3D Printer – Page 25

3D Printer, Architecture, Engineering, new technology, Science & Technology News

How to 3D print a bicycle bridge? Study discusses Dutch concrete printing project

September 6, 2018

In 2017, the world’s first prestressed 3D printed concrete bicycle bridge officially opened to cyclists. It was created by the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in collaboration with construction company BAM Infra, and was installed in the Dutch village of Gemert. The bridge was part of a research project that involved the development of a giant concrete 3D printer, and now the researchers involved have published a paper on the project, entitled “3D Printed Concrete Bridge.”

The bridge was designed to replace an existing structure over a small local canal. The structure is 3.5 meters wide and spans 6.5 meters. It consists of 3D printed elements that are rotated 90 degrees after printing, then pressed together by post-tensioned prestressing tendons.

Continue reading… “How to 3D print a bicycle bridge? Study discusses Dutch concrete printing project”

3D Printer, Automation, cutting edge, Home Technology

Research team develops the world’s first-ever 4-D printing for ceramics

September 2, 2018

A research team at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has achieved a groundbreaking advancement in materials research by successfully developing the world’s first 4-D printing for ceramics, which are mechanically robust and can have complex shapes. This could turn a new page in the structural application of ceramics.

Ceramic has a high melting point, so it is difficult to use conventional laser printing to make ceramics. The existing 3-D-printed ceramic precursors, which are usually difficult to deform, also hinder the production of ceramics with complex shapes. To overcome these challenges, the CityU team has developed a novel “ceramic ink,” which is a mixture of polymers and ceramic nanoparticles. The 3-D-printed ceramic precursors printed with this novel ink are soft and can be stretched three times beyond their initial length. These flexible and stretchable ceramic precursors allow complex shapes, such as origami folding. With proper heat treatment, ceramics with complex shapes can be made.

Continue reading… “Research team develops the world’s first-ever 4-D printing for ceramics”

3D Printer, Analysis, Biotech, cutting edge, Healthcare, Medicine

CDC uses HP bioprinters to speed up testing for new antibiotics

September 1, 2018

The pilot will help test effectiveness against superbugs.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is turning to some bleeding edge tech in its bid to stamp out drug-resistant ‘superbug’ bacteria. It’s buying a slew of HP bioprinters (the D300e you see above) as part of a pilot program that could speed up the testing of more effective antibiotics. The machines will give regional labs in New York, Minnesota, Tennessee and Wisconsin their first shot at printing drug samples used for developing and running antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Hospitals won’t have to wait for testing or else risk mistakes like overusing drugs.

The testing will start at CDC’s regional labs in the first quarter of HP’s fiscal 2019 (between November and January). Its initial focus is on widely resistant bacteria. And HP won’t be done once th e bioprinters are in the Center’s hands. HP will help the CDC study the success of the pilot, tweak it if needed, and explore the possibility of wider-scale printer uses if the test proves successful. This may become an instrumental part of fighting superbugs if all goes smoothly.

Via Engadget

3D Printer, Automation, Housing, Military, Science & Technology News

The Marines 3D printed a concrete barracks

August 31, 2018

Letting robots do construction jobs on the battlefield frees Marines to fight.

Forging ahead with plans to have robots do “dull, dangerous and dirty” jobs, the U.S. Marine Corps used a 3D printer to create a barracks building out of concrete. The process, which took less than two days, created a hardened living space capable of resisting enemy fire, a real improvement over canvas and nylon tents.

The U.S. Marine Corps moves around a lot, deploying worldwide, often to dusty, remote locations for months at a time. As a consequence, they tend to build a lot of housing for themselves, and it takes a team of ten Marines five days to build a barracks from wood. Not only is construction dangerous, it also prevents those ten Marines from doing other things during those five days.

Continue reading… “The Marines 3D printed a concrete barracks”

3D Printer, Healthcare, Medical Breakthrough

3D-printed nerve stem cells could help patch up spinal cord injuries

August 14, 2018

A 3D-printed device, loaded with neuronal stem cells, that can be implanted into an injured spinal cord to help “bridge” the damage,

Spinal injuries can be like downed power lines – even if everything on either side of the injury is perfectly functional, the break can effectively shut down the whole system. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota have designed a device that could link everything back together again. A silicone guide, covered in 3D-printed neuronal stem cells, can be implanted into the injury site, where it grows new connections between remaining nerves to let patients regain some motor control.

Continue reading… “3D-printed nerve stem cells could help patch up spinal cord injuries”

3D Printer, Architecture, Housing, NASA

Here’s what NASA thinks Mars houses could look like

August 3, 2018

They’ve awarded cash prizes as part of an ongoing competition.

NASA has selected five winners in an ongoing contest it has been running to get smart ideas about how to build a 3d-printed habitat on Mars.

The winners have passed level one of the 3D-Printed Habitat Centennial Challenge, which required developing about 60 percent of the design. Level Two will require greater complexity with 100 percent completion and an understanding of the hydraulics of each build. The teams will then create virtual structures and, on April 29, build them for real on the campus of Bradley University in Peoria, Ill.

The teams have different approaches and their video entries reflect that. First-place Team Zopherus, for example, highlights the autonomous robots that build out their modular structures. Using the Martian soil, their robots would build structures from the ground up.

Continue reading… “Here’s what NASA thinks Mars houses could look like”

3D Printer, Business, Clothing, Shopping

Adidas’ vision for the future: Personalization, fast

July 23, 2018

Adidas unveils new 3D printed sneaker.

For all but the most elite athletes, buying athletic shoes can be hit or miss: Go to the store, find something you like, and try it on. If it doesn’t feel quite right, too bad. Try another shoe.

Adidas sees a future where motion capture tech, data analysis software, and 3D printing come together in the store to create a pair of kicks tailored to your exact needs. One foot slightly smaller than the other? No problem. You overpronate? Don’t worry about it. Technology will provide the perfect shoe.

All of the big shoe companies are racing toward that goal. Adidas offered a glimpse of how that might happen when it brought its pop-up Speedfactory Lab Experience to Brooklyn, New York.

Continue reading… “Adidas’ vision for the future: Personalization, fast”

3D Printer, Big Problems, Hot Issues, Legal Issues

3D printed guns are now legal… What’s next?

July 19, 2018

On Tuesday, July 10, the DOJ announced a landmark settlement with Austin-based Defense Distributed, a controversial startup led by a young, charismatic anarchist whom Wired once named one of the 15 most dangerous people in the world.

Hyper-loquacious and media-savvy, Cody Wilson is fond of telling any reporter who’ll listen that Defense Distributed’s main product, a gun fabricator called the Ghost Gunner, represents the endgame for gun control, not just in the US but everywhere in the world. With nothing but the Ghost Gunner, an internet connection, and some raw materials, anyone, anywhere can make an unmarked, untraceable gun in their home or garage. Even if Wilson is wrong that the gun control wars are effectively over (and I believe he is), Tuesday’s ruling has fundamentally changed them.

Continue reading… “3D printed guns are now legal… What’s next?”

3D Printer, Biotech, Medical Breakthrough

Scientists can 3D print human heart tissue now. The future is here

July 10, 2018

Long term, the goal of 3D bioprinting is to be able to 3D print fully functioning organs which can be used to replace the failing biological organs of humans in need of a transplant. That may still be years off, but Chicago-based biotech startup Biolife4D this week announced a major new milestone: Its ability to bioprint human cardiac tissue.

The scientific landmark followed shortly after the company opened a new research facility in Houston. It involved the printing of a human cardiac patch, containing multiple cell types which make up the human heart. It could one day be used to help treat patients who have suffered acute heart failure in order to restore lost myocardial contractility, the ability of the heart to generate force for pumping blood around the body.

Continue reading… “Scientists can 3D print human heart tissue now. The future is here”

3D Printer, Big Problems, Engineering, Green Friendly, Home Technology

Can 3D printed homes solve the urban housing crisis?

July 4, 2018

Building houses is massively wasteful. During the construction process, building projects accumulate giant piles of garbage from off-cuts of lumber and drywall to pallets that carry materials and the packaging they come in. And once operating, homes consume huge amounts of energy.

“It turns out if you triage the world and you ask where are all these ecological health issues coming from, you get a surprising answer,” Jason Ballard, co-founder and president of ICON, says. “It’s not the gas guzzling SUVs and private jets; it’s buildings, especially homes. They are the number one consumer of energy by sector and the number two user of water.”

Continue reading… “Can 3D printed homes solve the urban housing crisis?”

3D Printer, Healthcare, Medical Breakthrough

Researchers create the first 3D-printed corneas

June 2, 2018

Researchers at Newcastle University have been able to 3D-print a biocompatible corneal framework using a new gel formulations that “keeps the stem cells alive whilst producing a material which is stiff enough to hold its shape but soft enough to be squeezed out the nozzle of a 3D printer.”

There is a significant shortage of corneas available to transplant, with 10 million people worldwide requiring surgery to prevent corneal blindness as a result of diseases such as trachoma, an infectious eye disorder,” wrote the researchers. “In addition, almost 5 million people suffer total blindness due to corneal scarring caused by burns, lacerations, abrasion or disease.”

Continue reading… “Researchers create the first 3D-printed corneas”

3D Printer, Driverless vehicles, Electric Vehicles

3D-printed, driverless boats developed

May 28, 2018

The autonomous boats offer high maneuverability and precise control. They can be built using low-cost printer, making mass manufacturing more feasible.

MIT scientists have designed a fleet of 3D-printed, driverless boats that could ferry goods and people, helping clear up road congestion in waterway-rich cities such as Amsterdam, Bangkok and Venice – where canals run alongside and under bustling streets and bridges.

Continue reading… “3D-printed, driverless boats developed”