The proof may often be found in the pudding, but adventurous eaters may also discover it in evolved food production like Project Carpaccio, as MeaTech Ltd. outpaces other companies in bioprinting “real, clean meat” with muscle and fat cells derived from animals. Recently announcing that their researchers have reached their ambitious goal of bioprinting stem cells that “successfully fused” in a layer of meat, the Israeli startup has reached the first step necessary in their goal to fabricate a quarter-pound steak with progressive technology that eliminates the butchering of animals.
Consumers around the world should continue to find their epicurean expectations transformed as startups continue to make alternative meats palatable. You may already be surprised to see vegetarian and vegan food, along with plant-based ‘burgers,’ making their way onto mainstream menus these days—from the Beyond Burger which you may have encountered at local restaurants to the much-discussed Impossible Whopper now available at Burger King.
Other fast-food corporations are actively engaged in R&D, racing to promote their own versions of the enhanced veggie burger too. Meat alternatives are blossoming into an impressive industry of their own, expected to be valued at around $8.1 billion by 2026. Such foods and snacks processed by conventional methods are often made from soy, wheat, or other types of alternative vegan proteins like seitan.
MeaTech, however, has developed a comprehensive process for 3D printing meat that actually comes directly from animals. MeaTech scientists begin by taking umbilical cord samples (leaving animals unharmed) from animals like cows and then developing the cells into a continuous line of production. As the researchers are tasked with separating fat and muscle cells, they mark them by using different types of bioink for bioprinting—with the cells then incubating and growing into viable products for consumption.
MeaTech’s 3D meat printer. (Image: PR)
Project Carpaccio came to fruition as scientists from MeaTech 3D printed meat from stem cells using a 3D printer that they customized in their own lab. Sorting and separating cells was no easy feat as they worked to create a texture similar to real meat, along with making the appropriate ink and then fusing the materials.
(Image: MeaTech)
(Image: MeaTech)
Companies experimenting with and exploring the future potential of 3D printed meat are beginning to multiply. Consumers may still feel some trepidation about eating anything bearing the vegetarian label (or at the next level, vegan), and even more so regarding food that is extruded from a 3D printer; however as 3D printing technology continues to infiltrate the mainstream, other companies too like Novameat and Redefine Meat are working to bring forth compelling products to dinner tables around the world.
“This is another step on the path to meeting the company’s vision of building a plant for the growing and manufacturing of 3D-printed cuts of meat without needing to slaughter or harm any animals, a technology which could dramatically reduce air pollution, loss of energy sources and the loss of vast areas currently used for raising livestock for slaughter,” said Sharon Fima, CEO and co-founder of MeaTech.
Actuators are complex devices that mechanically control robotic systems in response to electrical signals received. Depending on the specific application they’re used for, today’s robotic actuators have to be optimized for a variety of features, such as appearance, efficiency, flexibility, power consumption, and weight, and all of those parameters have to be manually calculated by researchers to find the right design; add 3D printing with multiple materials to make one product and things get even more complicated. This obviously leaves a lot of room open for human error.
But, a team of researchers from MIT – which knows a thing or two about 3D printing actuators – developed an automated system that can design and 3D print actuators that are optimized to many specifications. Basically, this system is completing a task that’s too complex for researchers to do the old school way.
“Our ultimate goal is to automatically find an optimal design for any problem, and then use the output of our optimized design to fabricate it. We go from selecting the printing materials, to finding the optimal design, to fabricating the final product in almost a completely automated way,” stated Subramanian Sundaram PhD ’18, a former graduate student in MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).
Overview of the specification-driven 3D printing process. The structure of individual actuators (or the arrangement of multiple actuators) is optimized using a multiobjective topology optimization process. The optimization uses the bulk physical properties of the individual materials and the functional objectives as inputs. The generated optimized voxel-based representation of the structure is used by the printer to fabricate the optimized structure using a drop-on-demand inkjet printing process. A rigid acrylate polymer (RIG), an elastic acrylate polymer (ELA), and a magnetic nanoparticle (Fe3O4)/ polymer composite (MPC) are the materials used. The contrast in the optical, mechanical, and magnetic properties is used to simultaneously optimize the visual appearance and actuating forces while generating voxel-level design.
Sundaram is the first author of a paper, titled “Topology optimization and 3D printing of multimaterial magnetic actuators and displays,” that was published in Science Advances; additional authors are former MIT postdoc Melina Skouras; David S. Kim, a former researcher in the Computational Fabrication Group; Louise van den Heuvel ’14, SM ’16; and Wojciech Matusik, head of the Computational Fabrication Group and an MIT associate professor in electrical engineering and computer science.
To show how their system works, the researchers used it to make actuators that show two black-and-white images at different angles. When it’s flat, one actuator shows a Vincent van Gogh portrait, but tilted at an angle once it’s been activated, the image shifts to Edvard Munch’s famous painting “The Scream.” Another example they created are 3D printed floating water lilies, which feature petals that have actuator arrays and hinges that fold in response to magnetic fields that are run through conductive fluids.
When multiple materials are used to 3D print one product, the design’s dimensionality gets pretty high.
Sundaram explained, “What you’re left with is what’s called a ‘combinatorial explosion,’ where you essentially have so many combinations of materials and properties that you don’t have a chance to evaluate every combination to create an optimal structure.”
Three polymer materials were customized with the specific properties of color, magnetization, and rigidity that were needed to build the actuators, producing an opaque flexible material used as a hinge, a brown nanoparticle material that responds to a magnetic signal, and an almost transparent rigid material. Then, the characterization data is added into a property library, and the system draws from this to assign various materials to fill different voxels. Grayscale images, like the flat actuator which displays van Gogh’s portrait until it’s tilted into “The Scream,” are used as system input.
Panel optimization for both optical and mechanical properties, given a pair of target grayscale images.
Then, through a sort of trial and error process, 5.5 million voxels are “iteratively reconfigured” in a simulation to match a specific image and “meet a measured angle.” If the arrangement of voxels doesn’t portray the target images, both at an angle and straight on, an error signal tells the system which voxels are correct and which need to be changed. For example, if the brown magnetic voxels are shifted, removed, or added, the actuator’s angle will change when a magnetic field is applied, but how this alignment will affect the target image must also be taken into consideration.
A computer graphics technique called “ray-tracing,” which simulates the path of light interacting with objects, was used to compute the appearances of the actuators at each iteration. These simulated beams shine through the actuator at each voxel column, which can contain over 100 voxels. If an actuator is flat, the beam produces a dark tone by shining down on a column with lots of brown voxels. But when it’s tilted, misaligned voxels will be illuminated, and clear voxels may shift into the beam, while brown ones move away, so a lighter tone appears.
“We’re comparing what that [voxel column] looks like when it’s flat or when it’s titled, to match the target images. If not, you can swap, say, a clear voxel with a brown one. If that’s an improvement, we keep this new suggestion and make other changes over and over again,” explained Sundaram.
The MIT system uses ray-tracing to align both light and dark voxel columns in the appropriate spots for the flat and angled images. Eventually, after a few to dozens of hours and 100 million iterations, the correct placement of each material in each voxel is found to generate two images at two angles.
A custom 3D printer with drop-on-demand inkjet technology is used to make the actuator. Tubs of the different materials are connected to print heads with individually controlled nozzles, and the designated material is dropped, layer by layer, into each of the voxels.
According to Sundaram says their work could be a step in the right direction for designing large structures like airplane wings. Actuators that have been optimized for appearance and function could also be used for biomimicry in robotics.
Sundaram said, “You can imagine underwater robots having whole arrays of actuators coating the surface of their skins, which can be optimized for drag and turning efficiently, and so on.”
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We’re bringing you the latest 3D printing business news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, plus a little 3D printed art to round things out. FATHOM is partnering with SOLIDWORKS software reseller GoEngineer, while L’Oréal is working with INITIAL, a Prodways Group company. Kickstarter and Autodesk are releasing a new open source 3D printing test, and 3D LifePrints has renewed its collaboration with the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Fargo 3D Printing has formed a new spin-off business, a metal 3D printed parts bureau has purchased an EBAM system from Sciaky, and 3D Systems’ SLA technology is being used to deliver customized dental solutions. Finally, we take a look at some fun and creative 3D printed artwork.
FATHOM and GoEngineer Announce Strategic Partnership
SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD software and Stratasys 3D printer reseller GoEngineer has announced a new strategic agreement with 3D printing company FATHOM. GoEngineer has purchased FATHOM’s 3D printing equipment reseller business, so that FATHOM can focus solely on its digital manufacturing services. Thanks to the agreement, the two partners will be able to scale their respective businesses in different, but significant ways, leveraging their strengths in order to create a large product development ecosystem of hardware, software, engineering, design, manufacturing, and training solutions that customers can use to drive innovation.
Michelle Mihevc, the Co-founder and Principal at FATHOM, said, “It’s exciting for our industry because both FATHOM and GoEngineer are uniquely positioned to meet the ever-increasing demand for advanced tools and services that enhance and accelerate a company’s product development and production processes.”
L’Oréal and INITIAL Increasing Development of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Parts
The cosmetics industry has a constant challenge in quickly marketing new products to meet the many specific demands of customers. That’s why L’Oréal is teaming up with INITIAL, a Prodways Group subsidiary – the two are ramping up development of 3D printed thermoplastic parts. More specifically, INITIAL’s new solution, 3D Molding, uses 3D printing to make plastic injection molds for “final material” parts at less cost and in record time. Recently, L’Oréal needed 14 resin test molds, along with 20 injection molding test runs and several hundred molded parts. By using Prodways’ patented MOVINGLight 3D printing technology and PLASTCure Rigid 10500 resin, the company was able to achieve accurate 3D prints in just two weeks.
“We produce the 3D Printing mould and the final material parts are then directly injection-moulded,” said Yvon Gallet, INITIAL’s Chairman. “With our 3D printing and injection expertise, we were best placed to develop this unique solution. It is aimed at designers in the development phase and complements our traditional machining and injection solutions. It is an innovative alternative that meets the needs of manufacturers, like L’Oréal, that could benefit from this technological advance to reduce their time to market.”
Kickstarter and Autodesk Releasing Open Source 3D Printing Calibration Test
Prints of the test file from Cubibot and Robo printers.
The evidence speaks for itself – Kickstarter is a great place for 3D printing. The popular crowdfunding site requires that 3D printer creators demonstrate the functionality of their systems through various means, but it can be hard to compare the performance of different machines, because not everyone shows off the same test prints, like the 3D Benchy. So Kickstarter is working at Autodesk to address this lack of a common standard for assessing FDM 3D printer performance, and will soon be releasing a new open source 3D printer test for Kickstarter creators, developed by Autodesk research scientist Andreas Bastian.
“We believe this test procedure will support greater transparency in our community,” Zach Dunham wrote in a Kickstarter blog post. “We started with FDM printers because they’re the most common model on Kickstarter. Our goal over time is to expand this calibration test to other printing technologies like stereolithography. Though this test is optional for creators to share on their project pages, electing to do so opens a frank conversation about quality. And backers of any 3D printer project can share images of their own tests by posting them with the hashtag #FDMtest.”
Creators can download the single, consolidated STL file and instructions to test their 3D printers’ alignment, dimensional accuracy, and resolution on Github.
3D LifePrints and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Renew Collaboration
The Alder Hey Children’s Hospital has signed a long-term collaboration agreement with 3D LifePrints, a UK-based medical 3D printing company and a founding member of the hospital’s Innovation Hub. The company has had an embedded 3D printing facility at the 1,000 square meter underground co-creation space since 2015, and was supported by the hospital for its first two years there, showcasing the impact of its work and establishing its unique 3D printed offerings. Under the agreement, the company will continue supplying the hospital with its specialized 3D printing services.
“I am really proud of this milestone in our ongoing partnership. Incubating a start-up company in a hospital, to the point where they have series A funding, a multi-year contract with the NHS and diffusion to other medical centres around the country is an enormous vindication of what the Innovation hub was set up for,” said Iain Hennessey, Clinical Director and a paediatric surgeon at Alder Hey. “I couldn’t be more pleased to see 3DLP help integrate this emerging technology into clinical practice.”
Fargo 3D Printing Forms 3D Printer Repair Business
North Dakota-based Fargo 3D Printing has formed a new business out of its 3D printer repair segment, called Fargo 3D Printer Repair. While its parent company continues to focus on multiple aspects of the industry, the five-person repair team at the new Fargo 3D Printer Repair can devote 100% of its time to providing 3D printer repair and service to individuals, schools, OEMs, and businesses. The new spin-off company currently provides production-scale warranty servicing, maintenance, and repair services for multiple OEM 3D printing companies across North America; service and repair requests can be made through an intuitive form on its website.
“We don’t sell any 3D printers ourselves, so we are able to remain brand impartial when recommending and performing 3D printer repairs,” said John Olhoft, the CEO of Fargo 3D Printer Repair, who started working in the original shop as a repair technician. “Original Equipment Manufacturers like that they can trust us to provide high quality repairs with a quick turnaround, and not push a competing brand on their customers.”
Sciaky Providing EBAM System to Metal 3D Printing Bureau
Metal 3D printing solutions provider Sciaky will provide one of its Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) systems to Michigan-based FAMAero (Future Additive Manufacturing in Aerospace), a privately-owned metal 3D printed parts bureau. According to Sciaky, this custom EBAM system will be the largest production metal 3D printer in the world, with a 146″ x 62″ 62″ nominal part envelope that will be able to produce metal parts over 12 feet in length. FAMAero will use the massive new EBAM system to provide metal 3D printing services to customers in the aerospace, defense, oil & gas, and sea exploration industries.
Don Doyle, President of FAMAero, said, “FAMAero is entering the market as the first private, dedicated parts bureau in North America for large-scale 3D printed metal parts. Our Factory as a Service concept, combined with Sciaky’s industry-leading EBAM® technology, will provide manufacturers a new avenue to significantly slash time and cost on the production of critical parts, while offering the largest build platform and selection of exotic metals to choose from in the 3D parts service market.”
Creating Customized Dental Solutions with 3D Systems’ SLA 3D Printing
In order to make over 320,000 invisible dental aligners in a single day, Align Technology uses SLA 3D printing from 3D Systems. The company’s technology allows Align to create the unique aligner forms so that they are customized to each individual patient’s dental data. So far, Align has treated nearly 6 million patients, but using 3D printing technology is helping the growth of its business accelerate.
“What makes Align’s mass customization so unique is not only are we producing millions of parts every month, but each one of these parts that we produce is unique,” said Srini Kaza, the Vice President of Advanced Technology for Align Technology. “And this is really, as far as I know, the only true example of mass production using 3D printing.”
Ben Fearnley Uses SLA 3D Printing to Bring Artwork to Life
Sculptmojis
SLA 3D printing isn’t just good for use in dental applications, however. Ben Fearnley, a designer, illustrator, and 3D artist based out of New York City, uses the technology to, as he told 3DPrint.com, “bring my work to life from the 3D world to the real world.”
One interesting piece of 3D printed art Fearnley creates is Good Vibes Only Typography – script style typography lettering sculptures modeled in Cinema 4D and 3D printed on his Form 2. But my personal favorite are his Sculptmojis, which look pretty much exactly how they sound. These pieces, which are a combination of traditional sculpture art forms and modern emojis, originally began as a digital art project, and have now been brought to amusing, quirky life through 3D printing. You can purchase Fearnley’s unique 3D printed artwork here.
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