Penn State talks MakerBot and 3D printing

The meteoric rise of 3D printing has paved the way for a new generation of Internet entrepreneurs, Makers and do-it-yourself (DIY) manufacturers. So it comes as little surprise that the lucrative 3D printing industry is on track to be worth a staggering $3 billion by 2016.

“Information technology in manufacturing is really transforming what’s possible,” explained Irene Petrick, a senior lecturer at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST). “3D printing just changes how we think about who a manufacturer is in the first place. I don’t have to be an engineer to design and I don’t have to be a traditional manufacturer to produce… [So] it’s really not the existing manufacturers [who] are going to drive how the future of manufacturing evolves.”

Recently, the IST acquired a new Atmel-powered MakerBot 3D printer to replace the very first printer the college purchased in 2007.

“When the original printer died last year we found out it would cost $8,000 to fix. The new 3D printer, a MakerBot Replicator 2, costs under $2,500. The material used to build objects is also less expensive with the Replicator,” said 3D visualization researcher Wade Shumaker. “The fact that the Replicator is more affordable opens it up to a wider base of users, and there is a much larger community of users which has arisen and become a very open source group of DIYers.”

As Shumaker notes, the DIY open source mindset has prompted users to share 3D objects they’ve designed.

“This has led to sites like www.thingiverse.com and www.makezine.com, where you can find 3D objects to download for free and to buy which include everything from functional items (knobs, handles, iPhone holders, bottle openers) to art (jewelry, sculptures, toys) to medical supplies (braces, ID bracelets, hemostats, models of organs),” he continued. “I think what you’re going to find over the next few years is 3D printing is going to become a little more mainstream. When people break something, instead of going out and buying a replacement, they’re going to print it out.”

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has been using Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now. However, 3D printing recently entered a new and important stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.

The “monumental” shift of 3D printing

In a recent Forbes article, Natalie Burg confirmed that 3D printing is well on its way to “monumentally” changing the world – beginning with the traditional supply chain.

“The proliferation of 3D printing feels like a ‘this changes everything’ moment. The devices are making their way into businesses [and] some experts believe they’ll make their way into [mainstream] homes one day,” Burg observed. “[However], it all begins with disrupting the supply chain. With the power to print customized, single items quickly, 3D printers in businesses and homes will entirely change how goods move around the world.”

Indeed, a 2012 report from Transport Intelligence – titled “The Implications of 3D Printing for the Global Logistics Industry” – examines what impact such a paradigm shift would likely have.

“A proportion of goods which were previously produced in China or other Asia markets could be ‘near-sourced’ to North America and Europe,” the report concluded. “This would reduce shipping and air cargo volumes.”

Gavin Davidson of NetSuite expressed similar sentiments.

“It’s not just for the designer of the end product, but imagine a global supply network where every supplier has a 3D printer that the designer can ‘print’ to at any time,” he said. “It’s almost Star Trek’s replicators.”

Meanwhile, the Harvard Business Review noted that the 3D printing of commercial products will likely prompt the manufacture of goods which are “infinitely more customized.”

As previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the rapidly evolving 3D printing industry is projected to be worth a staggering $3 billion by 2016, with Credit Suisse analyst Julian Mitchell recently expressing bullish sentiments about the 3D printing market.

“Most corporate guidance defaults to the assumptions of industry consultants who estimate the 3D printing market will grow at ~20% annually,” Mitchell wrote in an industry note published on Business Insider.

“We challenge this assumption and attempt to quantify the addressable market by investigating the opportunities within key verticals such as aerospace, automotive, healthcare and consumer. We conclude that these four markets alone (which comprise ~ 50% of the AM market today) represent sufficient opportunity to sustain 20-30% annual revenue growth, bolstered by the technology’s transition from prototyping to end use parts and expansion into metals.”

According to Credit Suisse team, the most rapid expansion of 3D printing will be seen in the consumer market.

“[This] is the fastest-growing portion of the 3D printing market, with expectations for 100%+ YoY growth in 2013. [The Atmel-powered] Makerbot describes its offering as intended for the ‘pro-sumer’ market (manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $2,200-2,800), expecting many systems to be dual professional / personal use among small business owners or serious hobbyists,” Mitchell added.

It should be noted that the DIY Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now. However, 3D printing recently entered a new and important stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.

Analyst: 3D printing industry set for incredible growth

Bloomberg’s Betty Liu recently noted that the rapidly evolving 3D printing industry is projected to be worth a staggering $3 billion by 2016. This week, Credit Suisse analyst Julian Mitchell expressed similar bullish sentiments about the 3D printing market.

“Most corporate guidance defaults to the assumptions of industry consultants who estimate the 3D printing market will grow at ~20% annually,” Mitchell wrote in a recent industry note published on Business Insider.

“We challenge this assumption and attempt to quantify the addressable market by investigating the opportunities within key verticals such as aerospace, automotive, healthcare and consumer. We conclude that these four markets alone (which comprise ~ 50% of the AM market today) represent sufficient opportunity to sustain 20-30% annual revenue growth, bolstered by the technology’s transition from prototyping to end use parts and expansion into metals.”

According to Credit Suisse team, the most rapid expansion of 3D printing will be seen in the consumer market.

“[This] is the fastest-growing portion of the 3D printing market, with expectations for 100%+ YoY growth in 2013. [The Atmel-powered] Makerbot describes its offering as intended for the ‘pro-sumer’ market (manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $2,200-2,800), expecting many systems to be dual professional / personal use among small business owners or serious hobbyists,” Mitchell added.

As previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now. However, 3D printing recently entered a new and important stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.

3D printing electronic heart pumps

3D printing technology – projected to be a $3 billion business by 2016 – is rapidly evolving, particularly in the medical space. Indeed, 3D printed orthopedic implants were recently fitted in Peking’s University Third Hospital in Beijing, while doctors at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan successfully transplanted 3D printed bones into four patients with cervical spine (cervical) disc herniation.

Similarly, 3D printing tech helped Doctors at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University repair a patient’s damaged skull in China, while researchers at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology used 3D printing technology to create living human kidneys. And now scientists at Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS (UK) Trust are developing an electronic smart pump to help victims of chronic heart failure.

Essentially, the device creates a counter blood-flow by ‘beating’ out of phase with the diseased heart. When the heart fills with blood, the woven tube contracts to increase pressure in the heart. When the heart then pumps oxygenated blood around the body, the tube expands to release the pressure and increase the blood flow. Using 3D printing techniques, the smart pumps will be tailored for individual patients based on MRI scan data. The smart pump – powered by a battery implanted in the patient’s body – is also expected to be entirely self-contained.

“This device could really be groundbreaking and more effective than any other therapy currently being used around the world. Chronic heart failure is a major health challenge and up to 40 per cent of sufferers die within the first year,” Dr. Philip Breedon of Nottingham Trent University explained.

“The best form of treatment is a heart transplant, but the demand by far outweighs the supply . The technology currently used to help people with acute heart failure can only be used for a few days and involves the patient being attached to large external machines which need to be plugged into the mains power supply. [However], the smart aortic graft has the potential to not only extend a patient’s life, but also to provide them with mobility and comfort.”

As previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now. However, 3D printing recently entered a new and exciting stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.

Video: Creating 3D models from a single photo

An international team of scientists from Tel Aviv (TAU) and Tsinghua Universities has created a software-based platform that allows users to create a 3D model from a single photo. According to Ariel Shamir of Tel Aviv University, the platform, aptly dubbed 3-Sweep, neatly combines the cognitive abilities of humans with the computational accuracy of a machine.

“Our technique provides the user [with] the means to quickly create editable 3D parts – human assistance implicitly segments a complex object into its components, and positions them in space,” Shamir explained.

“In our interface, three strokes are used to generate a 3D component that snaps to the shape’s outline in the photograph, where each stroke defines one dimension of the component. The computer reshapes the component to fit the image of the object in the photograph as well as to satisfy various inferred geometric constraints imposed by its global 3D structure.”

With this intelligent interactive modeling tool, says Shamir, the daunting task of object extraction is made simple. Meaning, once the 3D object has been extracted, it can be quickly edited and placed back into photos or 3D scenes, permitting object-driven photo editing tasks which are impossible to perform in image-space.

3D printing technology – projected to be a $3 billion business by 2016 – is a rapidly evolving industry. Indeed, 3D tech recently entered a new and exciting stage in a number of spaces  including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.

Want to learn more about what 3D printing can do for you? Be sure to check out Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap, which have been favorites of the DIY Maker community for some time now.

3D printing living kidneys

3D printing technology – projected to be a $3 billion business by 2016 – is rapidly evolving, particularly in the medical sphere. To be sure, Melbourne scientists recently took a big step towards the development of “grow your own” 3D cartilage to treat cancers, osteoarthritis and traumatic injuries, as 3D printed orthopedic implants were successfully fitted in Peking’s University Third Hospital in Beijing.

Similarly, doctors at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan transplanted 3D printed bones into four patients with cervical spine (cervical) disc herniation, while 3D printing tech helped Doctors at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University repair a patient’s damaged skull in China.

And now, for the first time ever, scientists have successfully used 3D printing technology to create actual, living human kidneys.

“Like the human livers printed in the past, the kidney are currently miniature in size, but with about 90% of the printed cells being alive, the potential for human use looks immensely positive,” explained Gizmodo’s Ashley Feinberg. “To produce mass amounts of the living cells, samples of human kidney cells are cultured in large volumes and blended with hydrogel, a water- and nutrition-rich material that makes up the 3D printed kidneys’ base.”

According to Xu Mingen, the lead researcher and professor at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in eastern Zhejiang Province, the 3D printed kidneys are capable of breaking down toxins, metabolizing and secreting fluid.

As  previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now. However, 3D printing recently entered a new and exciting stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield. Indeed, as Bloomberg’s Betty Liu notes, the 3D printing industry is projected to be worth a staggering $3 billion by 2016.

Repairing damaged skulls with 3D printing tech

3D printing technology is quickly becoming mainstream in the medical world. Indeed, researchers recently managed to design and print a 3D splint that saved the life of an infant born with severe tracheobronchomalacia – a serious birth defect that causes the airway to collapse.

Melbourne scientists also took a big step towards the development of “grow your own” cartilage to treat cancers, osteoarthritis and traumatic injuries using 3D tech, while 3D printed orthopedic implants were successfully fitted in Peking’s University Third Hospital in Beijing.

Similarly, doctors at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan transplanted 3D printed bones into four patients with cervical spine (cervical) disc herniation. Following the transplants, symptoms such as gait disturbance and hand numbness improved.

The latest 3D medical news? Doctors at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University used the technology to repair a patient’s damaged skull.

“Dr. Wang Mao De, Chen Wei and their team began the process with a CT scan of the patient’s skull. Then the printer printed a matching piece of the skull’s missing part, layer by layer,” a post published on 3Ders explained.

“Unlike existing implants made from materials like titanium, the plastic implants are light and non-corroding. The precise manufacturing technique can not only mimic a real skull, but also add detailing on the surface and edges of the implant to help existing bone attach to the implant more easily.”

According to 3Ders, the implant is made from a type of thermoplastic known as polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), which is biocompatible, mechanically similar to bone, and radiolucent so as not to interfere with X-Ray equipment.

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now. However, 3D printing recently entered a new and exciting stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.

3D printing with Atmel engineers

Recently, more than 20 hobbyists and DIY Makers hosted a 3D printing demonstration at EpiCentral Coworking in downtown Colorado Springs. According to Chris Vestal, who organized the meeting, several hobbyists were building their own 3D printers at the event, while others showcased completed prototypes.

Vestal says he has already formed a company dubbed “MotoMinded” which is slated to sell plastic containers for dirt bike fuel injectors made with a 3D printer.

“I bought my own printer in January because I had an idea for this product that I will sell for $38. So far, I have made 25 of them that I have sent to professional dirt bike racers for testing, but I plan on selling them starting Sept. 16,” Vestal told Wayne Heilman who writes for the local Gazette. “I worked for General Motors as a designer for headlights and taillights, and when we wanted to make prototypes, we went to the printing team and it took an entire day to make the part with a printer that took up an entire room.”

At least two Atmel engineers attended the 3D printing event, including Steve Clark and Randy Melton. Clark told the Gazaette he was building his own 3D printer from a kit and plans to use the device to make trinkets, prototypes and replacement parts for mechanical devices. Meanwhile, Melton showcased his 3D printer in action, which he routinely tasks with making parts for his Shop-Vac.

“The printer is an Ord-Bot Hadron built from Makerslide. The electronics? Ardiuno, using Atmel’s mega2560 and the ramps driver board,” said Melton. “This is additive manufacturing that builds up layer-by-layer, which is much less wasteful that a router that starts with a block and cuts away at it. Big companies use this technology to build prototypes and hobbyists have these printers, but in five to 10 years, most consumers will have one.”

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now. However, 3D printing recently entered a new and exciting stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.

3D printing in combat zones

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now, but it is quite clear that 3D printing recently entered a new and important stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.

Photo Credit: US Army

Yes, the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and Purdue University are currently examining the possibility of deploying 3D printers in combat zones which would be tasked with instantly fixing or replacing damaged equipment (including aircraft and ground vehicles), all while significantly cutting down on logistical costs.

According to Ed Habtour, a research engineer with ARL’s Vehicle Technology Directorate at Aberdeen Proving Ground, scientists have found that combining the general purpose, finite-element analysis software ABAQUS with Python helps improves energy absorption and dissipation, productivity and lower maintenance costs.

“The combination of ABAQUS and Python provides an automated process for auto-generation of the geometries, models, materials assignments and code execution,” Habtour explained. “The soldier can print [3D] structures in the field using additive manufacturing by simply downloading the model generated by the designer/vendor.”

Habtour also noted that new structures created from this process are designed to be adaptive and configurable to the harsh conditions like random and harmonic vibrations, thermal loads, repetitive shocks due to road bumps, crash and acoustic attenuation. Plus, the structures can be configured to prevent crack propagation.

“Sometime in the near future, soldiers would be able to fabricate and repair these segmented structures very easily in the front lines or Forward Operating Bases (FOBs), so instead of moving damaged ground or air vehicles to a main base camp for repair, an in-field repair approach would essentially mean vehicles would be fixed and accessible to warfighters much faster at lower costs,” he addedr. “We want to change the conventional thinking by taking advantage of exciting materials and manipulating the structure based on the principle of segmentation and assembly.”

3D printing with ancient fossils

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals and plants, as well as other organisms from the remote past. They are often buried  in sediment under ancient seas, lakes and rivers. Once excavated, fossils can be carefully studied, allowing scientists to bolster their understanding of life on ancient Earth.

Although detailed images of fossils are readily available online, hands-on interaction with such specimens is understandably limited due to the two-dimensional format of standard pictures.

A 3D database maintained by the British Geological Service hopes to change the way we interact with fossils by allowing site visitors to download and create fossil models on 3D printers such as the Atmel-powered Makerbot or RepRap.

According to 3Ders, the database is billed as the world’s first 3D virtual fossil collection which can be searched by taxonomic group, species, genus, geological age, locality and country.

“Users can browse, zoom in, rotate and download the interactive 3D models and metadata, as well as high-resolution images and stereo (anaglyph) photographs,” the publication explained. “The 3D models may [also] be viewed and/or downloaded in PLY and OBJ formats.”

Bits & Pieces readers may also want to check out the website of Martin Galese, a 31-year-old lawyer in New York who routinely searches the USPTO (US Patent Office) archives for the design DNA of antique inventions – subsequently “reinterpreting” them as design files for 3D printers. Indeed, Galese has already printed a chopstick holder from the 1960s, a portable chess set from the 1940s, a pot scraper from 1875 and a 1989 bookmark / pen holder.

As previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now, but it is quite clear that 3D printing recently entered a new and important stage in a number of spaces, including the medical sphere, architectural arena and scientific field.