Recently, more than 100 researchers from around the world have been working on a project called RepRap (Replicating Rapid-prototyper), which started in 2004. At the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK, the [...]]]> As biologists are busy working on cloning living organisms, engineers are working on a mechanical counterpart – creating non-living things that can replicate themselves.

Recently, more than 100 researchers from around the world have been working on a project called RepRap (Replicating Rapid-prototyper), which started in 2004. At the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK, the team displayed their creation: the world’s first 3D printer than can print pieces which can be assembled by hand to make an exact copy of the original printer.

The replica is no mule, either – it can also print another copy of itself.

So far, RepRap can only reproduce its plastic parts, and not its metal or electronics. It takes a human a few hours to assemble the copied pieces into another printer.

Nevertheless, RepRap is the first 3D printer that can reproduce its own components. And, with its pieces costing around $600, the printer is much less expensive than other 3D printers (which cost around $50,000). Besides replicating itself, it can also print plastic 3D objects including coat hooks, water-filter insects, children’s sandals, and much more.

The RepRap collaborators hope that the printer can be useful for reproducing plastic objects of just about any shape, especially for hobbyists and communities in the developing world.

People already “run their own CD burners, printing presses and photographic laboratories”, said Adrian Bowyer, the University of Bath mechanical engineer who launched the RepRap project. “There’s no reason they shouldn’t run their own factories as well.”

At RepRap.org , you can find more information, including instructions for building your own replicating RepRap printer.

Source: inventorspot.com

A 3D printer combines or fuses successive layers of material in a form of “additive manufacturing” [...]]]> North Technical High School’s Precision Machining Program recently received a modern Dimension 1200es 3D printer System.  In today’s field of engineering, architecture, and design, prototyping a three dimensional drawing is an essential step in the design process.

A 3D printer combines or fuses successive layers of material in a form of “additive manufacturing” to yield a functional three dimensional object that can be tested under real-world conditions.  The Dimension 1200es 3D printer accomplishes this task by creating a durable ABS plastic model from a Computer Assisted Drawing (CAD) file, thus yielding a solid model prototype that closely imitates the look, feel, and functionality of the desired end product.  Previous methods of producing a typical prototype took many man-hours, numerous tools, and highly skilled labor.  This older research and development process would cost companies enormous amounts of money.

3D printing gives research and development teams a cheaper and faster process for producing prototypes.  This technology is not only used in industrial design, but also has applications in other areas such as jewelry, footwear, architecture, automotive, aerospace.

Source: northtechnical.org

According to Christian Weinand of the Insel [...]]]> With the help of their latest invention in science – a 3D printer, researchers managed to create the exact copy of a man’s thumb bones. The device can now be used to help surgeons restore damaged bones by creating their precise copies, which are made from the patient’s cells.

According to Christian Weinand of the Insel Hospital in Berne, Switzerland, who leads the team of scientists that replicated his thumb bone, theoretically it is possible to copy any bone. The scientist “grew” his substitute bones on the backs of laboratory mice. However, it is not always necessary to use a surrogate mouse. This is the case when a person, who lost a thumb, is able to replace it with his or her own toe. Currently surgeons are able to replace a thumb with the patient’s toe or by using bone fragments.

The new method implies a number of steps. Initially it is important to have a 3D image of the bone that is going to be copied. In case the bone has been damaged, one can create a mirror image of the bone’s intact twin. Afterwards the picture of the bone is inserted into a 3D inject printer that puts thin layers of a material (selected beforehand) on top of one another till the 3D object shows up.

The researcher filled their latest invention with tricalcium phosphate along with a type of polylactic acid. These are natural materials that persist in human body, informs NewScientist.

After successfully replicating a bone, the copy itself features small pores on its “scaffolds”. This is where bone cells can eventually settle, grow and then completely displace the biodegradable scaffold. Scientists removed CD117 cells from bone marrow that remained after hip-replacement surgical operations. These cells develop into primordial bone cells, also known as osteoblasts. The latter were syringed on top of the bone scaffolds in a gel that was created to nourish the CD117 cells as well as support them. In the final step, scientists sew scaffolds under the skin on the backs of laboratory mice. After 15 weeks the scaffold had turned into human bone.

Source: infoniac.com

About five years ago, Mark Ganter, a UW mechanical engineering professor and longtime practitioner of 3-D printing, [...]]]> This story is, literally, stone age meets digital age: University of Washington researchers are combining the ancient art of ceramics and the new technology of 3-D printing. Along the way, they are making 3-D printing dramatically cheaper.

About five years ago, Mark Ganter, a UW mechanical engineering professor and longtime practitioner of 3-D printing, became frustrated with the high cost of commercial materials and began experimenting with his own formulas. He and his students gradually developed a home-brew approach, replacing a proprietary mix with artists’ ceramic powder blended with sugar and maltodextrin, a nutritional supplement. The results are printed in a recent issue of Ceramics Monthly. Co-authors are Duane Storti, UW associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Ben Utela, a former UW doctoral student.

Source: www.uwnews.org