The World’s First 3D Printed Building Will Arrive In 2014 (And It Looks Awesome) Sure, 3D printing is fun and cute. And products like the Makerbot and Form 1 will most certainly disrupt manufacturing, even if it’s only on a small scale. But the possibilities of 3D printing stretch far beyond DIY at-home projects. We’ve already seen folks at MIT’s Research Labs working on ways to 3D print the frame of a home in a day, as opposed to the month it would take a construction crew to do the same. The architect’s name is Janjaap Ruijssenaars of Universe Architecture, and his project is a part of the Europan competition, which lets architects in over 15 different countries build projects over the course of two years. Ruijssenaars will work with Italian inventor Enrico Dini, founder of the D-Shape 3D printer. The final product will be a single flowing design, a two-story building. universe-architecture-3d-printed-house-1 universe-architecture-3d-printed-house-2 universe-architecture-3d-printed-house-3 universe-architecture-3d-printed-house-4 [via 3ders.org]
Study: 3D-printed ear made from calf cells and silver 'hears' Nanotechnology engineers have 3D printed an ear from calf cells and silver nanoparticles that picks up radio signals at frequencies beyond human capacity. The creation is part of their greater plan to one day build spare parts for humans cyborgs to don. Rather than simply adding electronics to an ear, the team from Princeton decided to try and integrate the two from the start. It might not be the prettiest of inventions, looking a little like Freddie Krueger's lost ear, but this sucker can pick up radio frequencies beyond human abilities, after the antenna is attached to electrodes. "The printed ear exhibits enhanced auditory sensing for radio frequency reception, and complementary left and right ears can listen to stereo audio music," the authors write in a paper on the study in Nano Letters. Now this is really a proof of concept for the Princeton team. Choosing to replicate an ear was also ambitious -- it's one of the most complex and intricate shapes to engineer from scratch.
3D-printed rockets for Nasa's Space Launch System Parts for the rocket engines of Nasa's Space Launch System will be created using a method of 3D-printing known as selective laser melting. The space agency is taking advantage of new technology to help improve safety and save money as it builds the SLS -- a heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to facilitate long-duration deep space exploration including trips to near-Earth asteroids and, ultimately, to Mars. "It's the latest in direct metal 3D printing -- we call it additive manufacturing now," says Ken Cooper, leader of the Advanced Manufacturing Team at the Marshall Centre. "It takes fine layers of metal powder and welds those together with a laser beam to fuse a three dimensional object from a computer file." Although not all of the rocket parts can be generated using the current SLM process, it can be used to improve the overall safety of the system by creating the geometrically complex pieces which would normally require a lot of welding.
UW students' 3-D printer to turn trash into better lives in Third World When he was working for the Peace Corps in Ghana and Panama, Matthew Rogge started to dream of turning waste plastic, abundant and freely available, into useful objects that would solve vexing Third World engineering problems. Sound far-fetched? He and a team of University of Washington students have done it. Last week, Rogge — who went back to school to become a mechanical engineer precisely to learn how to do this — and two fellow student engineers won an international competition for their proposal to turn plastic garbage into composting toilets. They've developed an inexpensive 3-D printer that can turn shredded, melted plastic waste into just about anything. 3-D printers have been around for at least 25 years, although they have become more widely available, better-known and cheaper in recent years. But until now, nobody had figured out how to cheaply build a large-scale printer that used recycled plastic as its raw material, said UW mechanical-engineering professor Mark Ganter.
Project Will Use 3D Printer, Waste Plastic to Make Composting Toilets, Rainwater Harvesting Systems siftnz/CC BY 3.0One man's trash is another man's treasure, they say, and while it may be difficult to find something good to say about the vast amount of plastic waste we're creating, it may be that some of that waste plastic will get turned into new and useful products, thanks to the magic of 3D printing. A team of students at the University of Washington just won $100,000 in funding for their project, which will transform plastic waste into pieces for rainwater harvesting systems and composting toilets in the developing world. © Mary Levin, UW PhotographyThe team, Washington Open Object Fabricators (WOOF), took top honors in the 3D4D Challenge, an international contest to leverage 3D printing technologies to deliver real social benefits in the developing world. The next step will be working with Water for Humans (WFH) to build the 3D printing machines to address local issues in water and sanitation in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Formlabs creates low-cost 3D printer Desktop 3D printing has largely been the domain of extrusion-based machines like MakerBot's Replicator and homebrew RepRap designs. While this process's print size, speed and quality have improved over time, it still lags behind the capabilities of pricier, professional stereolithography devices, where UV light cures incredibly thin layers of resin to create objects on par with manufactured goods. Developing this type of printer at a consumer price point has thus far been an elusive goal, but a today trio of MIT grads with impressive backers announced a new machine, called the Form 1, that can potentially bring professional-grade 3D prints to the home workshop. Formlabs, the group's company, comprises David Cranor, an electrical engineer with a passion for digital media; Maxim Lobovsky, an engineer and former project lead on the Fab@Home project; and Natan Linder, who previously co-founded an R&D centre for Samsung in Israel. Source: Wired.com
Nasa tests 3D-printed rocket engine fuel injector 15 July 2013Last updated at 08:24 ET Nasa says 3D printing could one day be used by astronauts to make replacement parts Nasa has announced it has successfully tested a 3D-printed rocket engine part. The US space agency said that the injector component could be made more quickly and cheaply using the technique. The part is used to deliver liquid oxygen and hydrogen gas to an engine's combustion chamber. The news follows General Electric's revelation that it planned to use 3D printing technology to make fuel nozzles for its jet engines. Nasa said that California-based Aerojet Rocketdyne had made the injector using a method called selective laser melting (SLM). The technique involves turning a computer-designed object into a real-world part by controlling a high-powered laser beam which melts and fuses thin layers of metallic powders into the preordained shape. SLM is not the only unusual manufacturing technique being explored by Nasa. Design competition
Urbee: The world's first 'printed' car rolling off the 3D printing presses... By Daniel Bates Updated: 21:54 GMT, 23 September 2011 The world’s first 'printed' car has finally rolled off the printing press. The 'Urbee' was made using a special printer which built up layer upon layer of bodywork - almost as if the car was 'painted' into existence, except using layers of ultra-thin composite that are slowly 'fused' into a solid. But unlike most 'innovations' in cars, this one won't break down after 5 years - Urbee is built to last 30. Project leader Jim Kor, told MailOnline today: 'For us, this unveiling was quite a milestone. Built to last: The highly-durable material used in 'additive layer manufacturing' is said to last for 30 years Underneath is a petrol and electric hybrid engine which helps make it one of the greenest cars in the world. Experts have said the car uses eight times less energy than a similar vehicle and can go can go 200mpg on the motorway. Kor says, 'We are a small group of designers and engineers in Winnipeg trying to make a difference.