Researchers Create Ice-based Nano Scale Metal Print Method

There are quite a few fringe forms of additive manufacturing that often take the science world by surprise. Chinese researchers recently found one by making metal-based nano scale structures using plain, old frozen water as a photoresist material. The scientists have shown of a range of shapes they can make with the metals including tiny […]

The post Researchers Create Ice-based Nano Scale Metal Print Method appeared first on 3D Printing.

Volkswagen credits 3D printing for record breaking electric car

The Volkswagen I.D. R prototype electric racecar has smashed records at the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) with thanks, in part, to 3D printing. Given only 8 months to produce car for the renowned “Race to the Clouds”, the engineering team at Volkswagen had to apply their initiative to the process in order to save […]

Protolabs reports record revenue growth and income for Q2 2018

Protolabs has reported “record revenue growth and net Income” in financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018. Headline figures for the digital manufacturing enterprise show revenue for the quarter of $109.7 million. Protolabs’ net income was $18.3 million, up 52% from the prior year. Vicki Holt, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, […]

DIY Low-Cost 3D-Printed Robot @Raspberry_Pi #PiDay #RaspberryPi

from nikivanov via GitHub

Watney is a low-cost Raspberry Pi-enabled rover made of readily available parts. The majority of Watney’s parts are 3D-printable. It has a Python and a REST APIs. Watney is all-wheel drive, with each side powered by a geared motor. Because of that, it turns like a tank by spinning each side in opposite directions. It drives best on smooth surfaces, like hardwood, linoleum and tile. For carpeted surfaces, Watney can do “soft turns”, by spinning one side forward and the other alternating backwards and forwards.

The software part of Watney makes it a webcam on wheels. The camera feed is low-latency HD and rover control is accessible via a browser.

The HD camera feed is provided by rpi-webrtc-streamer.

Upon startup, Watney will detect if it’s connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot. If not, it will host its own hotspot “Watney4”. Once you connect to the hotspot, you can control it directly by going to http://192.168.4.1:5000, or connect it to a Wi-Fi hotspot by going to http://192.168.4.1. For advanced Wi-Fi setup, you can ssh to 192.168.4.1 (default credentials pi / watney4) and edit wpa_supplicant.conf directly.

See full project breakdown here!

The Impact of 3D Printing on the Medical Device Industry

[Image: NASA]

In January of 2017, Dr. Julielynn Wong, founder of 3D4MD, used Made In Space‘s Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) aboard the International Space Station to 3D print a finger splint for the treatment of mallet finger, an injury that commonly afflicts astronauts. It was an historic moment – the first time medical supplies had ever been 3D printed in outer space. Back on Earth, the medical industry was becoming more and more familiar with 3D printing as a way to create medical devices, supplies, surgical models, and more. Some might already have called the technology out-of-this-world, but now it had literally left the planet entirely.

3D4MD specializes in the creation of medical supplies using 3D printing on-site in remote areas. It doesn’t get much more remote than outer space, but there are plenty of locations on Earth that don’t have access to quality healthcare. Those locations are 3D4MD’s targets. Dr. Wong developed a solar-powered, mobile 3D printer that can be transported in a carry-on suitcase, so that it can be taken anywhere in the world and set up even in the most off-the-grid areas. In these areas, the 3D4MD team sets up a 3D printer and creates splints, medical models, assistive devices, and surgical tools wherever they’re needed.

3D4MD’s work is only one example of how 3D printing is changing the medical device industry. The benefits that 3D printing brings to remote areas are obvious – a solar-powered machine can be set up anywhere, without access to electricity, and used to instantly produce supplies that otherwise would have to be ordered from halfway across the world, requiring time and money that many of the people in these areas don’t have. It’s extremely cheap to produce a plastic splint with a 3D printer. But it’s not just remote areas that are benefiting from the technology.

Not long ago, scoliosis braces were bulky, uncomfortable, and highly visible, and creating them was no picnic either, requiring plaster casts. But 3D printing has changed that, enabling the creation of lightweight, comfortable braces that fit snugly and can be created with no more than a quick scan of the body. Recently, WASPmedical inaugurated its Digital Orthopedic Laboratory, a lab equipped with a custom body scanner and two large-scale 3D printers for the creation of orthopaedic devices such as braces and splints.

One of the keys to the importance of 3D printed medical devices is how easy it is to create patient-specific treatments and to do it inexpensively and with a minimum of discomfort for the patient. 3D Systems has been working with patient-specific implants for some time, 3D printing them for client companies such as K2M and EIT.  In the past, implants were made only in a few different sizes, and frequently would not fit the patient perfectly, resulting in further pain, complications, and often revision surgery. 3D printing, however, is enabling medical professionals to create implants in the exact size and shape of the patient’s anatomy, meaning that surgeries are quicker and there’s less of a risk of complications or need for further surgery in the future.

Katie Weimer, Vice President of Medical Devices for 3D Systems, has been working with 3D printing and medicine for the majority of her career. She is an expert in the field of 3D printed medical devices, and sees patient-specific metal implants as a major factor driving the industry forward.

“We’re seeing the area of metals manufacturing, specifically for volume printing of medical devices…as a really hot area right now, where medical device companies are looking to 3D printing to print complex shapes much easier, for things like part consolidation, for things like integration of porous structures into these solid implants,” she told 3DPrint.com. “We’re able to really compete with traditional manufacturing in many areas to create a more cost-competitive solution for printing these types of implants while, at the same time, improving functionality and outcomes by doing some of these things like integration of porous and solid in one manufacturing step instead of two.”

[Image: 3D Systems]

It’s easy to get over-enthusiastic and think that 3D printing will take over the medical device industry, but Weimer is more realistic, pointing out that the industry has been using many other forms of manufacturing for years, and that many of those methods are still perfectly reliable. She would like to see about a 15 to 20% adoption rate of 3D printing in the medical device industry, realistically.

“Even that sort of adoption would be really a paradigm shift in the industry,” she said.

Speaking of paradigm shifts, Weimer also mentioned areas like hearing aid shells and clear dental aligners as areas where 3D printing is making some of the most impact. The hearing aid industry is one that genuinely has been taken over by 3D printing – 15 years ago, EnvisionTEC 3D printed hearing aid shells for Phonak, a Sonova brand, and the rest of the hearing aid industry rapidly followed suit. The technology allowed for the kind of custom fit and comfort that wasn’t possible before, not to mention enabling much faster production. As Weimer pointed out, patient-specific hearing aids can’t be mass-manufactured without 3D printing – it’s just not possible with any other kind of technology.

Volume production and patient-specific capabilities are among the most significant factors to consider when looking at the impact 3D printing has had on the medical device industry. No, 3D printing may never take over the industry completely, but it has changed it in immensely positive ways. Its effects on people range from a more comfortable hearing aid to a spinal implant that enables someone to walk. This is an industry that is still very young and growing rapidly, and it will continue to be a fascinating one to watch as it affects people all over the world.

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

 

 

GeoSLAM and 3D Laser Mapping merge to expand global reach of LiDAR

On 19th July, 2018, GeoSLAM, a UK-based company specializing in 3D geographical technology solutions, and 3D Laser Mapping, a leading producer of mobile mapping systems and mapping software, announced that the two companies will be merging. David Burt, CFO of GeoSLAM, had following to say on the future of the merger: “We are absolutely thrilled […]

Raspberry Pi Camera Case with CS(C) Mount Lens #3DPrinting #3DThursday

6bd8407bf6d5ceee8602e3fad4c3511f preview featured

akiraak shared this project on Thingiverse!

Raspberry Pi Camera Case with CS(C) Mount Lens

See more


649-1
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

Swirly Pen Holder #3DThursday #3DPrinting

Swirly Pen Holder

Shared by Sir_Joe on Thingiverse:

A pen/pencil holder not usual that in addition to keeping the desk clean and in order also gives a little touch of design

I made of two types, one slim and one chubby, if you prefer the slim type then I recommend using the file with reinforcements to avoid ripples of the strips, while printing them, that would make the strips less precise.

The pencil holder in the photo is slim type printed without reinforcements, you can see the roughness on the final part of the rods caused by sways during printing

The fat type file is not for free download

Download the files and learn more


649-1
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!

Soldering Tip Holder #3DThursday #3DPrinting

A6d2dc66f6391575c2bdce3dc581bf71 preview featured

Shared by grumble on Thingiverse:

A box for storing the soldering iron tips of a cheap ZD99 soldering station. The cap is thin enough that the holder can be velcroed to the soldering station.

The 3D model here isn’t quite perfect and I had to use a heatgun to get a proper fit for the cap and cleanup some other issues with tolerance. Printing it slightly larger (103% or so) might be a good idea. The Fusion360 source file is included.

Download the files and learn more


649-1
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!

Bike Bottle Holder #3DPrinting #3DThursday

C76c9b0593452ec31e75cad6a9c3f6ae preview featured

Russianfruitiman shared this project on Thingiverse!

Print V2 or V3 cause its more stable.
I printed V2 it in PLA cause of the overhangs.
Holds and fits well ! and also looks nice.
The distance between the Holes is 65mm. In Case you have somethig else near to this or want to place it higher or lower there is a V3 Langloch Version.
Didnt print V3 jet but i will. I also correctet V2 Distance between holes. Its also 65mm now.

See more!


649-1
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!