Upload and pick up your design with this 3D printing vending machine

Unveiled at the University of Texas, Cockrell School of Engineering students have launched a cutting-edge 3D printing vending machine. The Innovation Station is believed to be the third machine of its kind at a university in the U.S., following in the footsteps of both Virginia Tech and UC-Berkeley.

Led by Associate Professor Carolyn Seepersad, a team of mechanical engineering students designed and constructed the Innovation Station, with hopes of providing students the opportunity to build objects for a variety of purposes through a web-based portal and queue system. UT students can use the machine for free by simply uploading their own CAD designs to the printer and then receiving a message to pick it up at a public bin.

“The vending machine lowers the barriers to 3D printing,” explained Seepersad. “It will help encourage all UT Austin students to take their ideas from the classroom and their extracurricular activities and bring them to life. This tool will inspire our students to think like entrepreneurs.”

The team built the Innovation Station by modifying a pair of Atmel powered MakerBot Replicator 2 printers, adding several unique components and hardware of their own, and optimizing it to print two jobs simultaneously. The team also developed the infrastructure that holds the 3D printers, as well as the mechanisms that make it operate like a vending machine.

“The Innovation Station gives students the opportunity to create. There are few feelings as rewarding as coming up with an idea and making that idea a reality,” Kuhn said. “It has been amazing to see the Innovation Station start as a cool concept and transform into a project that students can really benefit from. I really enjoyed the experience of taking a concept, prototyping, testing and then manufacturing the final product.”

Created to provide on-demand 3D printing, the concept hopes to remove barriers to learning about 3D printing, inspire innovation and creativity, and ultimately encourage future Makers and engineers.

After an object is printed and before it is moved into a retrieval drawer for the creator to pick up, the object is removed from the surface using a patent-pending process that the team created. On a typical 3-D printer, objects are printed on an acrylic surface that allows the design to stick firmly in one place. As a result, removing a finished product from the printer can require a lot of manual force. So, Seepersad and her team discovered a solution that allows parts to be safely and automatically removed from the printer without manual assistance.

According to the university’s website, Innovation Station designs are printed on a glass surface with an aluminum panel underneath, rather than an acrylic surface. The aluminum heats the glass during printing, and once the design is finished, the aluminum separates from the glass surface. A fan cools the glass and the object so quickly that the object pops off the glass and is ready to be pushed into the retrieval drawer.

“Moving forward, we expect that students will be able to save and share their designs with one another. I hope the Innovation Station serves as a way for all students to collaborate, inspire one another and spark conversations about new ideas for designing and creating,” Seepersad concluded.

Don’t forget to join the Atmel team in Queens this month for the 5th Annual World Maker Faire. Undoubtedly, this year will be amazing as an expected 750+ Makers and 85,000+ attendees head to the New York Hall of Science to see the latest DIY gizmos and gadgets, as well as AVR Man in the flesh. Once again a Silversmith Sponsor of the event, Atmel will put the spotlight on everything from Arduino and Arduino-related projects to the latest in 3D printing. See you soon!

Lifelike 3D-printed hearts are helping train surgeons

Researchers at the Nottingham Trent University have successfully created a 3D-printed heart.

Led by Richard Arm, the team has used silicone gel to mimic the texture of a real heart and its inner workings. Unlike previous efforts to 3D print prosthetic organs, this project has developed one that is “as close as you can get” to the real organ.

CT scans of real hearts established the density of all the different parts of the organ and, using that data, the 3D printer produced for the heart. Prior to the scientists newfound solution, cardiothoracic surgery relied solely on basic plastic models, which unfortunately don’t provide a realistic learning experience. Now, these 3D-printed hearts will offer near exact replicas of those found within human body.

“Students would be able to make incisions to experience how it would feel and see what the inside of the heart looks like.” The study even looked at plans to pump artificial blood through the prosthetic organ to enhance the realism of a mock operation.

“This study shows how it’s possible to replicate the human heart, inside and out, and make it so realistic that it could literally be operated on by trainee surgeons,” Arm adds.

The university’s endeavor is the first step in establishing a near lifelike system for researchers and students to use to gain the most precise experience possible.

“This could be a real benefit to way in which we educate students, by providing them with more realistic experiences before they go into live theatre,” said Professor Michael Vloeberghs of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

As previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the Maker Movement has used Atmel powered 3D printers, such as MakerBot and RepRap, for some time now. However, 3D printing recently entered a new and exciting stage in the medical world —  ranging from “growing” cartilage to treat cancers, osteoarthritis and traumatic injuries to orthopedic implants for patients with fractured pelvises.

Visualizing earthquakes with 3D printing

During the wee hours of August 24^th, Doug McCune was jarred awake by the rumblings of a 6.0-magnitude earthquake. This was the largest earthquake to hit the Bay Area area in nearly a quarter of a century.

After an initial safety check on the web, McCune stumbled upon the data provided by the USGS about the early morning tectonic shift. With his experience working at disaster imaging startup SpatialKey, the Maker set out to visually demonstrate this data with 3D printing.

“I was curious to understand how the shaking that woke me up compared to the larger earthquakes that hit San Francisco in 1989 and 1906.” He compiled data from all three events and believed, “that getting 3D prints of all three to look at side by side would be a good way for me to understand how the earthquakes differed,” McCune tells 3DPrint.com.

Using the Peak Ground Velocity (PGV) of the impacted areas, the Maker began rendering data to fill 3D models. McCune breaks down his process saying, “The workflow involves grabbing the source data from USGS, which is polygons showing how intense the shaking was at different points on the map, then processing that data with GIS software, and finally running it through my own software to convert it to a 3D model, based on that shaking intensity.”

In true Maker form, McCune then headed for his garage where his trusty 3D printer lie. He produced nine panels that represented the data points of each tectonic event. Once mounted, the data demonstrations looked more like modern art than comparisons of natural disasters. Apparently, others thought so too. Though still a work in progress, McCune plans on showcasing his work at the Diode Gallery for Electronic Art early next year.

From building cars and castles, a growing number of Makers are turning to AVR XMEGA, megaAVR and SAM3X8E MCU-powered printers to bring their ideas to life. What 3D-printed creation will the Maker community think of next?

The Maker has made his conversion software available on GitHub and you can test it out for yourself here. For more information about Doug’s visualizations, feel free to read more on his informative blog.

Who’s the Maker behind the first 3D printer?

In the early 1980s, engineer Chuck Hull approached his boss with an idea: to develop a machine that printed objects in three-dimensional shapes. His manager discouraged him — after all, the company produced ultraviolet lamps, not Star Trek-like replicators.

Though what at the time probably seemed to many people like a gadget out of a far-fetched science fiction movie, Hull suggested a new way to use the UV technology. The engineer realized that he could use UV light to etch plastic layers into any desirable shape and then stack these layers to create a 3D object, quickly transforming computer designs into working prototypes.

Soon thereafter, the engineer was given a little lab to play around in during his free time. In true Maker fashion, Hull experimented for months using his own with a plastic-y substance, otherwise known as photopolymers. For those unfamiliar, these are typically acrylic-based materials that remain liquid until hit with the UV light, which would then instantly turn solid. Then one night, Hull experienced his own Eureka moment. And just like that, the process of “stereolithography” was born.

“It’s really blossomed just in the last few years — in the sense of really rapid growth and recognition. There’s a lots of things that contributed to that, I think: a lot of the medical applications catch peoples’ imagination; certainly the Maker Movement, with low-cost machines getting hobbyists interested in inventing and building using 3D printing,” Hull recently explains in a CNN interview.

By the mid-1980s, the “printer” had evolved into a working product, albeit one with a price tag of hundreds of thousands of dollars. After patenting the invention in 1986, he founded 3D Systems in attempt to commercialize his newly-discovered method of production. Given the size and weight of the printer, Hull needed to create home movies to showcase the groundbreaking technology to executives. (And kids, that was on VHS tapes…)

Luckily, the Maker eventually raised $6 million in funding from a Canadian investor, in addition to some customers. The first commercial product came out in 1988 and proved an immediate showstopper throughout the automotive, aerospace and medical industries.

“At the individual level, I think there’s a great kind of pent up need: we’ve got into the computer age and everything is on a screen or remote, we’ve kind of missed the tangible result. This is a means to convert something on the computer to reality in a straightforward way,” says Hull.

So what was the very first thing he printed? A tiny eye-wash cup, he revealed in the CNN interview.

Now that the technology is becoming increasingly more affordable and easier to use, 3D printing continues to inch its way closer to mainstream. From 3D-printed prosthetics to castles, more Makers are turning to the next-gen devices, many of which powered by AVR XMEGA, megaAVR and SAM3X8E MCUs.

When Hull originally devised the concept, he told his wife that it would most likely take anywhere between 25 and 30 years before the technology would find its way into the home. Well, it appears that prediction was pretty accurate, as the realistic prospect of widespread use of 3D printers is now beginning to emerge. According to Gartner, though mainstream adoption of 3D printers in consumer markets may be five to ten years away, the adoption of 3D printing for prototyping will accelerate through all industries over the next two years.

Now 75 and still serving as CTO of 3D Systems, the company he co-founded, Hull has appropriately been dubbed the “Father of 3D Printing.” 31 years after he first printed that small eye-wash cup using a new method of manufacturing, what the future holds is up to the growing Maker community!

So the next time you start up your AVR powered MakerBot Replicator 2 or ATSAM3X8E based RepRap Ormerod 3D Printer, we have this man and his creative idea to thank.

“The whole premise of this technology has been to foster creativity, and change in product design and manufacturing, and so forth.”

3D printing helping kids overcome disabilities

A little boy in Hawaii born without fingers got a robotic hand thanks to 3D printing. According to KHON 2 News, three-year-old Rayden Kahae is a happy and loving child, but the boy they call “Bubba” has always been different from the rest of the neighborhood kids in Wailuku.

“Bubba” was born with the rare condition amniotic band syndrome (ABS), which causes fiber-like bands to form in the amniotic sac that can wrap around parts of the baby’s body, reducing blood supply and restricting normal growth.

As previously reported on Bits & Pieces, 3D printers (a majority of which are powered by AVR XMEGA, megaAVR and SAM3X8E MCUs) are inching closer and closer to mainstream — particularly throughout the medical world. In recent months, researchers have experienced a number of bioprinting marvels, from designing a 3D-printed splint that saved the life of an infant born with severe tracheobronchomalacia to surgically implanting a 3D-printed vertebrae into a 12-year-old cancer patient.

Bubba always knew he was different, but continued to flourish despite his disability, according to his grandmother, Rulan Waikiki. “He knew from earlier on when he could notice that his sister had two hands and he didn’t — that he always said he doesn’t like that hand he wanted one like [his sister],” the boy’s grandmother added.

Commercially made prosthetics used to cost up to $40,000, but with recent advancements in 3D printing technology, more affordable options have been made available to patients like Bubba. Earlier this year, Waikiki happened upon a website for the nonprofit group, E-Nable, which operates off donations and volunteers to provide 3D-printed prosthetics for patients at no cost. Last week, Bubba was selected as one of those patients.

“He wanted an ‘Ironman hand,’” Waikiki said. “As soon as he put it on and was able to close the hand, his face just lit up.”

Bubba, who will turn four in November, will be refitted for similar prosthetics as he grows.

This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, a youngster was given a second lease on life thanks to 3D printing. Last year, MakerBot printed a prosthetic device for a two-year-old girl in Huntsville, Alabama who born without four fingers on her left hand; while even more recently, Aaron Brown, a volunteer at E-nabling The Future, took things one step further by designing a set of fake Wolverine claws to make kids wearing prosthetics feel like superheroes.

“It was very early on this year, while studying 3D printing that I saw what the e-NABLE group was doing. I knew instantly and told my wife that I couldn’t own a 3D printer, let alone make plans to own many more and not do my part to help the cause. That’s when I built my first trial hand. A little snap together Robohand. Since then, I have just finished my 5th e-NABLE hand,the Wolverine Edition, and I am planning to make many more,” Brown writes.

The idea was brought to life for the Grand Rapids Maker Faire. Brown had modified e-NABLE’s free prosthetic hand plans, devising an edition with Wolverine-inspired “claws” he thought would appeal especially to children.

“The Comic loving nerd inside of me (along with some Facebook friends) said there is no way I can make a Wolverine hand without CLAWS…so I modeled some in Sketchup the morning before the makerfaire, printed ‘em, spray painted ‘em silver and velcro’d ‘em on there. Turned out pretty darn cool!”

As you can imagine, the superhero-themed prosthetic was a hit. Simply because one is missing a hand doesn’t mean you can’t be a superhero. The incredible response has inspired the Maker to consider and begin brainstorming other hero-themed prosthetics, including Batman, Iron Man and even Captain America.

This is surely another prime example of how the Maker Movement continues to make its mark, and ultimately, ‘make’ a difference.

3D printing a castle in Minnesota

While we have covered the creations of Minnesota Maker Andrey Rudenko before on Bits & Pieces, nothing may’ve compared to his latest. Andrey has had the goal of 3D printing an entire house for a while now, and while his other projects have been incredible, this one is certainly the most majestic yet.

Powered by an Arduino Mega (ATmega1280 MCU), Rudenko has created his own device capable of printing a fully-functional, small-scale castle comprised of concrete.

As noted, the Maker has had his eyes set on 3D printing an entire house for quite some time now, but amid some small concerns, he has decided to start at what he calls “small” and build his way up. Rudenko has designed the castle to test his technology and gain structural confidence to eventually build an entire house. “It has been two years since I first began toying with the idea of a 3D printer that was capable of constructing homes,” Andrey tells 3DPrint.com.

The castle is large enough for adults to walk around in and Andrey is assured that he now has the capability to print an entire home. However, though he originally planned to construct the home in Minnesota, Rudenko believes that it may be best to find a location that provides a warmer climate, as the winters up north may be be too harsh on the construction process and on the 3D printer itself.

“While other teams are also working on respectable projects in 3D printing construction technology, I have developed a product that is ready for actual-size construction rather than miniature prototypes,” he tells 3DPrint.com. When looking at these pictures and plans, it’s obvious that the Maker is the king of this 3D-printed castle.

“When I started out, people struggled to believe this project would progress any further,” Rudenko explained. Though the structure isn’t as tall as the trees surrounding it, it does appear to be large enough to walk around in.

“I have previously been sure I could print homes, but having finished the castle, I now have proof,” the creator validated.

As 3DPrint.com writes, there’s no debate as to whether or not majestic masterpiece is the first 3D-printed castle every designed, and there remains very little doubt that Rudenko will be successful in the 3D printing of a full-size house.

While we have seen attempts at 3D-printed cars and homes before using AVR XMEGA and megaAVR MCU-powered machines, Andrey Rudenko’s creations are surely something quite magical. For those looking to explore other innovative 3D printing projects, head on over to our archives on the topic here. Anyone interested in helping him out with the 3D-printed house project, Rudenko has asked that they contact him via email.

Gartner: 3D printing still years away for most consumers

According to Gartner, mainstream adoption of 3D printers in consumer markets may still be five to ten years away, while the adoption of 3D printing for prototyping will accelerate through all industries over the next two years. As previously reported on Bits & Pieces, Gartner’s latest Hype Cycle predicts that the next major flux of 3D printing adoption will be in enterprise and medical applications over the next two to five years.

“3D printing of medical devices will offer exciting, life-altering benefits that will result in global use of 3D printing technology for prosthetics and implants,” Gartner Analyst Pete Basiliere predicts. “Today, approximately 40 manufacturers sell the 3D printers most commonly used in businesses, and over 200 startups worldwide are developing and selling consumer-oriented 3D printers, priced from just a few hundred dollars.”

Looking even further into the future, Gartner notes that despite a variety of manufacturers producing consumer level printers and scanners, the price range still is too high for the everyday buyer. Despite increased media awareness, analysts don’t believe the process is prepared for immediate assimilation into the average consumer’s life. As a result, Gartner believes that it has identified “two main themes” at work throughout the field:

1. The market for enterprise 3D printing and the consumer market are only superficially similar. “Organizations are willing to experiment with consumer 3D printing devices because they are cheap but they quickly learn that much more professional, and therefore expensive, devices are needed if 3D printing is to be used in business on a daily basis.” However, recent reports have revealed that nearly 60% of enterprises have either begun using or are in the process of evaluating 3D printing.

2. 3D printing isn’t one technology but “seven different ones.” Hype around home use obscures the reality that 3D printing involves a complex ecosystem of software, hardware, and materials whose use is not as simple to use as ‘hitting print’ on a paper printer.

Even with more accessible desktop printers hitting the market, Gartner’s analysis substantiates the claim that 3D printing may not be ready for the sweeping consumer acceptance that some predict. Still, the research firm’s prognostications provide a bright future for the 3D printing industry; it just may take a little longer to materialize than planned. But don’t fret, you know what they say, good things come to those who wait!

Creating a more capable 3D printer with Sculptify

Back in June, the folks at Sculptify promised a crowdfunding campaign would soon be launched in an attempt to raise the required funding for production, as well as to begin pre-selling their new machines. Well, the David 3D Printer has officially launched on Kickstarter. Created by Columbus, Ohio-based Todd Linthicum and Slade Simpson, David aspires to provide Makers the ability to use a variety of materials for their 3D-printed projects right out of the box.

The Sculptify team has worked tirelessly up to its August 20th Kickstarter launch date to develop the unit. The team’s overall goal is to offer a complete ecosystem that provides the tools to print with a wide variety of materials, while also making it easy and enjoyable. The David’s campaign page describes the printer’s two main features as a combination of both groundbreaking technology and industrial-grade components, all specifically designed to provide versatility, precision, and consistency.

“We have been using 3D printers for some time now, and have realized how powerful the technology is/can be. But both the printers and materials themselves have insanely inflated prices – six figures for some printers, and hundreds of dollars for a couple kilograms of material,” says Co-Creator Slade Simpson.

Made from commercial-grade components, including a removable print bed and easy loading system, the company claims that David is quick, versatile, and accurate This 3D printer reduces the cost of 3D printing by allowing users to use cheap pellets instead of expensive custom filament, TechCrunch notes. This means you could feasibly print using all sorts of materials, from nylon and plastic to wood-based pellets.

In order to be so adaptable to different materials, the Sculptify team innovated the FLEX (Fused Layer Extrusion) method, which allows for lower cost, higher quality and a greater range of materials to be used. The device will take advantage of the widespread availability of plastic pellets in order to keep printing costs down. Many current printers run of filaments produced from these pellets, yet the David will cut one step out of the process and print directly using the bountiful pellets.

Driven by a powerful ARM architecture, the team says they are developing source code and software that’ll provide as much open access as possible. “We believe that sharing this with the community is the best way to take this incredible hardware to the next level,” the company notes on their website.

The David can currently print with a series of common materials like the soft TPU and EVA, or the denser PLA and ABS. The design team truly wants to reshape the way we think about 3D printing. They already know that “David’s mechanical hardware can be made 100% production ready with minimal design changes, and with the purchase of remaining tooling.” The sweeping introduction of this pellet printer to the 3D marketplace could be revolutionary.

To learn more about the David Printer and the Sculptify team, head over to the David Printer’s blog.

How 3D printing is changing the way we live

Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Javier Espinoza compiled a list of the various ways that 3D printing will assimilate itself into every possible aspect of your daily life; in fact, the technology is already being implemented into art and fashion, travel, food, and even automotive industries.

Much like our recent post about 3D-printed ice cream, the WSJ highlighted the countertop 3D food printer, the Foodini. Perhaps we’ll be replacing our microwaves with 3D printers sooner than we think. As strange as it may sound, the unit has the ability to complete tasks such as taking a substance, like dough, and forming it into a programmed pretzel shape. Looking to satisfy your sweet tooth? The device can even process highly intricate cookie or frosting designs to include a high-tech element to your favorite baked goods.

The Journal also detailed the fact that some manufacturers are already using 3D printing to create scale models of some of our favorite movie props. Voxeljet has adapted a 3D printer to design one-third scale models of the famed Aston Martin DB5 from the recent James Bond flick ‘Skyfall.’ Assembled like real cars, each of the three models required roughly 200 different parts to be created and to allow the doors and hoods to open and close, Espinoza notes.

When it comes to travel and hospitality, we previously revealed the possibilities of simply e-mailing your wardrobe’s schematics to another country eradicating the need to ever tag along a suitcase, while the Wall Street Journal added in the idea of printable headwear from Gabriela Ligenza. Earlier this summer, the designer created a hat for those going to Royal Ascot. Wrapped around the crown and the base, the hat featured the lines of a poem by British poet and racing enthusiast Henry Birtles.

Lastly, the article detailed the Lixpen, the world’s smallest 3D pen that enables a user to draw in 3D space. Using a quick cooling filament, nearly anything the scribe can dream up in their mind can become an instant 3D design.

From cars and clothes and food and medicine, it’s without question that we’ll continue to see 3D printing permeate the walls of reality. The question is, what’s next? Watch a 3D printer make things in this nifty, animated infographic here.

The 3D printing market is set to soar

A recently published Forbes article has highlighted that nearly every research firm in the field is now predicting the lucrative potential for the 3D printing market. Ranging from simple, open=source printers to complex, engineer-to-order production, 3D printing has already begun to redefine the manufacturing value chain across a number of industries, including aerospace, defense and healthcare. As previously reported on Bits & Pieces, the next-gen technology is expected to continue its acceleration towards mainstream with forecasts calling for it to become a $16 billion global industry within the next five years. In support of these projections, Tech Pro Research recently highlighted that 60% of businesses have either already used or are in the process of evaluating 3D printing within the enterprise.

Major analysts Canalys foresee the global 3D printing market to grow from $2.5 billion in 2013 to $16.2 billion by 2018, reaching a CAGR of 45.7% in the forecast period, while IDC believes that worldwide 3D printer sales and installation base will grow at an annual growth rate of 59% through 2017. With these each of these research firms holding such lofty expectations of 3D printing, the customizable future surely looks bright.

Similarly, Forbes also reports that Wells Fargo projects shipments of 3D printers are expected to grow at a CAGR of 95% per year from 2012 to 2017 with revenue expected to grow at 82% in the same forecast period. Furthermore, Gartner predicts that 3D printer shipments will surpass 1.1 million units by 2017 and end user spending will rise to $5.7 billion, reaching a CAGR of 82% within that time frame.

Morgan Stanley analysts have called for the additive manufacturing or 3D printing range from $7 billion by 2020 on an 18% CAGR to aggressive market scenarios reaching $21.3 billion by 2020.

With 3D printers being shipped at higher rates, manufacturers must begin to build their practices around the new wave of technology. According to a recent PwC report, 67% of surveyed manufacturers currently use 3D printing tools and another 25% plan to take on the technology in the near future. PwC goes on to demonstrate that as process quality increases and process speed quickens and feedstock costs drop, the market will grow exponentially.

As you can see, it is quite obvious that many of the market power brokers believe 3D printing is here to stay, and will take up a large portion of the tech market in the future. With more resources in the marketplace, this can only bring positive things for the Maker community!