3D printing tagged posts

NTU PhD Student Phillip Keane with the 3D printed drone in front of the Stratasys printer. Credit: Image courtesy of Nanyang Technological University

Researchers at NTU Singapore have 3D printed a ready-to-fly drone with embedded electronics. The electronics were incorporated in the drone during the 3D printing process which employs Stratasys ULTEMTM 9085 – a high strength, lightweight FDM material used in commercial aircrafts. The drone is jointly developed by NTU’s Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP) and Stratasys Asia Pacific, a 3D printing and additive manufacturing company. The drone -quadcopter with 4 rotors – was designed, 3D printed and flown by Phillip Keane, PhD candidate.

Embedding electronics can be a challenge, as most will not survive the high temperatures of the 3D prin...

The octobot is powered by a chemical reaction and controlled with a soft logic board. A reaction inside the bot transforms a small amount of liquid fuel (hydrogen peroxide) into a large amount of gas, which flows into the octobot’s arms and inflates them like a balloon. The team used a microfluidic logic circuit, a soft analog of a simple electronic oscillator, to control when hydrogen peroxide decomposes to gas in the octobot. Credit: Lori Sanders

Powered by a chemical reaction controlled by microfluidics, 3D-printed ‘octobot’ has no electronics. A team of Harvard University researchers with expertise in 3D printing, mechanical engineering, and microfluidics has demonstrated the first autonomous, untethered, entirely soft robot...

This photograph shows high throughput bioprinting of cells into microwells. Credit: Ozbolat Lab at Penn State

Now that 3D printing has made it easier to generate custom-made prosthetics, bioengineers are looking ahead at manufacturing actual cellular material. Such technology could be the basis for personalized biomedical devices; tissue-engineered skin, cartilage, and bone; or even working bladders. In a Trends in Biotechnology special issue on biofabrication, publishing August 17, researchers review and consider the progress made in 3D bioprinting and what might be possible in the decades — or years — ahead.

1. Made-to-Order Organs-on-a-Chip: inexpensive and efficient personalized medicine...

Patterned membranes created by 3D printing. Credit: Hickner Group/Penn State

A new type of 3D printing by Penn State will make it possible for the first time to rapidly prototype and test polymer membranes that are patterned for improved performance. Ion exchange membranes are used in many types of energy apps eg fuel cells and certain batteries, as well as in water purification, desalination, removal of heavy metals and food processing. Most ion exchange membranes are thin, flat sheets similar to the plastic wrap in your kitchen drawer. However, recent work has shown that by creating 3D patterns on top of the 2D membrane surface, interesting hydrodynamic properties emerge that can improve ion transport or mitigate fouling, a serious problem in many membrane applications.

Currently, making...