3D Printing Is Cool

3D Printed customisable Storm Trooper Figures

During Disney’s Stars Wars Weekends (new for 2013) Walt Disney World is offering fans the opportunity to become 3D printed Stormtroopers. Under the banner of Disney’s D – Tech Me product line action figures can now be created using the much hyped 3D printing technology. Costing around $120, Stars Wars lovers will be asked to step into a booth where multiple cameras will shoot pictures of their face from different angles allowing a lifelike 3D scan to printed onto Stormtroopr figures. Mulyiple skin tone and hair choices are available and custom figures take up to 8 weeks for delivery. The technology has also been used to create Han Solo trapped in carbonite, with fan faces instead of Harrison Ford, and was reported here last year.

3D Printed Ear

With an ‘off the shelf’ purchased 3D printer researchers at Princeton University have printed  a functional ear that can ‘hear’ radio frequencies far beyond the capabilities of a humans range.

Combining 3D printed cells and nanoparticles led the group to cell culture and the eventual combining of a small coil antenna and cartilage. The team ended up creating a bionic ear.

This is the group’s first attempt at creating a fully functional organ which not only replicates human ability but also extends these capabilities using embedded electronics.

Using 3D printing to create living organs has been on the radar for a while but it’s only in recent months that several groups have started to report successes. The bionic ear produced by the Princeton team is the very first time scientists have demonstrated an effective interweaving of tissue with electronics.

Further work and research is needed but it’s not outside of the realms of possibility to believe this technology could be used to restore or enhance a humans hearing. Electrical signals produced by the ear could be connected to patient’s nerve endings – similar to with a conventional hearing aid.

Assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University Michael McAlpine commented: ‘In general, there are mechanical and thermal challenges with interfacing electronic materials with biological materials

Previously, researchers have suggested some strategies to tailor the electronics so that this merger is less awkward. That typically happens between a 2D sheet of electronics and a surface of the tissue. However, our work suggests a new approach—to build and grow the biology up with the electronics synergistically and in a 3D interwoven format.’

Whichever way you look at it, 3D printing technology is making significant headway in the medical world and is perhaps the ideal application for 3D print technology? With further research and development on the cards, the world at large waits with baited breath for the results.

3D Print Yourself as a Gummy Sweet to your Loved One!

When the Japanese celebrate Valentine’s Day it’s only men who are recipients of gifts from secret admirers. Four weeks later Japanese women get their presents on what they call White Day.

During 2013’s White Day, Tokyo based 3D printing company, FabCafe, came up with the novel idea of getting men’s bodies scanned and printed as gummy sweets which they could then give as gifts to the lady in their lives.

FabCafe chose nine males to turn into edible delights but at $62 a pop these 3D printed sweet bodily delights definitely don’t come cheap.

It could be argued though that this type of gift is indeed thoughtful as what could be more personalised that a 3D printed body that you can eat?  The flipside, of course, is that the act of devouring your loved ones arms, legs and head could also be seen as bizarre.

From the same company that 3D printed faces onto chocolates, normal just isn’t something that FabCafe does.

Patient receives 3D printed skull implant

Oxford Performance Material of Connecticut (OPM) recently manufactured a 3D printed skull implant that has been successfully used in reconstructive surgery. An un-named patient now has a skull that’s made up of 75% synthetic material.

The revolutionary new product, named OsteoFab, made history after being approved by the FDA and is the first of its kind. With porous characteristics, the implant will attract bone and red blood cells that will attach themselves and eventually mould into a perfectly formed skull.

Once the green light was given by the Food and Drug Administration the manufacturing process was started which saw it completed and ready for surgery on March 4^th. OPM have been busy selling other implants to hospitals but permission from the FDA had to be granted before any could be used on patients.

President of OPM, Scott DeFelice, believes that not a single part of orthopaedics will be untouched by 3D printing. OPM sees the usage of their reconstructive implants going far beyond just that of the Patient Specific Cranial Device.

During an interview with TechNewDaily DeFelice hailed the new technology as highly profitable and commented: “If you can replace a bony void in someone’s head next to the brain, you have a pretty good platform for filling bony voids elsewhere.”

3D Printed Nike Trainers

Possibly one of the biggest commercial endorsements of 3D printing to date is that sports giant Nike are set to incorporate the technology into its Vapour Laser Talon.

Nike has actually used 3D printing for prototyping for years but the brand now feels the results are good enough for mainstream consumption.

Working closely with Olympic gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson Nike wanted to understand how he and his team train American Football players – especially during the 40-yard dash which tests the speed of each player.

Nike measured the performance of the cleats (known as studs in the UK) which help athletes to maintain their drive stance for longer on football turf.

The result is the Nike Vapour Laser Talon which is set to increase an athlete’s performance considerably.

Lance Walker, MJP Performance Director, explained that an athlete’s “zero step” is the pivotal point of a stride that can make or break an persons 40-yard time.

The few seconds before the first step hits the turf is when acceleration speed and propulsion are determined. During this phase, it’s all about geometry.

Nike’s brand new 3D printed plate allows players to maintain their drive position for longer and more efficiently.

Johnson commented: “Translated to the game of football, mastering the zero step can mean the difference between a defensive lineman sacking the quarterback or getting blocked.”

Nike engineers used SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) to create the shoe, a method that uses a high powered laser to bond molecules of material to build up high definition shapes.

Nike say; “The SLS process allows for the engineering and creation of shapes not possible with traditional manufacturing processes, as well as the ability to make design updates within hours instead of months to truly accelerate the innovation process to never seen speeds.”