will fly the first 3D printer in space next year aboard a SpaceX Dragon freighter, which will deliver it for use by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Dunn told attendees at the Space Hacker Workshop in Mountain View, Calif., that this will be the first time that humans will conduct manufacturing operations off the Earth. The 3-D machine will allow astronauts to print parts and components on orbit instead of having to ship them up from Earth. For more information, see http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/05/04/made-in-space-to-fly-3d-printer-to-iss-next-year/
Printed Skull
Oxford Performance Materials, located in Connecticut, recently recreated the missing portion of a patient’s skull by printing out a replacement. “3D printing technology has helped replace 75 percent of a patient’s skull with the approval of U.S. regulators. The 3D-printed implant can replace the bone in people’s skulls damaged by disease or trauma,” according to Oxford Performance Materials. The first U.S. surgical operation took place on March 4. For more information, see http://www.oxfordpm.com/news/article/2013-03-06_3d-printed_skull_implant_ready_for_operation
Emma’s “Magic Arms”
Any new technology could use a heart-warming story, and the story of Emma and her “magic arms” goes a long way to explaining the potential for the technology. Emma was born with arthrogryposis, a condition that means she can not move her arms on her own. A traditional prosthetic would have been quickly outgrown, so researchers created “magic arms” for her using 3D printing – her prosthetic arm supports can be easily made longer and continue to support her mobility by replacing portions of the prosthetic with new, printed components. For more information, see the study at http://www.stratasys.com/resources/case-studies/medical/nemours
Kidneys
From the TED website: “Surgeon Anthony Atala demonstrates an early-stage experiment that could someday solve the organ-donor problem: a 3D printer that uses living cells to output a transplantable kidney. Using similar technology, Dr. Atala’s young patient Luke Massella received an engineered bladder 10 years ago; we meet him onstage.” See http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html
Bioprinters and “Bio Ink”
Researchers in Iowa are developing a “bio ink” that can be used to print human organs. “One of the most promising research activities is bioprinting a glucose-sensitive pancreatic organ that can be grown in a lab and transplanted anywhere inside the body to regulate the glucose level of blood,” says AMTecH co-director Ibrahim Ozbolat, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering. See http://phys.org/news/2013-03-3d-printer-bio-ink-human-video.html
Next Time
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via GregEnslen.com | Tech Corner with Greg Enslen, 05/08/13: 3D Printing Part 2.
