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Stratodyne: New Space Company Wants to 3D Print Stratospheric Satellites and CubeSats

With a growing directory of space companies gaining momentum, research and development in rocket science, aerospace engineering, and space travel are at an all-time high. After a continuous decrease in orbital launches since the early 1990s, companies began sending payloads into orbit in the mid-2000s, and whether successful or not (although usually successful), the sharp string of experimental technology for spacecraft, rockets, and space exploration vehicles has quickly revved up our faith in the space industry. Rocket launches have been streaming online more often than ever before and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is leveling the playing field to allow for students and space researchers everywhere to sent forth their creations into orbit.
With over 100 startup space companies competing in the vast commercialization of space, many college students are beginning to see an opportunity in the field. Such is the case with Stratodyne, a startup working on applying additive manufacturing technology towards spaceflight and stratospheric science, which involves having balloon-borne stratospheric satellites at the edge of Earth’s atmosphere for mission lengths of days, weeks, and even months at a time.
Founded in January of this year by 20-year old Edward Ge, a finance major from the University of Missouri, along with a few of his High School and college friends, the startup company is focused around applying advances in 3D printing technology to lower costs for space and high altitude research.

The completed vehicle with the CubeSat frame that houses the payload (Image: Stratodyne)

3DPrint.com spoke to the young entrepreneur, who described his company as “originally envisioned as a manufacturer of CubeSat frames and a provider of testing services in near-space conditions due to the lack of affordable parts and services in the CubeSat industry.” However, along with fellow founders, he decided to pursue a multi-role route with their ideas, seeking to create a 3D printed modular and remotely controlled airship that could serve as a satellite, testbed, and even a launch platform for small rockets into space.
“As part of our development towards a 3D printed stratospheric satellite and 3D printing CubeSats, we recently launched a small prototype consisting of a CubeSat, a truss, and an engine frame with twin solar-powered drone motors to an altitude of 27 kilometers. All the components were 3D printed out of common thermoplastic polymers ABS and ASA, with the exception of the solar-powered motor and onboard electronics and parachute,” said Ge. “The flight lasted a total of six hours, with our experimental motor nearly doubling the flight time of the balloon. We intend to perform another launch in April using a prototype altitude control system with the aim of having the stratospheric satellite remain aloft for 24 hours straight.”
To deal with all their 3D printing needs, Ge and fellow founders currently have multiple machines at their disposal. The University of Missouri has loaned them a Stratasys FDM machine 400mc which uses polycarbonate to manufacture parts for sounding rockets and even satellites, multiple Prusa open-source 3D printers, and a custom-built CNC printer in the works.

Edward Ge next to one of the 3D printing machines, a Stratasys FDM, that Stratodyne is using to create their CubeSats (Image: Stratodyne)

Ge, who acts as both CFO and CEO of the company, indicated that “these machines give us a massive range of materials to work with but at the moment we primarily use parts made from Polycarbonate, thermoplastic polymers ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and ASA (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), and are even experimenting with Nylon powder and laser printing.”

In the early months of the company, they experimented with 3D printed rockets before deciding that it just wasn’t feasible to develop a true launch system with the resources and budget at hand. At the time, the plan was to crowdfund the development of a 3D printed sounding rocket comparable to the ones Black Brant used by NASA or rockets from Up Aerospace for an estimated program cost of $40,000. Ge does not exclude working with rockets in the future, he considers that there is still an experimental 3D printed composite rocket motor on the drawing board, but the majority of the work has pivoted towards stratospheric satellites since it will take a lower cost to commercialize.

“We plan on launching a crowdfunding campaign soon, once our weather balloon altitude control valve goes past the prototype stage which should be around April. During the summer months of June and July, the plan is to begin pitching to venture capital companies in the Midwest or go back to our plan of crowdfunding development with tangible prototypes and successful flights under our belt,” explained Ge. “However, we know that crowdfunding is fickle, and would only use it to generate a surplus for us to pursue stretch goals such as upscaling the stratospheric satellites or resuming development of a high altitude launch vehicle.  On the technical side, our plan is to have regular flights every two to three weeks on weather balloons to flesh out the altitude control system and engine work.”

Stratodyne plans to go commercial by mid-2021, but for now, the majority of their planning is on an R&D phase. Ge expects that this may change depending on how fast their pace is and how much venture capital funding they get.

The completed vehicle during its ascent (Image: Stratodyne)

“The ultimate goal of Stratodyne is to make space something that is accessible to, not just big corporations or governments, but to your average High School student or the typical guy you’d find on the street. It might sound like a cliché – and it is since every startup says that – but it’s something that needs to happen if we are ever going to be a truly spacefaring species and that’s one goal we can all believe in,” concluded Ge.
Although they are still working on an official webpage, Stratodyne’s news can be found at their Instagram account: @stratodynecorp. The young business partners are proving that their generation is ready to take risks to create what they expect is an undeniable force on the horizon, in this case, the space horizon. Although it is a new company, born only two months ago, the team shows great determination and vision, and are moving very fast, in part thanks to 3D printing providing the necessary tools and autonomy to develop whatever they need, to make their dream a reality.

The post Stratodyne: New Space Company Wants to 3D Print Stratospheric Satellites and CubeSats appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

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University of Missouri: Thesis Student 3D Prints Collagen to Create Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

University of Missouri thesis student, Christopher John Glover, explores the use of 3D printed structures in bioprinting, outlining his findings further in ‘In Situ Polymerizing Collagen for the Development of 3D Printed Tissue Engineering Scaffolds.’ Extolling the virtues of collagen while also discussing challenges in using it, Glover explains that this natural material has been a favorite in tissue engineering, demonstrating excellent protein structures for ventures in the lab.

“Nearly all tissues in the human body contain collagen including skin, muscle, nerves, vasculature, tendons, ligaments, and even bone. Skin, for example, is 80% collagen by mass. Due to this abundance, collagen is extremely biocompatible and versatile,” states Glover. “With the proper mechanical and chemical stimuli, stem cells seeded on collagen scaffolds have the potential to differentiate down a myriad of cell lineages and become nearly any tissue in the human body.”

There can be difficulty in using collagen for some types of tissue regeneration though, and other disadvantages such as the amount of time it takes to progress from a gelatinous state to a solid.

For this project, Glover studied the manufacturing of 3D collagen-based scaffolds which he enhanced with a variety of anti-inflammatory agents such as gold nanoparticles and curcumin. Specifically, he used in situ polymerizing collagen (IPC), a unique material derived from Type 1 porcine collagen. In experimenting, he performed different post printing treatments on the test groups. Some were just left in their basic 3D printed state, which others were crosslinked without AuNP or curcumin or with either 1X or 2X AuNP or curcumin. Characterization was performed in evaluating stability of each scaffold and then noting its viability, along with which types of treatment were most successful.

Tasks for ascertaining viability were as follows:

  • To 3D print uniform and reproducible collagen-based scaffolds
  • To examine the thermal properties of the crosslinked scaffolds
  • To verify and quantify the presence of gold nanoparticles in the crosslinked scaffolds
  • To evaluate the cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory capabilities of the gold nanoparticle and curcumin scaffolds

The six experimental groups were:

  • Uncrosslinked
  • Crosslinked
  • AuNP
  • Curcumin
  • 2X AuNP
  • 2X curcumin

“The uncrosslinked group exists to examine the effects of crosslinking alone; the AuNP and curcumin groups exist to determine the effects of each bioactive agent; the 2X AuNP and 2X curcumin groups exist to exacerbate those effects, for better or for worse,” stated Glover.

Glover customized his own 3D printer, assembled from a CNC milling machine, with translational stages manipulated by three stepper motors. Mach3 Mill software was used in design and editing. The two most common 3D prints made during the study were a grid pattern and circles used for cell assays. Glover found that resolution was not optimum with his hardware but thought it could be finer on a higher-performance printer.

The 3D printer features a 3D printed holster to house the syringe pump and is seen here printing a circular grid pattern

The Mach3 Mill software interface features many functions not utilized in
our 3D printing process, such as the tool information and spindle speed boxes.

Crosslinking with EDC or genipin proved to enhance both stability and durability of the 3D printed scaffolds.

“By comparing the application of EDC crosslinking during printing versus post printing, it was found that crosslinking post printing yielded significantly greater stabilities than crosslinking during printing,” stated the researchers.

The collagen-based scaffolds crosslinked with EDC exhibited ‘superb cell viability,’ although Glover pointed out that gold nanoparticles seemed to decrease success in viability somewhat. Genipin also decreased viability, which plummeted further with the addition of curcumin.

“As previously stated, collagen alone is a fragile material and even after crosslinking can deteriorate if over-handled. If this platform is to be utilized to produce implantable scaffolds, the durability of the collagen would need to be markedly improved. This could be accomplished by printing the IPC along with another material or by further post-print manipulation of the collagen other than simply crosslinking,” concluded Glover, who goes on to state that printer resolution would need to be improved, along with enhancing of the anti-inflammatory capabilities of the printed products.

3D printing with collagen has been of great interest to researchers lately, including uses in artistic masks, bioink, and skin grafts. Read more about collagen in tissue engineering here. What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts! Join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.

[Source / Images: In Situ Polymerizing Collagen for the Development of 3D Printed Tissue Engineering Scaffolds]

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10 Ways 3D Printing Played a Part in Education in 2018

3D printing is often used in education these days, whether it’s being taught as a subject or used to enhance another one. As we’re moving ever closer to the start of a new year, we decided to save you some time and gather the ten best education stories from 2018 in one article.

Siemens STEM DAY

The Siemens Foundation focuses on philanthropic efforts in order to continue the advancement of STEM-related education and workforce development, and has invested millions of dollars for this cause in the US. In early 2018, the Siemens Foundation worked with Discovery Education to re-brand its annual Siemens Science Day into a program for more modern educational opportunities: Siemens STEM Day, which is an opportunity for US schools to promote STEM activities for both students and teachers. The program, which doesn’t actually happen on one specific day but is a promotion of STEM lessons and hands-on activities, is meant to be used by students in grades K-12, and offers multiple tools and resources to help reboot STEM curriculum.

New 3D Printing Educational Initiatives

[Image: 3D PARS]

In February, we provided a round-up of some of the many educational initiatives that were looking to provide adults with a deeper understanding of 3D printing. Included in this round-up was a new online course for professionals by MIT, new 3D printing courses from the Sharebot Academy program, and a joint two-day training course in additive manufacturing from German consulting firm Ampower and full service prototyping and 3D printing provider H & H. Additional educational initiatives shared in the round-up were 3DPrint.com’s own Additive Manufacturing with Metals Course.

learnbylayers Partnered with Kodak

In 2017, educator Philip Cotton launched an online 3D printing resource for teachers called learnbylayers that offers lesson plans, project ideas, assessments and more that were designed by teachers for teachers. The site grew quickly, and in February Cotton announced that it had reached a distribution agreement with Kodak. The learnbylayers educational curriculum was added to the Kodak 3D Printing Ecosystem, as the company began offering the internationally-taught curriculum along with its Portrait 3D printer’s launch.

Renishaw Deepened Its Commitment to 3D Printing Education

This spring, Renishaw announced that it would be deepening its commitment to 3D printing education. The company established a new Fabrication Development Centre (FDC) at its Miskin facility in South Wales, with the goal of inspiring young people to pursue STEM careers. The FDC has two classrooms, staffed by qualified teachers and Renishaw’s STEM ambassadors, that can be used for free by schools or groups of young people for lessons or workshops. The FDC was actually in use by Radyr Comprehensive School students long before it was officially launched by Andy Green, a driver for Bloodhound SSC, a 3D printing user and Renishaw partner which also devotes many resources to education about the technology.

Ultimaker Launched New 3D Printing Core Lessons for STEAM Education

Lesson 1: Coin Traps

In April, Ultimaker launched its new Ultimaker Core Lessons: STEAM Set for educators. Eight free lessons, published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, are included in the set, which can help teachers in informal, K12, or Higher Ed classrooms incorporate 3D printing into their educational practices and STEAM curriculum. Some of the beginner lessons include 3D printing a coin trap, flashlight, and penny whistle, and can teach young students important skills like how to align objects, using symbols to communicate ideas, and how to effectively work together on creative projects.

PrintLab Teamed Up with CREATE Education Team

UK-based global 3D printing distributor and curriculum provider PrintLab partnered with UK 3D printing company CREATE Education, a collaborative platform that provides educators with free resources and support, in order to support schools all across the UK with 3D printing. Each company’s educational 3D printing offerings will be combined in this partnership so that UK schools can enjoy unlimited access to full 3D printing solutions for the classroom, which will be locally supported for life by CREATE. Multiple initiatives came out of this partnership to support teachers, like  3D printer loan schemes, funding advice and resources, special training and curriculum workshops, and new educational 3D printing bundles.

3Doodler Introduced New Educational Kits

3Doodler has long supported education, and often releases new STEM-centered educational packages, including its latest classroom product line: the 3Doodler Create+ EDU Learning Pack and 3Doodler Start EDU Learning Pack. Each pack, designed for and with teachers, was designed specially for classrooms from kindergarten to 12th grade and includes 6 or 12 3Doodler pens (Create or Start, depending on the package) and 600 or 1,200 strands of plastic, as well as other tech accessories, lesson plans, and classroom materials. Additionally, the company released its 3Doodler Create+ EDU Teacher Experience Kit and 3Doodler EDU Start Teacher Experience Kit, which are designed to be trial packs for teachers who are thinking about introducing the 3Doodler into their classrooms.

Robo Acquired MyStemKits

3D printer manufacturer Robo announced this summer that it had acquired Atlanta company MyStemKits, which provides the largest online library of STEM curriculum in the world. Thanks to this acquisition, Robo is now offering educational bundles that include its classroom-friendly 3D printers, a supply of filament, one-year subscriptions to MyStemKits, and additional professional development and online learning.

GE Additive’s Education Program Provided Five Universities with Metal 3D Printers

GE’s Additive Education Program (AEP) – a five-year, $10 million, two-part initiative to provide 3D printers to as many schools as possible – chose five universities this summer to receive an Mlab 200R from the program. 500 proposals were submitted for this round of the program, and GE Additive chose German’s Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Ireland’s University of Limerick, the Calhoun Community College in Alabama, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and West Virginia University as the lucky winners.

3D Printing In Fashion Education

In a recently published paper, titled “Integration of 3 Dimensional Modeling and Printing into Fashion Design Curriculum: Opportunities and Challenges,” Nicole Eckerson and Li Zhao from the University of Missouri discussed whether 3D printing should be integrated into fashion design curriculum. The researchers noted that while 3D printing has been recognized as a major influence in the work of designers and engineers, educators in the fashion industry are facing a lack of time, resources, and knowledge to teach the technology to students. The two conducted semi-structured interviews with eight 3D printing industry  experts and academic professionals for their research, and came up with three distinct themes from their data about why 3D printing should be adopted, and taught, in fashion.

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