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We recently reported on an alliance between four companies that has 3D printed heart structures in a weightless environment. As the first installment of our regular new feature where we put one big question to one really smart person, we asked Euguene D. Boland, the chief scientist of Techshot — one of the companies involved in the research — what the single biggest impediment is to having lab-grown organs available right now. The single biggest impediment is one familiar to many other engineers in their disciplines as well, it's transport. In our case, we are not moving people or cars...

Lockheed Martin, the aerospace company, have filed a patent for a new kind of 3D printer. The patent, filed on April 4 by inventor David G. Findley, describes a new way of 3D printing which would use a pre-ceramic polymer and nanoparticle filler to create synthetic diamond objects of pretty much any shape you can dream up. “[The] method includes depositing alternating layers of a ceramic powder and a pre-ceramic polymer dissolved in a solvent. Each layer of the pre-ceramic polymer is deposited in a shape corresponding to a cross section of an object. The alternating layers of the ceramic...

Just how strong is strong? When browsing the web for new and exciting material solutions, you are often bombarded with terms like ‘very high toughness’ and ‘excellent material properties’, but that means little until you see a filament in action. US developer of engineering-grade filaments Avante Technology must have been all too aware of that, because they just exposed their recently released FilaOne Gray Carbon Nanotube filled 3D printer filament to a grueling strength test during which it supported 1,000 times its own weight and easily withstood 90 degree bends. Now that’s strong. This remarkable FilaOne Gray filament was released...

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a method of creating almost anything you can think of by using a computer-controlled printer. 3D printing takes digital files and transforms them into real, three-dimensional, solid products. With a 3D printer, you are able to design and manufacture everyday items such as shoes, jewelry, auto parts, medical equipment, homes, and even artificial organs right in your own home or office! The process begins with creating a virtual design of the object you want to make. This design is made in a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) file, using a 3D modeling program which...

3D printed organ transplants have been in the cards for a while, but deep tissue printing has proved problematic. Now a team of scientists in Korea think they have cracked the code for producing functional liver tissue by printing functional mouse liver cells. Simply put, we need more livers than we currently have as hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer are increasingly prevalent. The donor system, meanwhile, is inherently flawed. Patients face agonising treatment while they wait for a suitable liver. There is simply no guarantee they will get a matching organ in time and even if they do, there can...

3D printing technology allows users to easily replicate small items like paper clips, coat hangers and broken refrigerator door handles. Unfortunately, some creative criminals have taken advantage of the declining price of 3D printers to make the lives of law enforcement officers extremely difficult. Security company G4S has discovered criminals are using 3D printers to aid in stealing shipments of goods. In as little as 10 minutes, criminals can print replacement cargo seals, decoy security devices and replica locks and keys. After breaking into cargo containers, the criminals use the 3D-printed items to help cover their tracks. For law enforcement...

Hold on to your rolling pins, pizza restaurateurs — things are about to get a little weird. That's because today the world's first 3D pizza printing company, BeeHex, Inc. announced it has teamed up with Ribalta Neopolitan Restaurant Executive Chef Pasquale Cozzolino to make a 3D printed pie. Cozzolino, who also owns the New York City and Atlanta restaurants, is the pizza pro behind the venture, in charge of devising the right dough, sauce and cheese to work in the printer. He is working with a team of people at BeeHex, including Anjan Contractor, to create the best recipes for...

A company in China has unveiled a house created entirely though a 3D-printer. Experts took part in the creation of the building which was printed in one go at a construction site in the Tongzhou district of Beijing. It took just 45 days for the project to be completed. The entire large villa was printed in one go without being cut and then put together using a number of different pieces. Construction firm Beijing Huashang Tengda worked to build the 4,305 square foot home which stands at two storeys tall. The company claims that the walls are as thick as...

There were countless of 3D printers of all shapes and sizes on display at Additive Manufacturing Europe 2016 in Amsterdam this week, but one clearly stood out from all the others: the TRUMPF TruePrint 1000 metal 3D printer. The only industrial-grade metal 3D printer on display, it’s the kind of machine that aerospace and automobile companies are using to fundamentally change engineering as we know it. The TruePrint 1000 was first announced in late 2015 and has already been shipped to a number of clients, though the model visible above is the first to arrive in the Netherlands. What’s more,...

Filamet™, the new product from The Virtual Foundry, llc in Madison, Wisconsin, lets any standard 3d printer, print pure metal right on the desktop. This Crowdfunded development will likely change the way metal is 3D Printed. "I'd like to introduce you to the people that have found the Holy Grail of 3D Printing." -Engineer introducing Bradley Woods before a presentation given in the Hubble Auditorium at Lockheed-Martin. The Virtual Foundry has combined traditional plastics, Powdered Metallurgy, Metal Injection Molding and 3D Printing in a completely new way. Filamet™ has a composition of over 88% metal, which becomes pure metal after...

Penn State researchers have used a custom 3D photolithographic process similar to stereolithography to 3D print micro-patterned anion exchange membranes. The membranes, patterned for improved performance, could be used in energy, water purification, desalination, and other applications. Although they might resemble small pieces of run-of-the-mill kitchen plastic wrap, ion exchange membranes play a vital role several different practical processes. The thin, flat polymer sheets can be used in fuel cells and batteries, while food processing, heavy metals removal, and water purification can also benefit from the membranes. While these polymer membranes have traditionally been made flat and smooth, scientists have...

Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed the bio-ink, created by scientists at the University of Bristol, from stem cells. It is expected to pave the way for the production of complex tissues to replace diseased or damaged areas of the body such as knees and hips and eventually the creation of vital organs. Lead researcher Dr Adam Perriman, an expert in cellular medicine at the University of Bristol, said: “This is a very exciting development which we believe could lead to a revolution in the treatment of diseases like osteoarthritis and other causes of tissue damage. “This approach...

Local Motors, the Arizona-based automaker that crowdsources vehicle design, has introduced a 3D-printed, autonomous, electric shuttle bus that is partially recyclable called Olli. Local Motors says that it's the first vehicle to use IBM Watson’s car-focused cognitive learning platform, Watson Internet of Things (IoT) for Automotive. It’s a boxy, far-out concept that may be the first of its kind, but that’s the point for a company that isn’t focused only on making vehicles — it’s about remaking the car manufacturing business. If all goes according to plan, Olli will be giving autonomous rides at the company’s introductory event on the...

There are many factors that will play into the ultimate shift of 3D printing as a technology for rapid prototyping to one of end-part manufacturing, but the one area of additive manufacturing (AM) that may stand in the way of mass adoption of 3D printing within the larger manufacturing supply chain is that of metal AM. Metal AM has the ability to produce intricate, streamlined components with physical properties that can sometimes exceed those of parts manufactured by traditional means. Consequently, the technology has the potential to completely shift the way that we fabricate critical components. With it, we can...

Dubai shows us that it's possible to build an entire office building with 3D printing technology 3D printing technology has been used to print everything from figurines to braces to medical tissue. It’s also been hotly considered for building temporary shelter houses following a natural disaster. This possibility alone has shown that 3D printing tech has the power to revolutionize the future of architecture, with Dubai serving as the first city build an entire office building using a 3D printer. They’re calling the project the Office of the Future, and it began in 2015. The building is approximately 2,690 square...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.wfaa.com/news/health/utsa-researchers-close-to-using-3d-printer-to-print-organs/186674319

Italian 3D printing firm WASP is no ordinary company, claiming as its mission to save the world with digital fabrication technology and a new maker economy. To do its part in the World Advanced Saving Project (WASP), the firm has built its Big Delta 3D printer, a large-scale system capable of printing structures made from concrete and meant to produce homes for people in developing nations. It has yet to fulfill this latter goal, but a bit of news announced today indicates that WASP is making moves in the right direction. Together with Siam Cement Group (SCG) and architect Pitupong...

It’s been an exciting week for the 3D printing industry, with HP Inc. unveiling its very first 3D printer, the Jet Fusion, and 3D model website Sketchfab integrating VR viewing into its platform. In another exciting development for the additive manufacturing industry, what could be the world’s cheapest 3D printer, the 101Hero, has just launched on Kickstarter. The 101Hero 3D printer, which has been in development for the past two years, is an easy-to-use plug and play machine that is ideal for beginners and more experienced makers alike. What is most notable about the printer is that it can be...

Although 3D printing is a relatively new technology within the military-industrial complex, it has impacted Israel’s aerospace developments in a great number of ways. Last year, the Israeli military had 3D printed their own drone components, and even started a consortium with the government to focus on 3D printing with titanium. Now, the Israeli Air Force’s Aerial Maintenance Unit (AMU) is utilizing 3D printing technology to help repair their aged and worn down fleet of F-15 fighter jets, which were acquired by the IAF in 1980, and have been used in various missions ever since. The F-15 aircraft has provided...

In what may be one of the biggest stories we have covered this year, a new company, Carbon3D has just emerged out of stealth mode, unveiling an entirely new breakthrough 3D printing process, which is anywhere between 25 and 100 times faster than what’s available on the market today.The privately-held Redwood City, California-based company, Carbon3D, was founded in 2013, and since then has been secretly perfecting a new 3D printing technology which promises to change the industry forever. The technology that the company calls Continuous Liquid Interface Productiongo technology (CLIP) works by harnessing the power of light and oxygen to...