Author: ananya kondiparthy

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Hobbyist 3D prints Star Wars character, Darth Vader’s mask

Darth Vader
Darth Vader

3D printing as a technology has been evolving almost everyday. Many enthusiasts, who are really passionate about 3D printing, have been trying to design or make things of their interest and while experimenting they are able to discover something new. 3D printing technology has basically become a global community where people with different talents are sharing their experiences and educating the rest of the community.

We all desire for perfection, and this desire for perfection has made 3D printing users to design technologies, like that of the CLIP (Continuous Liquid Interface Production) technology, that are able to give perfect 3D printing results., i.e., the output matches closely with the actual .STL model.

Jonathan Russell of Australia, who apart from being a huge fan of 3D printing, is also into graphic designing and web developing. Jonathan also feels passionate about technology and no wonder he has his own YouTube channel, TechWiz, where he shares tips and tricks on computer technology, unboxings, and reviews on various headphones.

Recently his experience of 3D printing a Darth Vader, got video recorded and shared in his YouTube channel.

Russell wanted a smooth looking Darth mask. So he used Z-Poxy PT-39 30 Minute epoxy solution, which is manufactured by Pacer Technologies. “I wasn’t happy with cold vapour smoothing with acetone (or the dangerous hot method), so I tested out smoothing using epoxy instead,” said Russell.

Z-Poxy PT-39 30 Minute epoxy solution
Z-Poxy PT-39 30 Minute epoxy solution

“I was blown away by the latest Star Wars Episode 7 trailer and couldn’t believe it was not going to be out till December. Christmas 2015,” said Russell.

“So, packed with enough force to keep the Imperial March looping, the XYZ Davinci 1.0 3D Printer began its 16 hour journey into printing this Thingiverse 3D Model.”

3D printing of Darth Vader
Walling of 3D printing process
Melted Darth Vader 3D printed
3D printed melted Darth Vader’s mask

The smoothing process seemed to be rather simple – he mixed the 40z bottle of Z-Poxy Resin with a 4oz bottle of Z-Poxy Hardener, and then brush the final Z-Poxy PT-39 30 Minute epoxy solution onto the model. After 30 minutes of waiting the final shiny Darth’s mask was ready.

Smoothed Darth Vader
Smoothed Darth Vader’s mask

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Researchers use BioBot 3D bioprinter for nerve cell engineering

BioPrinting ear
BioPrinting ear

BioBot 3D bioprinter was first designed by two graduates from the University of Pennsylvania, Ricardo, 25 and Daniel, 22. The two budding entrepreneurs have been involved in designing a 3D printer that will be able to print human tissues and organs that can be used in transplanting.

BioBot 3D bioprinterThis duo, who calls their startup “the future of regenerative medicine” seems to have impressed the Michigan Tech University (MTU). The Michigan-based institute recently acquired the BioBot 3D bioprinter. MTU researchers intend to create a bio-ink, also called 3D printable human tissue, that can be used to replace damaged nerve tissues.

This 12″ x 12″ bio 3D printer costs around $5000 which is by far one of the cheapest 3D Bio-3D printable machines and weighs much much lesser than them. “There are other tissue-engineering devices, but to really accelerate development they must be smaller, most cost-effective to manufacture, easier to use and more accessible,” said Daniel.

Bioprinting TechnologyNational Science Foundation helped Michigan Tech in funding for the printer that has opened new doors of studying and researching on cellulose nanocrystals as a potential biomaterial filament.

Associate Professor of Michigan Tech University, Reza Shahbazian-Yassar said, “Cellulose nanocrystals with extremely good mechanical properties are highly desirable for bioprinting of scaffolds that can be used for live tissues.”

Bioprinting at Michigan Tech University LabThe MTU team, which has been dedicating itself to research on fabricatable regenerative tissue cells (taking the aid of the BioBot 3D printer), includes the best brains from the bioengineering and mechanical engineering  department, making the research team absolutely a perfect fit for nerve cell printing.

“We can pursue nerve regeneration research with a simpler printer set-up,” said Shayan Shafiee, a PhD student.

“This is based on fractal geometry, these are similar to our vertebrae—the idea is to let a nerve pass through the holes … it’s like other 3D printers, you need a design to work from.” Shafiee added.

Biotechnologists and mechanical engineers have been involved in researching on the possibilities of conducting a successful tissue surgery, using the 3D bio-printing technology.

Doctors have even made 3D printed Bio-cement for Bone surgery. Click here to know more.

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Make your own 3D printed bow-tie with a hidden spy cam

spygear bow-tie
spygear bow-tie

In 2012, a series of Rasberry Pi (a single-board computer) were introduced, that intended to give a first hand learning experience of a fully-functioning PCBs to computer science students during their graduation level. But this technology has proved to be more useful for a large community of technology lovers. Since then with the help of the additive manufacturing technology and using Raspberry Pi PCB board, numerous interesting projects were implemented and shared online. And now, with the advanced Respberry Pi 2 (900 MHz quad-core processor, 1 GB RAM and four USB 2.0 ports) on-board, implementing an innovative and powerful project is no big deal.

Recently, blogger and product analyst, Raymond Wong who works for Mashable, has been trying his hands on a little off-beat yet an interesting project. Browsing over an endless list of experiments on the internet Wong was inspired to build his very own spy-gear, using a Raspberry Pi PCB board, and soon afterwards, mounting it on a 3D printed bow-tie. Wong explains, ‘A simple Google search brings up thousands of cool Pi projects and hacks; people love the little $35 computer. To date, more than 5 million units have been sold since the Pi debuted three years ago. A handful of different models exist now, but the spirit remains the same: Go out and hack it into something awesome.’ In fact, there’s been several such DIY projects available on the internet for an enthusiastic and passionate tech-loving geek to use his imagination and build something very innovative.

Spy gear requirementsUsing the Raspberry Pi 2 himself, Wong wanted to try something interesting. He explains, ‘It’s underpowered and you can’t really juggle more than a few tabs in a web browser — but it all works, as long as you’re willing to wait a few seconds longer for things to load,’ He adds, ‘[So] I set out to do something fun with the Pi 2.’ After a little bit of searching on the internet he chose to make a spy-gear. He found this project to be perfectly suitable for him and it turns out it’s pretty easy for anyone who has used a Raspberry Pi before. But for that you need  a portable battery pack, microSD card with SD card adapter, Wi-Fi adapter, Ethernet cable, Micro USB cable and Raspberry Pi camera module.

Once you realize that you are getting a hang of the new RaspBerry Pi 2 then you may try experimenting with it to make numerous interesting project. But if you are more enthusiastic about making a spy cam then the video (above) will be a good guide for you.

If you’re a big fan of the Mission Impossible series and if you are crazy about technology, I’m sure you’ve tried making their own spy-gear similar to that of Ethan Hunt’s. But if you haven’t then thanks to Wong, building your own spy cam will become a reality.

 Featured image: Mashables

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Trio 3D prints portable stand, smartphone wall attacher and cable tidy (all-in-one)

Stikey
Stikey

3D printing technology has been literally a dream come true for technology innovators and new age entrepreneurs. With the backing of Kickstarter and 3D printing they are able to launch many innovative products that has proved to be useful for the users also. Using this opportunity three entrepreneurs from Greece brainstormed and came up with something very unique and innovative at the same.

Three college friends from Athens, Greece – Milatis, Ilias and Liban have been working on their idea of making a portable smartphone stand and cable tidy for quite some time. So soon they came up with “Stikey”, a portable smartphone stand and cable tidy. It can also function as a magnetic key-chain.

Stikey trio

Stikey, 3D printed in polyurethane, consists of a built-in magnet which can get attached to a small and thin metal tab of around 0.2 mm. You can place this tab at the back of your smartphone or smartphone case. This magnet allows you to mount your phone on a wall while you are probably charging your phone’s battery or taking an online cooking class from your smartphone.

stikey demo

Stikey mounted on a wall“We developed Stikey in order to enhance our smartphone experience and add the element of versatility in the way we use them,” said the designers on their Kickstarter page.

Stikey key chain“Another important aspect of our design approach was portability. We wanted users to have Stikey with them at all times in order for them to benefit from its features whenever needed. We have analysed different user profiles and developed several concept designs. From the initial concepts we moved on early prototypes which we tested with users for functionality and form.”
“We have carried out a detailed production and delivery plan for Stikey and are committed to stick to it and send out rewards ASAP,” they said.
The conclusion of the kickstarter campaign for the trio seems very bright because they’ve already reached £9,879 of their £12,000 goal.
3D printing technology has been extensively used by many zany inventors, producing low cost and good quality products.

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Students design & manufacture 3D printed customized resin skin for prostheses

resin made product
resin made product

If you want best quality products in low cost, then 3D printing is the way. Researchers and biotechnologists have used 3D printing as a tool to produce low-cost prosthetic limbs, that would have otherwise costed thousands of dollars if manufactured using traditional manufacturing techniques.

In the past we have seen how doctors came about saving the life of a teenager when they discovered a serious aortic complication in her heart. And in many cases 3D printing enthusiasts cum dog lovers made 3D printed wheelchair for our four-legged friends.

While the utility of 3D printing technology was becoming more and more prominent, 27 sophomore students pursuing the Interior and Product Design (IAPD) program at Kansas University, were busy developing 3D printed skin for prosthetic limbs, as a part of their semester end project.

IAPD studentThese 27 students were given a task to design & manufacture “customized” skin for 6 chosen individuals who wear prosthetic limbs. Associate professor and facilitator of the IAPD studio, Dustin Headley informs that this project is unique, as the prosthetic skins are going to be made of a silicon-like flexible resin that will dramatically reduce the cost of a prosthetic skin, which when made traditionally costs around $1000. The students are claiming to make all the 6 individual type of skins within that cost.

“Prosthetic skin in general is not a new thing, but it is a very costly thing,”  Headley wrote in the school’s blog.

This project is also an extension of a human empathy project which the students worked on at the beginning of this semester. As a part of the project, the students had gone to the extent of experiencing sensory deprivation to stimulate loss of mobility, sight and hearing. This exercise has let them gain sympathy for the brave ones going through the exact issues everyday in their lives.

“It really is an immersive experience where the students are not only being educated on some technical issues involved in making 3D printing and digital modeling, but also the result of that is not just an academic exercise. But it is something that is actually given to the participants,” added Headley.

Rather than building 3D printed prosthetic arms, the students chose to 3D print skins. This is something which is innovative as a concept.

resin product“Now as designers, we have the capability to change someone else’s world,” said Hana Robinson, one of the 2nd year students who actively participated in this project.

This project has helped Robinson to realize that the unbound potential 3D printing can really change people’s lives forever. “Now as designers, we have the capability to change someone else’s world,” Robinson told.

The interior and product design student Hana, also wants to help her swim coach’s son, who has muscular dystrophy, so that he’ll be able to swim like his father. “That little boy is incapable of swimming, and he just wants to be like his dad,” she adds, “I want to design a product that would enable him to do that, and I think this project helps me realize I can.”

Prof. Headley adds, “As designers, this is our way of contributing back our education.”

Not just professionals such as doctors, artists, biotechnologists, but also students from various disciplines are realizing everyday what 3D printing technology holds for the future. This is gradually building a new career roadmap altogether for budding engineers and designing students.

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Doctor surprises a blind would-be mother with a 3D printed face of her unborn baby

Blind mom meeting Murilo
Blind mom meeting Murilo

Becoming a mother is one of the heavenly experiences most women seek in their life . Most would-be parents eagerly await the day when in an ultrasonography examination they would get to have the first look of their unborn child still resting in utmost peace in the mother’s womb. Undoubtedly the joy they experience while having the first glimpse of their child cannot be expressed in mere words. But for a blind parent, experiencing this happiness can only be a dream. This does not undermine the strong connection they feel with the baby.

But recently 3D printing technology seems to change everything. It is showing signs that it has the capability to make a blind mother’s dream of “seeing” her child a reality…..Well almost.

Tatiana - Brazil ad
Tatiana during her ultrasonography

In an advertising campaign, Huggies Brazil shows a clip where a blind mother was suprised, and extremely happy to touch and feel the 3D printed sculpture of her yet-to-be born baby when she visits her doctor for an ultrasound scan.

Tatiana Guerra became blind when she was 17. Today she’s a 30 year old grown woman and is also 20 weeks pregnant. She came to meet her doctor for an ultrasound checkup. While they both got into a jolly conversation, Tatiana expressed her curiousity to know how her son Murilo looks. Tatiana gets into her own flow of describing Murilo’s “potato” like ears and chubby arms and how she thinks he might get his mom’s nose. After 15 mins of the scan, ultrasonographic images of her son were sent to get 3D printed.

3D printing process
After receiving the image the 3D printing starts
3D printed Murilo
Removing support of 3D printed Murilo’s sculpture

After some time when the 3D printed Murilo’s sculpture arrives, Dr. David asks Tatiana, “If you could touch your son then would that let you know how your son looks like?”.. The moment Tatiana says “Yes.” David hands over the sculpture, wrapped in white cloth, to her. While a confused Tatiana tries to figure out what she was holding in her palms, David tells, “That’s your son”. Tatiana was in absolute disbelief to realize what she was experiencing and at the same time her happiness knew no bounds. Tears were flowing over her cheeks as she felt the braille reading “I am your son.” Tatiana’s dream has finally been realized and she could embrace it too.

Braille reading i am your son
Tatiana reading the braille “I am your son”
Tatiana feeling her son
She feels his eyes, nose and the face

A heartwarming ad campaign like this could move millions and at the same, re-establish the trusted relationship technology has with a man’s existence. This video, which got over 850,ooo views in Youtube in over a week, is designed by Mood, a Venezuelan advertising agency, for its client Huggies, Brazil branch. Director of Huggies Brazil tells, ‘As a brand, Huggies considers each moment of this new phase in the lives of many women.” He adds, “Huggies believes that such protective embrace and bond help babies grow up happy’.

‘When I put my hand on my stomach and feel his little head on the other side, his little hands moving, it’s as though we have superpowers and nothing could hurt us,” -Tatiana.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD0AC43fc_4

Technology is not above human emotions but it’s very existence is to be a part of it and make lives easier. 3D printing technology has been changing how we used to dream. With its countless applications, it has proved that dreams can actually come true. At think3D we are amazed to witness how 3D printing technology is making things possible. We are sure like Tatiana’s, it will fulfill every blind mother’s  dream come alive, no matter where they come from.

Scene from Huggies ad campaign

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Doctor uses 3D printing technology for transforming eye care solutions

OphthalmicDocs Fundus
OphthalmicDocs Fundus

Since decades, application of 3D printing technology in the medical field has been very prominent. Doctors are using this technology to find feasible solutions of various critical experiments and the conclusion has always been positive. This has made 3D printing one of the most reliable and  highly affordable technologies of all times.

Recently New Zealand-based leading ophthalmologists Drs. Hong Sheng Chiong and Benjamin O. Keeffe used 3D printing technology to build a device that aims to make eye care solutions more reachable for the common people. It’s called the OphthalmicDocs Fundus.

‘Ending preventable blindness is my fight’, Dr. Chiong said at TEDx.

WHO reports mention that about 285 million people in the world are visually-impaired and 39 million of them are blind. 90% of the visual impaired patients actually live in developed countries. Though it is also reported that 80% of the people with visual impairments disease can be cured.

Dr. Chiong, co-founder of OphthalmicDocs Ltd., states that most people in the west who suffer from eye problems are accessible to high-quality fundus machines. But as these cameras are pretty expensive (each costing about $10,000) these are not affordable for most of  the underdeveloped countries. To that he adds that in a developing world affording health care service is itself expensive, let alone eye care. And this negligence towards taking care of your own eyes, within the right time, will eventually lead to blindness. Dr. Chiong wants to make eye care solutions affordable and easily accessible to all patients in every part of the world.

OpthalmicDocs Fundus
OpthalmicDocs Fundus
Dr Chiong at TEDx
Dr Chiong at the TEDx talk

With his mission to end preventable blindness in the world, he and his colleague and co-founder of OphthalmicDocs Ltd., Dr. Keeffe has been involved in developing a smartphone-based app that will let all the ophthalmologists, especially the ones in underdeveloped countries, to check for eye problems and detect early stages of blindness.

The concept worked well, but the issue which the doctors were facing most of the time was that the device wasn’t steady while its being use and also to maintain the steadiness of the patient. This may indicate the need of using some stable support like that are mostly used in an advanced fundus machine.

As Hong Sheng Chiong said in a recent TEDx in New Zealand, ‘Ending preventable blindness is my fight’, so he has since set out to develop a smartphone-based application that will enable doctors to check eyes for initial signs of preventable eye complications. The concept has seen some success, yet the device needs to be worked on to minimize any kind of error in results.

Chiong and Keeffe informed that the 3D printable files of an OphthalmicDocs Fundus will soon be available for downloading from May 8th, 2015.  ‘The files will be made available in several formats such as STL, STEP and IGES.  We strongly encourage anyone with interest to download the file and make your own modification to improve the model,’ the leading ophthalmologists write. Along with these, a self-diagnosis app is set to be produced in the near future.

OphthalmicDocs Fundus' parts

Making of Ophthalmic Fundus

People with right intentions help others to grow. And 3D printing is an able technology that is helping them to do so There has been more such cases where doctors have considered 3D printing technology to find solutions to critical cases, like executing a risky surgery. You can Click here to know more.

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Create your own Phone Drone at just $99

phonedrone
phonedrone

As technology keeps advancing, we as species keep adapting to the developments and changes. In the current century a smartphone, tablet, laptop, phablet have become an integral part of our daily lifestyle. And if you notice, since the announcement of iPhone back in January 2007, smartphone business have grown remarkably.

Recently a team of technology innovators are campaigning for a very interesting project at the Kickstarter website – like, using your smartphone devices as a flying drone! Aspirants have tried creating such technology before also, but this one is a little different and more efficient.

3D printed drone1Idaho-based, xCraft is a startup that specializes in drones and they came up with this innovative idea of making a ‘PhoneDrone‘!! The concept of the phone drone is that, you can attach your smartphone within a 3D printed drone and make it fly with you when you’re probably jogging in the park. The PhoneDrone is basically like an exoskeleton which has space for your phone to be attached. There’s a free app which you need to install in your smartphone which is going to be your drone-controller and another one you need to install inside the phone which you are going to place within the drone.

You can use the PhoneDrone for various purposes like watching over a property, following you while you are jogging, recording live your favourite game, acting as a home monitoring robot, or even taking selfies, at whichever height you please… Application can be many more.

The PhoneDrone features a ‘how high to fly’ and ‘where to go’ options. With these two features and with careful controlling of the machine you may be able to save your smartphone from crashing against your roof. And if the smartphone’s battery’s about to die then it has the feature to return to return to the owner…

If you are already finding it interesting then you can try 3D printing it on your own as the two co-founders, JD Claridge and Charles Manning, and also the creators of PhoneDrone, are providing its users with a remarkably cheaper DIY kit that includes all the 3D printing files necessary to create a PhoneDrone for yourself. The Kit consists of the motherboard, Electronic Speed controllers, four motors, hardware and the 3D model files. If you don’t wanna 3D print it then the xCraft team has a ready-to-assemble, pre-manufactured kit. You can simply assemble it, and then it becomes ready-to-use!

Parts of the PhoneDrone
Different parts of the PhoneDrone
PhoneDrone screen
The Screen of PhoneDrone app

The concept is definitely an impressive one, because so far they’ve already managed to raise a-third of their $250,000 goal at Kickstarter. They’re hoping to reach the target by the end of this month, which is the when their campaign gets over.

“We have a proven design and we want to do a large-scale production run – working with Kickstarter to gauge how many units will be produced,” said the xCraft team, “We feel confident that we will hit our minimum – we simply wonder how many we will punch out in this first production run.”

 

Setting your smartphone inside the drone
Attaching your smartphone inside the PhoneDrone

The DIY kit starts at $99 and the drone units cost $199. Hurry up before the limited offer gets over.

If the thought of a PhoneDrone breaching your privacy have crossed your mind then don’t worry. We’re sure if this innovation is launched then users will be using it keeping in mind the security and safety laws of the country.

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Barilla believes that traditional pasta lovers will start liking his 3D printed pasta

3D printed pasta
3D printed pasta

Even though survey has shown that 1 in every 4 people are okay with having 3D printed food, yet some food entrepreneurs and food manufacturing companies did not seem to lose faith in the 3D printing division of food making technology.

Braille

Back in 2013 Italy based Barilla, one of the oldest pasta makers in the world,  and a Dutch tech company TNO Eindhoven have been working together to make 3D printed pasta. In August 2014, Barilla announced a 3D modelling competition “Print Eat” where people from all over the globe were given an opportunity to present their own shapes of pasta. Out of the hundreds of entries French designer Loris Tupin seemed to have gained the jury’s attention. The speciality of Tupin’s pasta was that it turned in to a rose shape once it is boiled in water.

pasta 3D printed on spot

Experts at Barilla are positive that sooner or later the traditional pasta lovers will accept this change in pasta making. Meanwhile CEO of Thingarage and 3D printing expert, Antonello Balestieri, who also collaborated with Barilla in this 3D printed pasta making experience, said ‘As for pasta, I am pretty sure that in Italy it will be appreciated. It’s true we are a traditionalist population on this matter, but we are also a population of innovators and curious people. So I am sure that this will be one of those things we will be experiment with pleasure.’ This statement coming from an expert should be able clear lot of doubts about 3D printing food, especially, making of pasta.

If you want to read more on 3D printing news on food manufacturing you can click here.

Pasta 3D printed and then cooked