Free Republic

The advent of three-dimensional (3D) printing has generated a swell of interest in artificial organs meant to replace, or even enhance, human machinery. Printed organs, such as a proto­type outer ear developed by researchers at Princeton University in New Jersey and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, was on the agenda at the Inside 3D Printing conference in New York on 15–17 April. The ear is printed from a range of materials: a hydrogel to form an ear-shaped scaffold, cells that will grow to form cartilage, and silver nanoparticles to form an antenna. Printed body parts brought in US$537 million...

There is tremendous progress being made within the area of 3D bioprinting. In fact, there are companies working to print human organs as we speak, and within the next decade such organs may, if we are lucky, be available for human transplantation. With that said we still are a ways away from such an accomplishment. There are multiple obstacles researchers must first overcome. When considering the organ printing space in general, the printing of complicated vascular networks is the main obstacle currently preventing progress. On the other hand, when printing cellular musculoskeletal tissues the main obstacle in this space is...

NEW YORK, NY, Apr 29, 2015 – Graphene 3D Lab Inc. will announce details of a newly-developed water-soluble 3D filament at the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ (CME) Canada Makes: Additive Manufacturing Forum at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario on April 30, 2015. The water-soluble filament is the latest in a line of specialty-functional filaments that Graphene 3D is introducing to the 3D printing industry. Elena Polyakova, chief operating officer of Graphene 3D, will present details on the new water-soluble filament and discuss the effect of graphene-enhanced materials for the 3D printing industry. Water-soluble filaments are primarily used to occupy negative...

It may seem a touch misleading in name, but scientists at the University of Wollongong say they’re creating what they call 4D printing. The fourth dimension they refer to is time and shape shifting as the researchers have begun to develop 3D printed materials capable of morphing into new structures – post production – as those materials are influenced by the addition of external stimuli such as water or heat. The team at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science say these new materials are able to transform themselves from one shape into another, and they see applications for...

A Chinese engineering firm that claims it built 10 houses in less than 24 hours last year using a 3D printer has unveiled the world’s tallest “printed” building. The five-story apartment building is on display next to a 1,100-square-foot mansion—also created on a 3D printer—in Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province. The mansion’s furniture and decorations also were made on a 6.6- by-10-meter tall printer, which uses an "ink" composed of glass fibers, steel, cement, hardening agents, and recycled construction waste to build one layer at a time for builders to assemble. The apartment building took a day to print...

The not-especially-modestly titled Industrial Revolution III (IR3) is a next-gen 3D printer that will not only print out your designs, but will assemble them with your non-printable components to create fully functional, sophisticated products in one streamlined process. Creator Buzz Technology claims that this will encourage the reuse of neglected household items and electronics into new, useful items while advancing the development of 3D printing in professional and at-home maker scenes. According to the IR3′s creators, UK-based Buzz Technology, the 3D printer features a pick and place head that “enables it to produce fully assembled, working products incorporating electronics, motors,...

New York Congressman Steve Israel and a photo of an AR-15 which includes 3D printed parts.Gun rights groups from Defense Distributed to the NRA to Come and Take It Texas will not be pleased with the latest piece of proposed legislation from Congressman Steve Israel. Israel, a representative from New York state, first called for legislation to ban 3D printed guns. Israel’s bill has gotten little traction at this point, but he says he’s not about to give up the fight.In fact, Israel says he’ll be reintroducing legislation aimed at banning 3D printed, or for that matter, all fully-plastic firearms....

Manufacturing industries need to embrace 3D printing, which will have an even bigger impact on economies and society than the internet, an Australian technology specialist says. Steve Sammartino is a digital entrepreneur and venture capitalist who advises business on how to adjust to disruptive technologies and the digital revolution. While most of us have heard about 3D printing and its potential to improve medical treatments and manufacturing processes, Mr Sammartino says 3D printing will be far more than a niche tool. He says it will transform everything about the way we live within a matter of years. Speaking to The...

Most of us are aware of the KISS principle: Keep it simple, stupid! And while simplicity is certainly a theme in many 3D printers, they are anything but stupid—and created by those who are the polar opposite—with ingenuity in abundance—which they use to share new innovations with the world. One quite simply has to give up with wondering what the collective ‘they’ will come up with next and just roll with the idea that the possibilities in 3D printing are infinite. And as progress in the industry and the community of makers marches on daily and hourly, it’s hard not...

In March, a Website dedicated to 3D-printing firearms announced one of its members had developed a lower receiver for a Colt CM901 rifle. It’s a small — but evolutionary — step toward the development of firearms that pretty much anyone can download off the Internet. The CM901 is the bigger, badder brother of the ubiquitous AR-15. The CM901 has a similar design, but fires the heavier and more powerful 7.62-millimeter bullet, resulting in greater range and killing power. A group of gunsmiths associated with PrintedFirearm.com developed the CM901 lower receiver and uploaded an animated gif of a live-fire test. The clip is five seconds...

There’s one thing you may have begun to notice about digital design and 3D printing: whatever you think might happen in the future is probably going to advance far beyond whatever you envisioned or thought might be a cool idea. And literally, one day you may be envisioning your entire world, and recording it as well, through completely artificially constructed, 3D printed eyeballs. You may be able to say goodbye to prescription glasses and contact lenses — and even your camera, as your original retina is replaced by a new and digital network contained inside your head, and even able...

Business is booming, fuel prices are down. So it’s time to start thinking about the next threat to the industry: 3D printing. Advocates of 3D printing have said it can transform manufacturing. This week, a new startup company announced a new 3D printing technique it says may actually deliver on that promise. In traditional 3D printing, the machine "prints" layers of material to create a 3D object. This takes time and leaves ripples showing where those layers were laid down. But what if you could "grow" an object out of a pool of liquid, much like the T-1000 rising from...

If you’ve been reading our site for longer than a couple of weeks, then you likely have figured out that we are obsessed with 3D printing. Why are we so obsessed with this technology? Because we truly believe that 3D printing will change the world we all live in, mostly for the better, and the quicker this happens the better off we all will be. Although I, personally, became aware of 3D printing about half a decade ago, I didn’t really understand it or venture to explore the various applications of the technology until only about two years ago. Soon...

In the short amount time that we have been covering this industry, we have reported on many amazing 3D printing related projects being undertaken by various individuals and companies around the globe. There have been 3D printed cars, 3D printed apartment buildings, and even an entire 3D printed estate that is expected to be erected in New York sometime this year. However, when we were contacted by a man named Tops Nicol, the research founder of the Alphaseed project, we were truly blown away.  “Science is fascinating and its latest growth in all branches of scientific research has helped...

The wonders of 3D printing, and the technology’s potential to revolutionize the world of manufacturing, have thrilled entrepreneurs, tinkerers, government officials and the business community. However, the 3D technology has a potential dark side too in the form of 3D printing of weapons, not only is there a threat of fanatic element making use of the technology to procure 3D weapons, but on a more concerning note, there are strong chances that such weapons may easily escape the various security detection tests and could be used to devastating effect in public places. In 2013, a United States Department of Homeland...

What will 3D printers ultimately evolve into? No one has a functioning crystal ball in front of them I assume, but a good guess would be a machine which can practically build anything its user desire, all on the molecular, and eventually atomic levels. Sure we are likely multiple decades away from widespread molecular manufacturing, but a group of chemists led by medical doctor Martin D. Burke at the University of Illinois may have already taken a major step in that direction. Burke, who joined the Department of Chemistry at the university in 2005, heads up Burke Laboratories where he...

Need an obscure medicinal compound found only in a jungle plant? Just print it.Say you're a medical researcher interested in a rare chemical produced in the roots of a little-known Peruvian flower. It's called ratanhine, and it's valuable because it has some fascinating anti-fungal properties that might make for great medicines. Getting your hands on the rare plant is hard, and no chemical supplier is or has ever sold it. But maybe, thanks to the work of University of Illinois chemist Martin Burke, you could print it right in the lab. In a new study published in the journal Science...

The Škorpion vz. 61 is a very recognizable submachine gun that garnered a following due to its representation in video games and movies. First designed in 1959, this Czechoslovak firearm is also available in semiautomatic versions. However, the semiautomatic variants can be a bit hard to find, and unless you are capable of milling your own lower receiver for one, many fans will have a difficult time getting their hands on a working Škorpion. That is, unless you know how to work a 3D printer. The enthusiasts in this video used a demilled receiver to design their blueprint for this...

Laura Bosworth wants to 3D print breast nipples on demand. The CEO of the Texas startup TeVido Biodevices is betting on a future in which survivors of breast cancer who have undergone mastectomies will be able to order up new breasts printed from their own living cells. “Everyone,” she says, “knows a woman who has had breast cancer.” Right now their options are limited. Reconstructed nipples using state-of-the-art plastic surgery techniques, she says, “tend to flatten and fade and don’t last very long.” A living nipple built from the patient’s own fat cells, and reconstructed to the precise specification of...

A couple of forward-thinking engineering students from the University of British Columbia have put together a little machine that grinds up used plastics and turn them into usable filaments for 3D-printing. It’s called the ProtoCycler, and it’ll generate a kilogram spool of filament for free (negating the cost of electricity of course) if you have some soda pop bottles lying around. The concept behind the 3D-printer add-on was simple—combine a filament extruder and plastic grinder into one contraption. (COMPARISON-CHART-AT-LINK)The ProtoCycler can churn out 10 feet of filament a minute, which makes it the fastest extruder on the market according to...