Posted on

3D Printed Origami Device Safely Traps Soft-Bodied Sea Creatures for Study

Many 3D printing applications and innovations, like self-folding objects, robots, and face masks, have been inspired by the Japanese paper folding art of origami. Now, a collaborative group of scientists from Harvard University, the University of Rhode Island, and City University of New York (CUNY) have combined the principles of 3D printing and origami to find a less damaging way to capture delicate, soft-bodied sea creatures like squids, anemones, and jellyfish.

While soft forms like these are adapted to ocean pressures, it’s hard to catch them for the purposes of study without injuring the very subjects you want to learn more about. Marine biologist David Gruber, who helped design the capture device, says that these creatures are often called the “forgotten fauna” because their study has been so neglected. But the multi-university research team recently introduced its 3D printed, 12-sided trap, inspired by origami, that can fold around these animals gently, without harming them.

The RAD device, which is short for rotary actuated dodecahedron, is far better equipped for handling these delicate creatures than nets or suction samplers. It can be attached to the arm of an underwater rover, then triggered remotely, and has already successfully trapped jellyfish and small squid and octopuses at a depth of 700 meters. However, the design can work at depths up to 11 kilometres, with the possibility of being scaled up even further for larger creatures.

Still images showing the capture of three different types of soft-bodied sea life using the RAD. [Image: Wyss Institute at Harvard University]

Zhi Ern Teoh, a mechanical engineer at Harvard, said the most important part of the design was getting it to unfold with just one motor so that the system has fewer points of failure. The team had to create a complex series of linkages, lightweight enough so as not to cause motor strain but still able to hold up underwater, which would connect each of the 12 panels back to the motor.

The RAD has several other important design touches, including making the edges of the panels softer than the rest of the plastic device so creatures struggling to get out (which makes me sad to think about but I know it’s important to study these animals so I’ll just get over it) aren’t accidentally amputated. Additionally, there are gaps between each of the panels to pressure doesn’t build up inside when the RAD travels back up to the surface.

“I view this as a platform technology that we hope will continue to evolve. The dream is to enclose delicate deep-sea animals, take 3D imagery that includes properties like hardness, 3D-print that animal at the surface, and also have a ‘toothbrush’ tickle the organism to obtain its full genome. Then, we’d release it,” Gruber told the Verge.

L-R: Zhi Ern Teoh inspects the RAD when attached to an underwater rover; a closeup of the RAD folded shut. [Image: Kaitlyn Becker, Wyss Institute at Harvard]

The basic RAD organism, as previously mentioned, can be scaled up for the capture of larger species, and Teoh even says it could one day be possible to develop a version that’s human-sized, which could have applications in self-building habitats in outer space. In addition, the current remote-controlled RAD could be turned into an automated trap in the future that uses sensors to detect when a creature is passing by.

3D printing has helped us sample the floor of the ocean and clean up debris from its shores, give coral reefs a helping hand, and quietly observe marine life. Now, this basic 3D printed origami mechanism can help us safely capture soft-bodied organisms for the purposes of study.

Gruber believes, and I tend to agree, that this kind of advanced technology is absolutely imperative to exploring our oceans without causing further harm to the myriad creatures that call them home. We are only just scratching the surface when it comes to figuring out just how important of a role marine life – from the tiniest sea cucumber to the most massive of coral reefs – can play in the overall ecosystem of the ocean.

The RAD device capturing a squid in the ocean. ]Image: Wyss Institute at Harvard University]

The team published a paper on their development of the RAD in the Science Robotics journal, which you can read here. Co-authors are Teoh, Brennan T. Phillips, Kaitlyn P. Becker, Griffin Whittredge, James C. Weaver, Chuck Hoberman, Gruber, and Robert J. Wood.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. 

    Posted on

    3D Printing News Briefs: June 29, 2018

    In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs (the last one this month, how is the summer going by so quickly?!), a few companies are announcing special honors and recognitions, and then we’re sharing stories stories about some interesting new 3D printing projects, and finally wrapping things up before the weekend with some business news. Renishaw’s Director of R&D has been honored by the Royal Academy of Engineering, while MakerBot earned an important designation for its 3D printing certification program for educators and Renovis Surgical Technologies received FDA approval for its new 3D printed implant. Festo is introducing three new bionic robots, one of which is partially 3D printed, and CINTEC is using 3D printing for its restoration of a famous government house. GE wants to use blockchains for 3D printing protection, and ExOne announced a global cost realignment.

    Royal Academy of Engineering Honors Renishaw’s Chris Sutcliffe

    Earlier this week, the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) awarded a Silver Medal to Professor Chris Sutcliffe, the Director of Research and Development of the Additive Manufacturing Products Division (AMPD) for global metrology company Renishaw. This award is given to recognize outstanding personal contributions to British engineering, and is given to no more than four people a year. The Silver Medal Sutcliffe received was in recognition of his part in driving the development of metal 3D printed implants in both human and veterinary surgery, and also celebrates his successful commercialization of 3D printed products with several companies, including Renishaw, and the University of Liverpool.

    “Throughout my career I’ve worked hard to commercialise additive manufacturing technology. As well as AM’s benefit to the aerospace and automotive sectors, commercialisation of AM and associated technologies has been lifechanging for those with musculoskeletal diseases,” said Sutcliffe. “The award celebrates the successes of the engineers I have worked with to achieve this and I am grateful to receive the award to recognise our work.”

    MakerBot’s Certification Program for Educators Gets Important Designation

    One of the leaders in 3D printing for education is definitely MakerBot, which has sent its 3D printers to classrooms all over the world. Just a few months ago, the company launched a comprehensive, first of its kind 3D printing certification program, which trains educators to become 3D printing experts and create custom curriculum for STEAM classrooms. An independent review of the program showed that it meets the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards, and it has earned the prestigious ISTE Seal of Alignment from the accreditation body. In addition, a survey conducted over the last three years of over 2,000 MakerBot educators shows that the percentage of teachers reporting that MakerBot’s 3D printers met their classroom needs has doubled in just two years.

    “This data shows that MakerBot isn’t just growing its user base in schools. We’re measurably improving teachers’ experiences using 3D printing,” said MakerBot CEO Nadav Goshen. “Much of this impressive teacher satisfaction is thanks to the effort we’ve put into solving real classroom problems—like the availability of 3D printing curriculum with Thingiverse Education, clear best practices with the MakerBot Educators Guidebook, and now training with the new MakerBot Certification program.”

    Earlier this week, MakerBot exhibited its educator solutions at the ISTE Conference in Chicago.

    FDA Grants Clearance for 3D Printed Interbody Spinal Fusion System 

    California-headquartered Renovis Surgical Technologies, Inc. announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its Tesera SA Hyperlordotic ALIF Interbody Spinal Fusion System. All Tesera implants are 3D printed, and use a proprietary, patent-pending design to create a porous, roughened surface structure, which maximizes biologic fixation, strength, and stability to allow for bone attachment and in-growth to the implant.

    The SA implant, made with Renovis’s trabecular technology and featuring a four-screw design and locking cover plate, is a titanium stand-alone anterior lumbar interbody fusion system. They are available in 7˚, 12˚, 17˚, 22˚ and 28˚ lordotic angles, with various heights and footprints for proper lordosis and intervertebral height restoration, and come with advanced instrumentation that’s designed to decrease operative steps during surgery.

    Festo Introduces Partially 3D Printed Bionic Robot

    German company Festo, the robotics research of which we’ve covered before, has introduced its Bionic Learning Network’s latest project – three bionic robots inspired by a flic-flac spider, a flying fox, and a cuttlefish. The latter of these biomimetic robots, the BionicFinWave, is a partially 3D printed robotic fish that can autonomously maneuver its way through acrylic water-filled tubing. The project has applications in soft robotics, and could one day be developed for tasks like underwater data acquisition, inspection, and measurement.

    The 15 oz robot propels itself forward and backward through the tubing using undulation forces from its longitudinal fins, while also communicating with and transmitting data to the outside world with a radio. The BionicFinWave’s lateral fins, molded from silicone, can move independently of each other and generate different wave patterns, and water-resistant pressure and ultrasound sensors help the robot register its depth and distance to the tube walls. Due to its ability to realize complex geometry, 3D printing was used to create the robot’s piston rod, joints, and crankshafts out of plastic, along with its other body elements.


    Cintec Using 3D Printing on Restoration Work of the Red House

    Cintec North America, a leader in the field of structural masonry retrofit strengthening, preservation, and repair, completes structural analysis and design services for projects all around the world, including the Egyptian Pyramids, Buckingham Palace, Canada’s Library of Parliament, and the White House. Now, the company is using 3D printing in its $1 million restoration project on the historic Red House, which is also known as the seat of Parliament for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and was built between 1844 and 1892.

    After sustaining damage from a fire, the Red House, featuring signature red paint and Beaux-Arts style architecture, was refurbished in 1904. In 2007, Cintec North America was asked to advise on the required repairs to the Red House, and was given permission to install its Reinforcing Anchor System. This landmark restoration project – the first where Cintec used 3D printing for sacrificial parts – denotes an historic moment in structural engineering, because one of the reinforcement anchors inserted into the structure, measuring 120 ft, is thought to be the longest in the world.

    GE Files Patent to Use Blockchains For 3D Printing Protection

    According to a patent filing recently released by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), industry giant GE wants to use a blockchain to verify the 3D printed parts in its supply chain and protect itself from fakes. If a replacement part for an industrial asset is 3D printed, anyone can reproduce it, so end users can’t verify its authenticity, and if it was made with the right manufacturing media, device, and build file. In its filing, GE, which joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) consortium in March, outlined a method for setting up a database that can validate, verify, and track the manufacturing process, by integrating blockchains into 3D printing.

    “It would therefore be desirable to provide systems and methods for implementing a historical data record of an additive manufacturing process with verification and validation capabilities that may be integrated into additive manufacturing devices,” GE stated in the patent filing.

    ExOne to Undergo Global Cost Realignment

    3D printer and printed products provider ExOne has announced a global cost realignment program, in order to achieve positive earnings and cash flow in 2019. In addition to maximizing efficiency through aligning its capital resources, ExOne’s new program will be immediately reducing the company’s consulting projects and headcount – any initial employee reductions will take place principally in consulting and select personnel. The program, which has already begun, will focus first on global operations, with an emphasis on working capital initiatives, production overhead, and general and administrative spending. This program will continue over the next several quarters.

    “With the essential goal of significantly improving our cash flows in 2019, we have conducted a review of our cost structure and working capital practices. We are evaluating each position and expense within our organization, with the desire to improve productivity. As a result, we made the difficult decision to eliminate certain positions within ExOne, reduce our spending on outside consultants and further rely on some of our recently instituted and more efficient processes,” explained S. Kent Rockwell, ExOne’s Chairman and CEO. “Additional cost analyses and changes to business practices to improve working capital utilization will be ongoing over the next several quarters and are expected to result in additional cost reductions and improved cash positions. All the while, we remain focused on our research and development goals and long-term revenue growth goals, which will not be impacted by these changes, as we continue to lead the market adoption of our binder jetting technology.”

    Discuss these stories, and other 3D printing topics, at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.