3D Printing
Crawling robot made of sea slug parts and 3D printed body
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have combined tissues from a sea slug with flexible 3D-printed components to build "biohybrid" robots that crawl like sea turtles on the beach. A muscle from the slug's mouth provides the movement, which is currently controlled by an external electrical field. However, future iterations of the device will include ganglia, bundles of neurons and nerves that normally conduct signals to the muscle as th...
Low-cost printable prosthetics aid people in crisis zones
In areas of conflict, people lose their limbs every day due to weapons and mines. Prosthetics could help the victims, but even simple models are unaffordable for most sufferers. Researchers at FAU and Fachhochschule Lübeck are working together on a way to develop custom-fit prosthetics, with the help of 3D scanning and printing, which is simple and inexpensive, yet can be done locally using recycled materials. Their work has now been recogni...
The reported cybersecurity risks in 3D printing
Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly called 3D printing, is a $4 billion business set to quadruple by 2020. One day, manufacturers may print everything from cars to medicines, disrupting centuries-old production practices. The Federal Aviation Administration recently certified the first 3D-printed part for GE commercial jet engines, and companies like Ford Motor Company are using AM to build products and prototypes.
3D printing brings video game characters to life
According to researchers from KU Leuven and iMinds, toys that combine online and offline elements offer many exciting possibilities for young children – and their parents. “The world of children’s toys is changing rapidly,” says Professor Bieke Zaman, research coordinator of the WOOPI project. “Tablet computers, for instance, have become very successful, but children still want to play with something tangible as...
A versatile 3D printer
A new 3D printer, DeltaWASP 3MT has been presented by WASP. WASP started experimenting with chairs printed with plastic pellet. Now WASP is ready to show the DeltaWASP 3MT at Additive Manufacturing Europe 2016 in Amsterdam from 28th to 30th June.
3D printing creates cartilage patches from bioink
Strands of cow cartilage substitute for ink in a 3D bioprinting process that may one day create cartilage patches for worn out joints, according to a team of engineers. "Our goal is to create tissue that can be used to replace large amounts of worn out tissue or design patches," said Ibrahim T. Ozbolat, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics. "Those who have osteoarthritis in their joints suffer a lot. We need a new alternative ...
3D printing techniques become more accessible
A method of 3D printing created by Computer Science Professors Michael Jones and Kevin Seppi removes the amount of skill required to design an object for 3D printing. The approach uses clay for modeling the basic shape of the desired object around blocks or "blanks" that represent the interactive buttons, knobs, or sliders that will make the object functional.
Hair-like structures can be produced with 3D printer
Researchers in MIT's Media Lab have found a way to bypass a major design step in 3D printing, to quickly and efficiently model and print thousands of hair-like structures. Instead of using conventional CAD software to draw thousands of individual hairs on a computer—a step that would take hours to compute—the team built a software platform, called "Cilllia," that lets users define the angle, thickness, density, and height of thousands...
3D-printed polymer turns methane into methanol
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have combined biology and 3D printing to create the first reactor that can continuously produce methanol from methane at room temperature and pressure. The team removed enzymes from methanotrophs, bacteria that eat methane, and mixed them with polymers that they printed or molded into innovative reactors. The research, which could lead to more efficient conversion of methane to ener...
Computrol triples inspection capability
Computrol has purchased three KY-8030-3 in-line, fully automated SPI systems from Koh Young Technology. The KY-8030-3 uses patented Koh Young shadow-free inspection technology and software to deliver 100 percent 3D inspection of solder paste.