Category: 3D Printer

X-Bow testing one of its solid fuel rocket engines. Photo via X-Bow.

By KUBI SERTOGLU

X-Bow Launch Systems, a space technology 3D printing company, has exited stealth mode this week.

Originally founded in 2016, the New Mexico-headquartered startup specializes in the development of 3D printed solid fuels and rocket motors and has already created a lineup of small launch vehicles suitable for both orbital and suborbital launches.

Having already secured several contracts with U.S. government organizations, X-Bow’s existing customers include the Air Force Research Lab, AFWERX, Los Alamos National Lab, Sandia National Lab, and the Defense Research Projects Agency(DARPA).

Jason Hundley, CEO of X-Bow, said, “X-Bow is leveraging a unique combination of technologies with an improved manufacturing model to serve existing aerospace markets and enable new ones. Our breakthrough 3D printing technology is positioned to rapidly innovate the solid propulsion and energetics markets just as SpaceX revolutionized the launch market. Our mission is to modernize solid motor production through additive manufacturing while dramatically improving unit economics.”

Continue reading… “X-BOW EXITS STEALTH MODE WITH ITS 3D PRINTED ROCKET ENGINES”

IT TOOK SERENDIX JUST 23 HOURS AND 12 MINUTES TO COMPLETE THE 3D-PRINTED HOUSE

Serendix has completed japan’s first 3D-printed house is just 23 hours and 12 minutes. the japanese company first unveiled the sphere — a 3D-printed home design — in earlier 2021, stating it could be constructed in a day for under 3 million yen (approx. $25.500 USD). a year later, the company has met its goal.

‘the skeleton weighed about 20 tons, and its assembly was completed in 3 hours,’ said the official release. ‘housing construction such as waterproofing and openings was completed in just 23 hours and 12 minutes. as a result, we achieved the development goal of serendix, which was to create a house in 24 hours.’

Continue reading… “japanese company serendix is 3D-printing houses in less than 24 hours”

Artist’s impression of a hypersonic plane.

Ultra-efficient 3D printed catalysts could help solve the challenge of overheating in hypersonic aircraft and offer a revolutionary solution to thermal management across countless industries.

Developed by researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, the highly versatile catalysts are cost-effective to make and simple to scale.

The team’s lab demonstrations show the 3D printed catalysts could potentially be used to power hypersonic flight while simultaneously cooling the system.

The research is published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Chemical Communications.

Lead researcher Dr. Selvakannan Periasamy said their work tackled one of the biggest challenges in the development of hypersonic aircraft: controlling the incredible heat that builds up when planes fly at more than five times the speed of sound.

“Our lab tests show the 3D printed catalysts we’ve developed have great promise for fuelling the future of hypersonic flight,” Periasamy said.

“Powerful and efficient, they offer an exciting potential solution for thermal management in aviation — and beyond.

Continue reading… “Next Gen 3D Printed Catalysts To Propel Hypersonic Flight – Speeds Over 3,800 Mph”

A specialised computer-aided design software enables the surgeons to create a customised prosthesis unique to each patient.

SYDNEY (XINHUA) – Two Australian orthopaedic surgeons have developed a 3D-printing technique to create high-tech ankle replacements.

Dr Tim O’Carrigan and Dr Mustafa Alttahir from the Limb Reconstruction Centre at the Macquarie University said their process provided “life-altering” joint replacements for patients who had suffered traumatic injuries, amputations, deformities, or arthritis.

Their breakthrough is achieved using specialised computer-aided design software which enables the surgeons to create a customised prosthesis unique to each patient.

In contrast, the traditional surgical treatment is ankle fusion, which involves removing the remaining joint cartilage and inserting screws between the bones, so the bones ultimately grow together.

Continue reading… “Australian surgeons turn to 3D printing to restore patients’ ankles”

CONCRETE HAS A HUGE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. USING RECYCLED GLASS COULD HELP CURB THIS.

BY SEYED GHAFFAR MEHDI CHOUGAN AND PAWEL SIKORA 

3D printed concrete may lead to a shift in architecture and construction. Because it can be used to produce new shapes and forms that current technologies struggle with, it may change the centuries-old processes and procedures that are still used to construct buildings, resulting in lower costs and saved time.

However, concrete has a significant environmental impact. Vast quantities of natural sand are currently used to meet the world’s insatiable appetite for concrete, at great cost to the environment. In general, the construction industry struggles with sustainability. It creates around 35% of all landfill waste globally.

Our new research suggests a way to curb this impact. We have trialled using recycled glass as a component of concrete for 3D printing.

Concrete is made of a mix of cement, water, and aggregates such as sand. We trialled replacing up to 100% of the aggregate in the mix with glass. Simply put, glass is produced from sand, is easy to recycle, and can be used to make concrete without any complex processing.ADVERTISEMENT

Demand from the construction industry could also help ensure glass is recycled. In 2018 in the U.S. only a quarter of glass was recycled, with more than half going to landfill.

Continue reading… “Buildings of the future could be fully 3D printed using recycled glass”

House Zero is a collaboration between Icon and prestigious US architecture firm Lake/FlatoCasey Dunn

By Adam Williams

A lot of 3D-printed architecture is focused on creating relatively simple and utilitarian structures that look functional but show little thought paid to aesthetics. However, leading 3D printing firm Icon has joined forces with prestigious studio Lake|Flato to create what they hope will become a new genre of homes that combine the benefits of 3D printing technology with the design chops of high-profile firms.

Originally unveiled back in 2021, House Zero is located in Austin, Texas, and features a modernist ranch style that’s not too dissimilar from Lake|Flato’s previous output. The interior decor is a mixture of 3D-printed curved walls, plus glass, and wood. 

It measures roughly 2,000 sq ft (185 sq m), spread over one floor and includes three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, as well as a kitchen and central living room. Windows and doors have been carefully situated to frame choice views and maximize natural light inside. Additionally, adjacent to the main house is a smaller accessory dwelling unit that has another bedroom and bathroom.

“While the organic nature of the 3D-printed concrete and curved walls are new design languages for us, House Zero was still entirely in line with the natural connections we seek in our architecture,” said Ashley Heeren, associate at Lake|Flato. “The home expresses our shared passions for craft and performance in an inviting and comfortable family home constructed through a totally new way of building. It’s been a thrill for our team to work with Icon on such an innovative home design and be a part of the future of homebuilding.”

Continue reading… “House Zero brings high-end design to 3D-printed architecture”

Launcher conducts a hot fire test for its 3D-printed Engine-2 rocket engine in the E Test Complex at NASA’s Stennis Space Center.

By HAYLEY EVERETT

Chinese start-up SpaceTai has claimed its 3D printing technology is capable of slashing rocket production costs by as much as 80 percent.

Although a relatively new arrival on the space scene, SpaceTai says it can manufacture almost all its rocket parts using its self-developed 3D printers in order to cut costs. 

With its first suborbital test flight slated for 2023, the firm could potentially challenge the likes of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Orbex, Relativity Space, and others leveraging 3D printing in the race to space in years to come. 

Continue reading… “CHINESE START-UP ON A MISSION TO CUT ROCKET PRODUCTION COSTS BY 80% WITH 3D PRINTING”

Spritam, the world’s first FDA-approved 3D printed drug.

By HAYLEY EVERETT 

Researchers at the University of Queensland (UG) have published a new paper exploring 3D printing’s role in the future of personalized medicine for patients.

According to pharmacist, UQ PhD student and lead author of the study Liam Krueger, the technology is refined enough to accurately print specialized dosages onsite in hospitals and pharmacies in coming years. Through the study, the researchers are hoping to accelerate the advancement of 3D printed pharmaceuticals within Australia and beyond.

“3D printing is regularly used in other medical settings such as dentistry to create implants, however the utilization of the technology is lagging in the pharmaceutical space,” said Krueger.

“WITH THIS RESEARCH WE ARE HOPING TO GAIN MORE MOMENTUM FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY WHICH WOULD BE AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FUTURE OF THE AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL LANDSCAPE.”

Continue reading… “UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND INVESTIGATES 3D PRINTING FOR FUTURE OF PERSONALIZED MEDICINE”

by Yusuf Vihaan

3D printed houses bring the benefits of additive manufacturing to the construction space. The material costs incurred by construction 3D printing are usually an order of a magnitude less when compared to conventional methods. This is while we take into account the fact that 3D printing concrete tends to be more expensive than normal construction concrete.

As for labor costs, they drop down basically to the daily wages of at most two or three operators. And that too is for a much shorter length of time as the 3D printed house would be ready for finishing and furnishing in days instead of months.

The cost to build an average sized 3-bedroom house with conventional building methods is from $250,000 to $320,000. Building the same home with 3D printing technology would cost from 20 percent to 40 percent less to build. So that same 3-bedroom house would presumably cost between $140,000 to $240,000 to build with 3D printing technology.

It should be noted at this point, that most construction 3D printers will not build, or 3D print the foundations, nor would the construction 3D printer be of any cost-saving benefit when it comes to roofing the house.

All those things: the roof, the windows, the doors, electrical wiring, paint and finishing – all of these costs remain the same as with a conventional house, as all this fall outside the scope of what a construction 3D printer is capable of.

Continue reading… “The cost of 3D printed houses in 2021”

A diagram showing the team’s 3D bioprinted muscle-tendon up-close.

By PAUL HANAPHY 

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Sichuan University have developed a novel means of 3D bioprinting live human muscle-tendon tissues. 

As opposed to normal extrusion bioprinting, which involves depositing cells along X and Y axes, the team’s ‘cryo-bioprinting’ process sees them frozen and stacked vertically, in a way that allows for the creation of freestanding, mixed-cell tissues.

According to the scientists, their technique also yields tissues that are more robust and versatile than those produced via conventional bioprinting, particularly when it comes to those anisotropic in nature, thus they say it could now find regenerative medicine, drug discovery, or personalized therapeutic applications. 

Continue reading… “LIVE HUMAN TENDON 3D PRINTED BY SCIENTISTS WITH NEW ‘CRYO-BIOPRINTING’”

Insiders and analysts predict the 3D printing trends to watch in our latest series of articles focused on the future of 3D printing.

By KUBI SERTOGLU

Researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) have developed a new method of 3D printing with okara, a byproduct of soybeans created during the production of soy milk and bean curd. The approach is based on the direct ink writing process and is novel in that it requires no thickening agents whatsoever.

Elsewhere, Barcelona-based food tech startup Novameat has developed a new blue 3D printed steak. According to the firm, the vibrant product is the first meat alternative to combine all five kingdoms of classification, with a novel hybrid recipe containing animal cells, plant-based derivatives, fungi, algae, and spirulina.

“We chose the color with the purpose to create a futuristic-looking prototype,” said Guiseppe Scionti, CEO of Novameat. “We wanted to show that there are no limits. With our technology, we are able to create whole cuts and hybrid alternative meat products with a variety of ingredients.” 

Continue reading… “RESEARCHERS DEVELOP NEW OKARA 3D PRINTING METHOD; NOVAMEAT 3D PRINTS BLUE ALGAE-BASED STEAK”