It feels like it was just the New Year, but it’s already almost the Fourth of July, aka Independence Day, aka an excuse to eat and drink a lot and blow things up! And just like any other holiday, it’s an excuse to 3D print some cool stuff. Whether you’re throwing a party, attending a party, watching fireworks from your roof, just listening to Hamilton, or celebrating some other way, there’s probably something out there in the network of 3D model platforms to make your day a little bit more festive. To help you out, we’ve pulled out a few of them to highlight for you as you get ready for Tuesday.

It wouldn’t be an American holiday without a nice, patriotic bald eagle. This Eagle Statue from Cults was designed by MakePrintable, and it’s an easy 3D print – no supports required, according to the designers. Proudly perched on a starry platform and screeching, this eagle represents our country well. You can paint him to look like a real bald eagle, or red, white and blue for extra patriotism.

The Fourth of July means stars, rockets, and pretty lights, all of which are represented by these 4th of July Patio Lights, designed by Filabot. The company 3D printed them with recycled filament from a Filabot, naturally, but any translucent filament (that can safely handle being close to lights) will make these lights glow nicely. According to Filabot, they were designed to fit IKEA SKRUV patio lights, but can be modified to fit any string lights.

Need some beer coozies? Of course you do, it’s the Fourth of July. This 4th of July American Flag Coozie – Pencil/Sharpie Holder serves a dual purpose – to hold your beer (or soda, if you’re into that kind of thing) or to hold your Sharpies so that you can easily write your name on your cup of beer. Speaking of Sharpies, designer UrbanAtWork used Sharpies to color it in, which looks like it worked nicely, so if you don’t have a multicolor 3D printer, it should be easy to color all the same.

3D print America! Or, at least, the Lower 48 States. According to designer anewsome, what started as an experiment to see if a line drawing could be 3D printed turned into a big Fourth of July hit. Put this USA outline on a chain and wear it as a necklace, or hang several of them around the house – they could probably even be used as coasters, albeit slightly precarious ones.

Another bald eagle – and this one will open your beer for you! Please don’t try to bite the cap off your non-twist-off beverage; this Bald Eagle Bottle Opener from designer warpaint will do it for you, and will look appropriately fierce while doing so. You may want to use strong filament and/or reinforce the beak to be sure this proud national icon is strong enough to stand up to your festivities.

Every holiday needs sun funglasses! I mean fun sunglasses. These Star Shutter Shades from XYZprinting might not block out all of the sun, but they’re neat-looking, and people will make jokes all day about you being starry-eyed.

This BIOT Hand Prosthesis by designer BiomecanicaIOT looks pretty amazing, but I’m a bit disturbed that it came up under a Fourth of July search. Please be careful with fireworks, friends.

Be safe, and have a happy holiday!

On this last day of June, we will be covering everything from research to business and 3D software in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. EarthShift Global and HP recently presented at a conference about the economic, environmental, and social impacts of advanced 3D printing technologies, while a Penn State student finished third in a national manufacturing challenge and the University of Pittsburgh received a grant for collaborative 3D printing research into advancing nuclear technology. KIST researchers published a paper about the use of 3D printing technology in rhinoplasty, and Computer Aided Technology LLC entered a partnership with Desktop Metal. Finally, Sigma Labs has delivered its PrintRite3D software to Honeywell Aerospace.

EarthShift Global and HP Present on 3D Printing Impacts at ISIE/ISSST

At the recent International Society for Industrial Ecology/International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISIE/ISSST) conference, representatives from EarthShift Global and HP Inc. presented on the economic, environmental, and social impacts of advancing 3D printing technologies. The two reported on third-party-reviewed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of HP’s Indigo 20000 Digital Press printing system and its Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology.

Lise Laurin, founder and CEO of EarthShift Global, said, “In its product development process, HP has shown a commitment to helping its customers, and customers’ customers, perform better on environmental and social metrics. By the time the Indigo study had been peer-reviewed, HP had already begun implementing some of the recommendations. These efforts will have worldwide impact across thousands of product lines, and exemplify private-sector leadership in sustainability. We’re proud to collaborate with them.”

Presentations included:

Penn State Graduate Student Finishes Third in NIST Challenge

Vittal Prabu (second from left) and Rakshith Badarinath (far right)

Rakshith Badarinath, a native of India and an industrial engineering graduate student at Penn State University, and his advisor, Professor Vittal Prabhu, recently placed third, and won a $500 prize, in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Reusable Abstractions of Manufacturing Processes (RAMP) Challenge. Participants were tasked with giving manufacturers models that will protect the environment, improve operations, and allow information to be shared, while also integrating them into working systems; in their proposals, they also had to use the ASTM Standard Guide for Characterizing Environmental Aspects of Manufacturing Processes. Badarinath and Prabhu addressed the need for process models in additive manufacturing, focusing on fused deposition modeling (FDM), in their entry, titled “Modeling for Fused Filament Fabrication Additive Manufacturing Process.”

Prabhu explained, “Even though FDM is one of the most widely used 3D printing technologies, the process science isn’t well explored yet and that was the motivation (for the RAMP proposal). We looked at the engineering science for the physics of this 3D printing process in our model to make the process smarter in the future.”

Badarinath and Prabhu are also using the technology on a larger project that will allow manufacturing companies to have a robot 3D print parts, instead of buying a commercial printer; they are retrofitting the ABB robots in Penn State’s Factory for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) with hardware, so the robots can hold nozzles and use FDM technology to 3D print parts.

Department of Energy Gives Collaborative Research Grant to University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Kevin Chen

Staying in Pennsylvania for this next story, the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering will receive a $1.275 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DoE) for collaborative research with the MIT Reactor Laboratory, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The grant, from the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) program with the DoE’s Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP), is part of a $66 million DoE award to advance nuclear technologies. The research will center around fabricating optic sensors, using advanced laser fabrication and additive manufacturing techniques, and according to the DoE funding report, the collaborative research group will develop distributed fiber sensors and high-temperature stable point sensors that can be used for high spatial resolution measurements in radiation-hardened silica and sapphire fibers. The university’s Paul E. Lego Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kevin Chen, will lead the study to develop multi-functional, radiation-hard distributed fiber sensors, and sensor-infused components that can be used to improve efficiency and safety after being place in a nuclear reactor core.

“This NEET grant will allow our lab to continue its partnerships with leading technological companies and national laboratories to develop solutions to some of the most pressing issues affecting nuclear energy production,” said Dr. Chen. “Advances in sensor technology can greatly enhance the sensitivity and resolution of data in harsh environments like a nuclear reaction, thereby improving safety operations.”

KIST Paper Researches 3D Technology Usage in Rhinoplasty

Researchers in Korea recently published a paper in Aesthetic Surgery Journal, titled “Patient-Specific Augmentation Rhinoplasty Using a Three-Dimensional Simulation Program and Three-Dimensional Printing,” with the objective of validating the feasibility of a 3D carving simulation and patient-specific implant 3D fabrication system in a clinical trial with reproducibility tests; co-authors include EunSoo Park, MD, PhD and Yim Don Choi, MD, with the Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital Bucheon, and Youngjun Kim, PhD, with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

The background for the paper reads, “The convergence of three-dimensional (3D) simulation, tissue engineering, and 3D printing technology is creating a paradigm shift in plastic surgery. In augmentation rhinoplasty, determining the ideal material and design method has been a critical issue for many years. Thus, these technologies are expected to make important contributions to augmentation rhinoplasty.”

The researchers designed patient-specific implants, using an in-house program with preoperative computed tomography (CT), and then 3D printed negative molds of the implants, later injecting silicone into the molds. Ten implants were 3D printed and then compared with implants that had been virtually designed, with a total of seven patients undergoing surgery and a postoperative CT to confirm the position of the implants. The paper concluded that a 3D carving system does help rhinoplasty by allowing for a quicker, more rapid and intuitive fabrication of implants.

Desktop Metal Names Computer Aided Technology LLC a Diamond Partner

Professional product development solutions provider Computer Aided Technology, LLC (CATI) is now a Diamond Partner of Desktop Metal, which can now make metal 3D printing affordable and office-friendly for the first time. CATI’s portfolio includes solutions for other big names in the industry, like SOLIDWORKS, Dassault Systèmes, and Stratasys, and with this new partnership, the company can add Desktop Metal’s Production System and Studio System, both of which are available to reserve; the Production Systems are expected to ship in 2018, while the Studio Systems should begin shipping this September.

“We’ve heard from our clients over the past few years about their interest in Metal 3D Printing. Until now, there wasn’t a solution on the market we could stand behind to meet our client’s needs. Current metal systems require shop floor environments, carry high costs, are slow processes, and use hazardous materials,” said Rich Werneth, President of CATI. “Now, with Desktop Metal, Metal 3D Printing is just as safe, easy, and affordable as our FDM and PolyJet counterparts from Stratasys.”

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Sigma Labs Installs PrintRite3D INSPECT Software at Honeywell Aerospace

In connection with its participation in the DARPA-sponsored Period III Open Manufacturing Program, Sigma Labs announced this week that it had installed its quality assurance PrintRite3D INSPECT software Version 2.0 at Honeywell Aerospace‘s Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Center in Phoenix; Honeywell is leading the DARPA program. The software is available as a cloud-based API platform, and offers web-based access to metal 3D printers, so users can monitor the machines and record the build sequence.

“We are delighted to be working with Honeywell Aerospace who continues to be a leader in metal AM space,” said Mark Cola, President and CEO of Sigma Labs. “Honeywell, in particular, has taken a leadership position in developing and furthering the use of in-process monitoring for metal AM through the DARPA-sponsored program.”

With less than 24 hours left in its Kickstarter campaign, the BlackBelt 3D printer has raised close to twice its funding goal. It was a good crowdfunding run, reaching its goal in only 15 minutes, and soon rewards will begin shipping to backers. The popularity of the BlackBelt isn’t surprising. It’s an exciting concept: a 3D printer that prints on a conveyor belt for parts of unlimited length. The conveyor belt 3D printer idea seems to be building popularity in the 3D printing world lately; while it isn’t a new idea — MakerBot toyed with the idea in 2010; Andreas Bastian’s Lum Printer was developed in early 2014 — 3D printers built around the tech are starting to pick up this year. Teased recently on social media and debuting today, Printrbot and Polar3D have teamed up to develop a new 3D printer called the Printrbelt, and although it’s compact, its build size is extensive.

The Printrbelt features a conveyor belt as a build platform, enabling a build area of 6″ x 6″ by “Infinite Z,” as Printrbot calls it. The 3D printer’s dimensions are small, at 16″ x 24″ x 16″ and only 19 lbs, but the conveyor belt allows for the printing of objects of any length — and any number. Once a part has finished printing, it simply drops off the end of the belt, making room for the next object, so that the user can print continuously.

Polar3D developed its own conveyor belt 3D printer recently called the Polar3D Flash, which you can see at work in the video below:

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While the Flash seems to be still in the prototyping stage, Polar3D contacted Printrbot and asked if they wanted to develop their own conveyor belt-style 3D printer, for which Polar3D would supply the cloud-based software. Printrbot responded with enthusiasm, and worked overtime to develop what would become the Printrbelt.

“Our cloud platform allows you to have a single printer that takes the place of many, many, many printers. So instead of having a whole slew of printers printing all your parts, you can send all the jobs to the print queue for the Printrbelt, and it will print all of them successively,” explains Bill Steele of Polar3D.

The Printrbelt is the latest example of a 3D printer that’s designed for batch production, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see evenmore conveyor belt-based 3D printers pop up in the near future. The question on manufacturers’ minds right now is “How can 3D printing better compete with traditional manufacturing techniques?” and we’re seeing a trend towards more automated 3D printing as a result — whether it’s through robotics or through newly reimagined 3D printer designs.

The Printrbelt prints at a speed of 30 to 60 mm per second, with a recommended layer height of 0.2 mm. The conveyor belt itself is made from stainless steel covered in Kapton, and the printer prints with 1.75 mm PLA.

You can purchase the Printrbelt from Printrbot’s site. Normally, it will retail for $1,999, but it’s currently on sale for $1,699.15. Printrbot will be fabricating the machines one at a time and shipping them in order, starting in two weeks; after a few more weeks’ time, they plan to ramp up production until lead time drops to the next day. So it could be a while before your printer arrives, just as a forewarning — but if you want to take advantage of the sale, order now. Printrbot is also running a general Fourth of July sale – everything is 15% off until July 4th at midnight PST.

See the Printrbelt in action below:

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Mike LePage, with another of his 3D printed designs.

Talented designer Mike Le Page has returned with a fascinating new piece of work in the Mockingjay. This 3D printed bird represents a deep evolution from a project we saw early last year, which many of you may remember as the Dove (featuring 29 3D printed parts, as well as moving wings).

When we last heard from Le Page last spring, he had started a Patreon campaign — with high hopes, as he told us.

“Unfortunately in the end I discontinued the campaign because I was spending more effort creating the videos for the campaign than I was doing actual design, and aside from a few friends I wasn’t gaining much traction. Also, I took some time away from designing to finish my PhD in Immunogenetics, so that was another half a year,” he updates 3DPrint.com.

The busy Australian designer enjoys having a story behind his work. With the Dove, Le Page was inspired by its symbolism for peace in 2014, especially as fighting ensued in Crimea and Syria. He enjoys artwork that means something to him on more than one level, and with his latest—many will immediately understand the inspiration behind the name.

As a fan of The Hunger Games trilogy, authored by Suzanne Collins, Le Page has chosen to re-create a symbol of intelligence and resistance in his latest, complex 3D print. The artist points out that in the series, Katniss Everdeen was nicknamed ‘the Mockingjay,’ acting as a revolutionary figure in a grim world taken over by an oppressive government.

Again, engineering the realistic flapping motion of the bird was one of the greatest challenges. For Mockingjay, Le Page relied on SLS 3D printing of the 14-piece assembly, via Shapeways. Mockingjay’s design allows for it to emerge from the 3D printer completely assembled, with the wings ready to move as if in flight.

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Speaking of his previous 3D Dove model, Le Page told 3DPrint.com that while it was a great project, he has progressed with Mockingjay, which represents a complete redesign from scratch of his work with the previous bird model. In this project he completely changed the inner mechanisms “so it could operate from a crank or hobby motor.”

Le Page also divided the main mechanism from the feathers. In the Mockingjay 3D print, all of the feathers are separate attachments which simply snap into place. If you check out the videos included here, you can see exactly how Le Page puts the bird together. He points out that with this 3D print, numerous color combinations can also be used. One of Le Page’s friends, Richie Robertson, was quite impressed with his latest work and said to the designer:

“These examples in design show how you think… the keenness of observation and the wisdom of engineering principles… combined perfectly in a creative mind with an open design space… without confinements of traditional manufacture. I wonder, what’s next?”

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The Mockingjay is not meant just to serve as a symbol either. LePage ultimately hopes to see the lightweight bird, weighing only 37 grams, used as a drone, actually able to fly—whether sending messages and items, or perhaps even confidential files.

“I’ve designed it in such a way that it can be driven by a hobby motor, and together with the increasing availability of 3D printing, it’s something that could potentially be a device that anyone could make by themselves, and use to send information to people locally, essentially making them modern-day carrier pigeons,” Le Page told 3DPrint.com.

“If everyone had a drone that flew by flapping flight, I think it’s possible that instead of using the internet, we might send our large, confidential files by putting memory sticks on a drone. I say this because with the rise of hacking, malware and ransom ware, as well is privacy invasion by governments/social media corporations, it’s not inconceivable that the internet might not be the preferred way to send information locally, especially if it continues the trend away from being open and free.”

That’s definitely an interesting new twist! Just imagine a Mockingjay arriving at your doorstep, delivering an important message. As Le Page points out, in the future everyone will probably have their own 3D printers and should easily be able to fabricate their own flying bird/drones.

“Obviously there’s a lot of work yet to do, on a drone which (disclaimer!) does not fly,” he told us. “But if people want to support me to achieve this aspiration, they can buy a copy of this prototype from my Shapeways shopfront, have a demo of the cool abilities of 3D printing, and hopefully help create a hedge against the rise of authoritarian governments seen in the Hunger Games.”

You can also find out more about Mike Le Page on his Facebook page, which is full of his colorful designs, videos, tutorials, and more.

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Most people, by now, have at least heard about 3D printed houses and other structures. They’re not exactly commonplace, yet, and they’re still amazing to think about and to see, but they’re not as unbelievable as they were a very short time ago. The DFAB House, however, is something different. The three-story structure, which is being built by professors at ETH Zurich along with several business partners, is a showcase of multiple digital technologies developed at the university. According to ETH Zurich, the DFAB House will be the first house to be designed, planned and built using almost entirely digital processes – a wide variety of them.

Construction on the three-story, 200-square-meter building is taking place at NEST, the modular research and innovation building on Empa and Eawag’s campus in Dübendorf, Switzerland. NEST was built as a center for testing new building and energy technologies in real-life conditions. A central support structure with three open platforms allows for individual construction projects, or innovation units, to take place on location. Recently, construction began on the DFAB House, which will serve as a residence and workspace for Empa and Eawag researchers and NEST partners upon completion. The project is part of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication, a national initiative focused on the development and implementation of digital technology in construction.

A computer-generated rendering of the DFAB House

Eight professors from ETH Zurich are working on the project in the hopes of exploring how digital technologies can make construction more sustainable and efficient, as well as increasing its design potential. ETH Zurich has become well-known for its advanced design and construction techniques, and several of those techniques are going to be tested in the real world for the first time in the production of the DFAB House.

Mesh Mold is a technology that won an ETH Zurich team the Swiss Technology Award at the end of 2016, and it’s now playing a large role in the construction of the DFAB House. A robot, known as In situ Fabricator, will move autonomously on caterpillar tracks, creating a formwork of steel wire mesh that will also serve as reinforcement for concrete. Densely woven together, the mesh holds the concrete in place until it hardens and creates a strong, double-curved, load-bearing wall. Those walls will be part of the ground floor, which has been designed as an open plan living and working area.

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The ceiling will be composed of a Smart Slab, the formwork for which will be 3D printed from sand. The ground floor façade will be produced using Smart Dynamic Casting, an automated robotic slip-forming process that produces bespoke concrete façade mullions without the need for individual formwork. Finally, the two upper floors, which will have separate rooms unlike the ground floor, are being fabricated using a technique called Spatial Timber Assemblies, which involves robotic assembly of timber elements. That process will take place at ETH Zurich’s Robotic Fabrication Laboratory.

“Unlike construction projects that use only a single digital building technology, such as 3D printed houses, the DFAB HOUSE brings a range of new digital building technologies together,” said Matthias Kohler, Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication, founder of NCCR Digital Fabrication, and initiator of the DFAB House project. “This allows us to use the advantages of each individual method as well as their synergies, and express them architecturally.”

ETH Zurich professors involved in the DFAB House project include:

• Matthias Kohler, Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication
• Fabio Gramazio, Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication
• Benjamin Dillenburger, Chair for Digital Building Technologies
• Joseph Schwartz, Chair of Structural Design
• Robert Flatt, Institute for Building Materials
• Walter Kaufmann, Institute of Structural Engineering
• Guillaume Habert, Institute of Construction & Infrastructure Management
• Jonas Buchli, Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems

These professors have all been part of the development of the digital construction methods being used to build the DFAB House, as part of NCCR Digital Fabrication. Partnerships between different scientific disciplines, as well as between research and industry, have helped bring these technologies from the research lab to the construction site.

[Image: Empa]

“We are convinced that this collaboration is worthwhile for both sides. An increasing number of Swiss companies, such as Erne AG Holzbau, which is the general contractor for the DFAB HOUSE and was previously involved in building the Arch_Tec_Lab at ETH Zurich, want to proactively use the opportunities of digital technologies – something that gives us great pleasure,” said Kohler.

The DFAB House is expected to be inhabited by summer of 2018, but the digital technology innovation doesn’t end there. Led by digitalSTROM and including input from several other Swiss companies, an initiative will be undertaken to make the house a smart home, with several Internet of Things technologies being tested. It will include systems and devices that communicate with each other and can learn, and which will work to make the building more energy efficient and comfortable.

[Source:

/ Images: NCCR Digital Fabrication]

Devin Willis

Whoever said that kids are the future was pretty smart. Now that 3D printing technology is much more readily available in schools, libraries, and makerspaces, we’re seeing young, innovative minds making waves in many areas with their creative and sometimes life-changing ideas. We’ve recently heard about 13-year-old 3D printing fashion designer Ariel and 10-year-old 3D Hub owner Calramon, for example; now I’d like to introduce you to 14-year-old Devin Willis, whose groundbreaking 3D printing and robotics invention could potentially save a lot of lives. The Florida teenager from Boca Raton developed a machine that could help improve the early detection and diagnosis of cancerous tumors.

The A.D. Henderson University School freshman is a top 10 finalist in the Discovery Education and 3M Young Scientist Challenge, which recognizes students in grades 5-8 who develop inventions and ideas that can help solve issues around the world, and Willis’ cancer detection invention, which he actually thought up at the age of 11, certainly fits the bill.

“A few years ago my grandfather died from lung cancer,” Willis explained. “And my dad is a cancer researcher. And I do a lot of robotics. So I wanted to help solve that problem.”

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His SLIDEMAP machine combines computer programming, a low-cost robotics platform, and 3D printing technology. Willis created special computer algorithms that can determine if a tumor is benign or cancerous – it basically automates and simplifies the tedious work of cancer-detecting pathologists, or histopathologists, who spend all day studying slides of tumors. So the machine will be able to increase not only the speed, but also the accuracy of cancer diagnoses.

Willis explained, “I’m getting the video stream from this microscope camera. And it’s connected to this computer. It would take multiple images and then stitch those images together — basically auto-detect what a pathologist would find in a tissue sample — and give them a map on where to look on the slide.”

Willis has been building the invention from scratch since he was in the sixth grade – he completed all of the electrical work, mechanical work, and the computer programming. He beat out thousands of other students from around the country to make it to the top 10 of the Young Scientist Challenge; the judges chose his invention based on criteria such as creativity, scientific knowledge, and effective communication.

If he wins, he’ll get a $25,000 prize and, perhaps most importantly, a coveted spot among actual cancer research scientists; pretty impressive for a 14-year-old, not to mention one who’s also attending school and working as a summer camp instructor. But he says that all of his hard work is worth it.

“I think what stands out most of all is his tenacity,” said Joel Herbst, Devin’s mentor and assistant dean at Florida Atlantic University‘s (FAU) College of Education. “It’s been an ongoing project and even when he has hit barriers or failed during the process he continues to pick himself up and find different solutions.”

Herbst’s daughter, also an A.D. Henderson student, won the Young Scientists challenge back in 2015, so this actually marks the first time in the history of the 3M competition that two finalists have come from the same school.

What makes the SLIDEMAP even more impressive is its cost: most cancer detection machines run around $250,000, but the SLIDEMAP, at only $1,500, is less than 1% of that.

Herbst said, “One of the biggest issues we wrestle with not only in our country, but worldwide, is that of cancer and the need for significant cancer research — I think Devin sees that as a need and has created something incredibly unique. He’s focused on helping others and that’s really the difference maker.”

Willis will continue to develop his prototype this summer, with the help and guidance of a summer mentorship program with a 3M scientist. Then, he’ll be ready to head to Minnesota and compete in the final round against the other finalists this October. His 3M scientist mentor said he was “impressed with a clever solution to a problem he didn’t realize existed.”

“Cancer diagnosis is a manual process, so it can take a while before a patient receives their biopsy results to learn if they need treatment,” John Henderson, 3M Senior Product Development Engineer in the Automotive Aftermarket Division and Willis’ scientist mentor, wrote in an email to WPTV. “In one elegant bundle of technology, Devin’s invention automates this detection step and could also improve diagnosis accuracy. On top of that, his device is much lower in cost than existing alternatives, which reduces the barrier for developing countries to improve standards of care.”

“I am most excited to work with Devin because I immediately related to the way he attacked one of the world’s biggest problems. I have a background in mechanical engineering, and electronics and computer programming are among my personal hobbies, so I look forward to collaborating with him this summer.”

If Willis wins, he could receive a patent for his SLIDEMAP invention, which he hopes will be able to improve healthcare standards around the world by delivering faster, more affordable and accurate cancer diagnoses, especially in developing countries.

Willis said, “I can further develop my project with the help of actual scientists.”

In addition to competing for the top spot in the Young Scientist challenge, Willis is also working to complete his high school diploma and his college bachelor’s degree in bioengineering — both of which he hopes to graduate with by the age of 18.

You can check out the WPTV video to learn more about Devin Willis and his SLIDEMAP invention. We wish him the best of luck, and hope to see his invention joining the ranks of other cancer detection systems developed with 3D printing technology.

When I think of groups that add to the wear and tear on our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, I might consider truck drivers, long distance commuters, or public transportation operators. Even if I had been able to expand my list to include bungee jumpers and people who misunderstand how close their car is to the sidewalk, it would never have occurred to me that in Pennsylvania there is damage being done to roadways by Amish buggy drivers. While not the greater part of the damage done, it is still sufficient to have warranted the attention of Munir Nazzal, at Ohio University’s Russ College of Engineering and Technology where he fills the position of Associate Professor of Civil Engineering. Nazzal applied for and received from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) a $320,000 grant to evaluate the damage and work to understand how to mitigate it.

While the wheels of the buggies are made out of steel, it is actually the horses’ shoes that are causing the most damage, fracturing the asphalt and causing rutting. The reason is that the shoes, or calks, are similar to cleats and are designed to give the horses better traction as they haul their carriage. As Nazzal explained:

“The loads aren’t that huge, but they’re being transferred to the pavement through this small area. This is resulting in huge stresses being applied to the pavement.”

Munir Nazzal, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering

The research team will attack this problem from two directions. First, investigation into the makeup of different asphalt mixtures that might be more resistant to such rutting will be undertaken. Second, they will attempt a redesign of the calk itself in order to make it less likely to cause the damage in the first place. One approach that Nazzal’s team will explore is replacing the cleat, normally made out of borium, with a screw-in stud that has a larger, hard polymer surface area to distribute the weight over. Nazzal described what he hopes to achieve with this shoe redesign:

“Drilling holes in the shoe itself and screwing in the calks would likely reduce stress on the roadways. The calks would have different designs for each season to adjust for changing road conditions, and they would possibly be made using 3D printing technology.”

The Amish community, not known for their easy embrace of technology, is actually receptive to this study and the possibilities it presents. Despite the common misconception that the Amish reject outright all modern technology, there is a variance in the types of technology that are permissible within different Amish communities. The key determining factor applied to the screening of modern technology is the question of whether or not it might cause a lessening of the connecting bonds of their tightly knit communities. A meeting back in January was conducted between ODOT, Nazzal, and representatives of the Amish in which they expressed a willingness to participate and will record their daily driving activity once the calks are replaced in order to better understand the lifespan of the redesigned shoes. According to Nazzal:

“We want to make sure that it is cost-effective and that the Amish community would use it. At the end of the day, they’ll be the ones who are using it, so we need their feedback about whether they would be interested in using it in the future.”

[Image: AP]

Another option being explored is the possibility of providing the horses with boots. These are more expensive on the front end, but better for the horses in the long run. After all, while silent, the horses are also an important group of stakeholders in this experiment.

3D printing isn’t all space station parts and advanced prosthetics, or even 3D printed cleats only for MLB pitchers, but instead its usefulness also comes in its ability to interface with a wide variety of everyday low tech and create little improvements that make big differences.

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They’re often referred to as “puddle-jumpers” – the small commuter aircraft that transport people to relatively nearby destinations a few hundred miles away, as opposed to the big jet airliners that travel across the country or to international locations. I’ve never particularly liked them, as they tend to be cramped, and every bit of turbulence or engine vibration can be felt more sharply through the small frame. But they’re short flights that get you where you need to go, and they tend to be less expensive – and in the near future, they’re likely to get even more efficient.

Eviation is a manufacturer of electric aircraft, and they’re currently working on developing the first-ever all-electric commuter passenger plane. Known as Alice, the plane can carry as many as nine people up to 600 miles.

“In the next four years, Eviation aims to make regional air travel a cost-effective and clean option that rivals any existing form of transit today,” says Eviation founder and CEO Omer Bar-Yohay. “With people working and commuting across greater distances than ever before, we believe the solution will bring mid-range cities like Seoul and Beijing, or London and Paris, closer together through all-electric air travel.”

Eviation isn’t the only company working on developing electric passenger planes, so they turned to 3D printing to give them an advantage over the competition. In particular, they used Stratasys 3D printing solutions throughout the development process, which was redesigned for maximum efficiency. By using 3D printing, Eviation was able to test out new designs in as many iterations as necessary before moving on to final, certifiable parts.

“Our ability to create new iterations of designs with 3D printing and see how they perform in real-time is helping us reduce critical capital costs, even as we accelerate our rapid prototyping phase,” said Bar-Yohay. “The kind of highly iterative, in-house manufacturing process that Stratasys 3D printing has refined is crucial to the life of a company in the constantly changing, and highly competitive, transportation space.

All in all, in two years of operation we have saved several hundreds of thousands of dollars with Stratasys 3D printing and I would estimate six months or more of workforce hours, which made this project possible. Today we are using the technology for prototyping test parts and tooling; the ability to produce lightweight parts in complex geometries will also enable us to explore the possibility of 3D printing parts for the final aircraft.”

It took only hours for Eviation to 3D print their wing-tip motors, allowing for functional evaluation as they waited for the final motors to be shipped. Another part of the design involved the use of smooth, curved surfaces on the outside of the aircraft to reduce interference drag. Eviation was able to create the strong yet lightweight, complex parts to support those curved surfaces by 3D printing a composite lay-up tool in ULTEM 1010 and then covering it in carbon fiber.

“Eviation is a great example of how 3D printing promotes in-house innovation and can accelerate what is typically a long and expensive development phase for both start-ups and mature companies. This enables them to develop new concepts and produce working prototypes quickly, without racking up significant costs up front,” said Zehavit Reisin, Vice President, Head of Rapid Prototyping Solutions Business Unit, Stratasys. “Our extensive experience in aerospace – ranging from prototypes and tools to the use of our technology for flight-certified aircraft interior and launch vehicle components – makes Stratasys solutions an optimal fit for aviation companies looking to improve cycle time and development efficiency, while pushing the envelope of innovation.”

Stratasys has been active in the aerospace industry lately, with the introduction of the new Fortus 900mc Aircraft Interiors Certification Solution as well as a partnership with Boom Supersonic both happening in the last month. Stratasys 3D printing technology was also used to create the first certified 3D printed part in the Middle East. As airplanes get faster, stronger, and more eco-friendly and cost-effective through the use of technology like 3D printing, we can expect to see the Stratasys name on a lot of those brand new components.

The Alice electric commuter plane is expected to begin flight testing in late 2018, with commercial availability in 2021. Currently, Eviation’s Stratasys 3D printed parts are on display in the Future Lab at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which is taking place from June 29th to July 2nd.

VIDEO

Earlier this week, we heard about a new 3D printing method based on ultrasonic manipulation technology. Lithuanian company Neurotechnology‘s Ultrasound Research Group is led by research engineer Dr. Osvaldas Putkis, who in a video introduced their new method with a prototype machine.

Dr. Putkis shows off different components of the machine, which includes an ultrasonic array, mounted camera, and laser. At a glance it looks like a desktop 3D printer, but this is no extrusion-based technology. The proof of concept demonstrated is a non-contact assembly of a printed circuit board (PCB) which itself isn’t so much 3D printed as it is put together — but this initial showing is not all that Neurotechnology has up its research sleeves.

Below is Dr. Putkis’ introduction to ultrasonic manipulation technology, with a look at the prototype machine and its capability in non-contact creation:

VIDEO

So what are they planning? Dr. Putkis answers A Few Questions For us to fill us in more about this patent-pending technology.

What inspired work with ultrasonic manipulation technology for use with 3D printing technology?

“We were intrigued by the versatility of ultrasonic manipulation. As it is a non-contact handling method, it is possible to manipulate materials and components that have very different mechanical properties and shapes, not to mention its ability to handle small or sensitive components. We saw the opportunity to use this technology to build a ‘universal ultrasonic gripper’ that would improve 3D printing technology.”

What can you tell us about the new 3D printing technology?

“The new technology will employ ultrasonic manipulation for positioning various components (such as electronic components) and/or depositing material (such as plastics). This will enable the development of more general and versatile printers, that are capable of, say, printing whole electronic devices.”

How does 3D printing incorporating ultrasonic technology compare with existing 3D printing techniques?

“Current 3D printing techniques can only print the particular material they are designed for. We believe that ultrasonic manipulation technology will enable the creation of printers that can not only deposit certain materials but also assemble electronic circuits or deposit a wide range of materials. In other words, it would add versatility to the 3D printers. However, things like printing speed, component welding and dispensing approaches need to be addressed and researched before such a technology could be applied in the 3D printing process.”

Dr. Osvaldas Putkis

What have you created using this method so far? What kinds of applications will this extend to?

“We have built an early prototype that can assemble simple electronic circuits. An array of ultrasonic transducers is used for non-contact transportation and positioning of electronic components and a laser is used to solder those components to a PCB board, also in a non-contact way. An on-board camera is used to coordinate the whole process, detect the PCB and component positions, calibrate the laser, etc. Currently, the prototype is a technology-demonstrator and can only handle components that are not smaller than approx 0.5mm. However, if higher frequency ultrasonic waves would be used, even the smallest electronic components could be manipulated. This is a challenge for pick-and-place machines and will probably become an even a bigger issue as the size of electronic components continues to shrink in the future. However, if we want to create a more general printer, we still need to implement the deposition process of other materials or components.”

Will this technology eventually be commercialized?

“There is still a lot of research and development to be done before this technology will find its way to end-user products. We are seeking partnerships that would help speed up the development and commercialization of this technology.”

As partnerships remain a key path forward for many in the 3D printing industry, we’ll be interested to follow along with any future collaborations that move ultrasonic manipulation further into 3D printing.

[All images: Neurotechnology via YouTube screenshot]

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Telecommunications is defined as the transfer of information over long distances via some electronic form, including phones, microwave communications, fiber optics, satellites, radio and TV broadcasting, and the internet. Over the past several years, the telecom industry has seen many changes and emerging reliance on digital communication. This incorporates messaging and voice through WhatsApp, Viber, Apple’s iMessage, and even Skype. In fact, services via these applications account for 80% of all messaging traffic.

As intense competition takes shape in this industry, telecom companies seek new ways to increase efficiency. Aside from simplification of advertising and marketing efforts and digitization of services, telecom companies are undergoing substantial network upgrades. Many improvements come in the form of 3D printed telecommunication equipment. Everything from satellites to microwave filters and fiber optic cables are being digitally printed to replace the traditional materials used in the telecom industry. Now, this is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries, and companies pursuing modernization via 3D printing research and development of telecommunications are eligible for state and federal R&D tax credits.

The Research & Development Tax Credit

Enacted in 1981, the Federal Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit allows a credit of up to 13 percent of eligible spending for new and improved products and processes. Qualified research must meet the following four criteria:

• New or improved products, processes, or software
• Technological in nature
• Elimination of uncertainty
• Process of experimentation

Eligible costs include employee wages, cost of supplies, cost of testing, contract research expenses, and costs associated with developing a patent. On December 18, 2015 President Obama signed the bill making the R&D Tax Credit permanent. Beginning in 2016, the R&D credit can be used to offset Alternative Minimum Tax and startup businesses can utilize the credit against $250,000 per year in payroll taxes.

3D Printed Satellite Parts

In recent years, global research and development efforts have focused on 3D printing of satellite parts. These new parts are applicable to communication satellites that orbit the Earth. For example, in 2016, Thales Alenia Space and Poly-Shape partnered to create the largest 3D printed support structures for satellites. The structures are used by South Korea’s communication satellites called the Koreasat-5A and Koreasat-7. The new, 3D printed, lightweight antenna supports facilitate the satellites to communicate with the bases on Earth. These supports weigh merely 1.5kg, which is comparably less compared to components made by other materials and methods. It was found there was a “22% weight saving for the bionic AM structure compared to a conventionally-manufactured structure. Not forgetting the reduction in costs of around 30% with the finished part also being available very early.” As one can see, the benefits of 3D printing satellite parts has a significant impact on the success, profitability, and modernization of telecom companies.

Thales Alenia Space continues to provide numerous 3D printed satellite parts to telecom companies, including varying antenna supports, reflector fittings, and Iridium NEXT satellites with 3D printed propulsion system tube supports. One AM Technology Development Manager at TAS explains, “Our development efforts are now focusing on integrating several functions in a single part, such as mechanical, thermal, and radio-frequency functions.” This company continues to pursue R&D efforts that incorporate 3D printing parts to facilitate commercial satellite modernization and improvement.

Overall, 3D printed satellite parts result in an average 50% reduction in mass and schedule. Another company called SSL (Space Systems Loral) designs and manufactures satellites for TV, broadband, internet, and mobile communications. It turned to 3D printing in an effort to offer more affordable, effective, and modernized telecommunication equipment to telecom companies. On March 7, 2017, SSL announced that its most complex antenna tower currently in orbit on a satellite is functioning as expected. The company’s Chief Technology Officer explains, “Our advanced antenna tower structures enable us to build high-performance satellites that would not be possible without tools such as 3D printing.: SSL has taken its R&D to the next level by designing and manufacturing 13 other satellite structures. It expects to continue expanding 3D printing of satellite parts since this process greatly reduces cost and time of production.

University Research in 3D Printed Telecommunication Filters and Capacitive Plates

Recent University of South Florida efforts resulted in successful 34-minute 3D printing of 2.45GHz miniaturized square open loop resonator bandpass (SOLR) filters common in communication technology. In actuality, the filter has a measured resonance of 2.35GHz because of a 5% tolerance with capacitors in this design. A bandpass filter is an electronic device or circuit that transfers signals between two frequencies, disregarding all other frequencies. It was found that when the filters are made with 3D printed substrates, the current in the microstrip circuit does not concentrate on the bulk of the transmission line, which results in lower effective conductivity. 3D printing is a feasible process to make these filters, as concluded by the research study. It permits the designer to create custom transmission lines and filters, which is unparalleled in traditional circuit board development.

The ability to 3D print microwave circuitry is invaluable because now manufacturers can create more efficient and smaller multidimensional plates and filters. 3D printing also makes it easier to embed electronics in a structure or conform electronics to a non-uniform, unconventional surface. Finally, 3D printing filters and capacitive plates makes it possible to replicate certain traditional designs, such as commercial antennae handsets, or create new and innovative ones.

The Benefits of 3D Printing Microwave Components

3D printing of electronics, microwave circuits, and wireless antennas has led to increased design flexibility and improvements for telecom companies. There are several advantages of 3D printed radio frequency and microwave components. The primary benefit is that it permits for rapid manufacturing of complex, dimensional, and sensitive circuits that include antennas and filters. 3D printing also offers the ability to create devices that cannot be made via standard fabrication techniques. 3D printing is applicable in largescale microwave production that includes copper electroless-plated devices, electron beam melt antennas, waveguide structures, and microwave meta-material structures.

University of Texas at El Paso research indicates differences between 3D printing components with fused deposition modeling (FDM) versus stereolithography (SL or SLA). FDM results in lower microwave loss but lower print resolution and a rougher surface finish. On the other hand, SL results in excellent resolution and a smooth surface finish but more microwave loss. Future research ought to investigate these differences more to suggest the optimal 3D printed microwave components that will enhance telecommunications. The W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation at the University of Texas at El Paso offers a broad selection of additive manufacturing technologies and materials which are selected for measurement based on availability and estimated suitability for microwave device fabrication. The Keck Center pursues development through FDM and SL.

3D printed SL material is used to build transmission lines, the building blocks of microwave circuits. The values in resistivity and loss tangent are higher than in conventional microwave circuit material, since 3D printing allows for extreme design flexibility and circuit layout. Furthermore, 3D printed microwave striplines from SL materials have clear advantages over microstrip lines based on loss of frequency, even at higher frequencies such as 12GHz. There is substantial evidence that development of lower loss, high frequency RF and microwave transmission lines is possible and preferred with 3D SL printing.

Existing efforts have been made to 3D print large antennas as well as small, flexible antennas put inside wireless smart objects. With 3D printing, manufacturers have the ability to integrate antennas into a structure that increases its efficiency but also allows the designer to depart from reliance on a single cramped circuit board layout.

3D Printed Fiber Optics Modernize the Telecom Industry

In the UK, researchers are developing 3D printed optical fibers for fiber optic cables. The preform process of 3D printing the core of the cable is simplified and “can be used to produce complex preforms, which are otherwise too difficult, too time-consuming, or currently impossible to be achieved by existing fabrication techniques,” according to a professor at the Optoelectronics Research Center. Such development has the potential to change telecommunications, offering less expensive and more customizable designs of industry cables. Traditional fabrication techniques are timely, costly, and limiting in materials and shape of the finished cable. However, with 3D printing, it is possible to create uniquely-shaped fiber optic cables without compromising on integrity or quality.

The University of Sydney was the first to produce 3D printed fiber optic cables for telecommunication purposes. It is anticipated that by printing preforms for fiber optics layer by layer, researchers will have more precise control over each preform’s internal structure. This means each fiber can be customized in shape and design.

Conclusion

In today’s technology-oriented world, people rely on communication technologies to stay in contact but also to engage in daily activities. The telecom industry is rapidly changing in order to keep up with the populations’ demands. Now, as most telecommunications move to a digital foundation via mobile applications like WhatsApp and iMessage, traditional telecom companies are scrambling to modernize their systems. As a result, many resort to 3D print telecommunications equipment. The most recent 3D printing efforts lead to the creation of more advanced and customizable microwave, fiber optics, satellites, filters, and capacitive parts that will undoubtedly modernize traditional telecommunications equipment. Now, companies engaging in 3D printing telecommunications innovations are eligible for state and federal R&D tax credits.

Charles Goulding and Chloé Margulis of R&D Tax Savers discuss 3D printing applications in shared office spaces.