Obama Announces Three More 3D Printing Centers

US President Obama announced a competition to land three new manufacturing centers, to follow on the success of the first Ohio-based center, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. The original intention was to launch some fifteen manufacturing centers, and these three centers bring the USA closer to that goal. 

 

They're actually manufacturing centers, but we strongly suspect they'll be a significant amount of various 3D print gear involved in each. 

 

The centers will not be identical; instead they will each focus on a different manufacturing aspect: 

 

• “Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation” led by the US Department of Defense
• “Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing” also led by the US Department of Defense
• “Next Generation Power Electronics Manufacturing” led by the US Department of Energy

 

Each center will work regionally with different related parties to achieve their goal to: 

 

"bridge the gap between basic research and product development, bringing together companies, universities and community colleges, and Federal agencies to co-invest in technology areas that encourage investment and production in the U.S."

 

Via The White House

A Word On 3D Printed Gun Safety

If you happened to download the 3D printed handgun models before the US government confiscated them, it may be time to remind you of safety concerns should you attempt to 3D print this item. 

 

The ease of 3D printing and the sudden availability of a working gun model meant that some people will attempt to print the handgun merely out of curiosity. We say: Be Careful. 

 

Aside from various legal concerns that may vary considerably and severely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, there are technical concerns. A firing gun is a controlled explosion. There's significant heat and mechanical stress applied against the gun, meaning several bad things could happen. 

 

The stress and heat can obviously cause a catastrophic failure - an explosion - which could fling sharp and hot bits at the operator. 

 

Another issue is the material used to print the handgun. While Defense Distributed has been experimenting with relatively strong ABS plastic, some 3D printer owners may choose to print in whatever happens to be loaded into their printer - which might be totally inappropriate for this purpose. Some materials are actually explosive and/or flammable themselves. 

 

Needless to say, this is a rather dangerous activity. Don't let your curiosity get you in trouble. 

Princeton Scientists Create Bionic Ear

One of the most difficult parts of integrating electronics with biological tissue is getting the numerous tissues and materials to meld. At a lab in Princeton, New Jersey scientists are making progress on this effort using 3D printing.

 

According to Michael McAlpine, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton, “In general, there are mechanical and thermal challenges with interfacing electronic materials with biological materials.” In the past, researchers have attempted to overcome this hurdle by binding a piece of “seed” tissue to an electronic component.

 

Read more at ENGINEERING.com

Breaking: DEFCAD's 3D Printable Gun Files Held by US Government

An announcement suddenly appearing on Defense Distributed's DEFCAD.org notifies visitors that the files containing 3D models of gun parts will no longer be available. 

 

The announcement says: 

 

DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the US Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information.

 

Evidently the US government considers the availability of such 3D models a serious matter. But what exactly is the US Department of Defense Trade Controls? Their mission is: 

 

The U.S. Government views the sale, export, and re-transfer of defense articles and defense services as an integral part of safeguarding U.S. national security and furthering U.S. foreign policy objectives. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), in accordance with 22 U.S.C. 2778-2780 of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) (22 CFR Parts 120-130), is charged with controlling the export and temporary import of defense articles and defense services covered by the United States Munitions List (USML).

 

Basically they ensure that weapons tech doesn't leak out of the US into the hands of potential enemies. But DEFCAD isn't exporting weapons, or are they?  

 

We think a strong case could be made that they do. By offering the files freely for download, anyone in the world can download them - and that's exporting weapons data. Apparently the US Department of Defense Trade Controls thinks so, too. 

 

We suspect that DEFCAD might be able to get back in business by implementing a mechanism to ensure only Americans may download, but that could be a stretch considering individual Americans may offer the files in an open manner once they have them, resulting in precisely the same scenario. Perhaps the US Department of Defense Trade Controls wants to keep a lid on this while they sort out what to do. 

 

Stay tuned. 

 

Via DEFCAD

3D Genealogy with My People's Tree

A new app from eliumstudio provides an ability to generate 3D printed genealogical trees. My People's Tree, available at no charge on the iTunes app store, lets you specify names faces and relationships in true family tree style. 

 

Faces are created from uploaded photos. In our experiment it seemed that you need a clear, high-contrast full face image to properly transform into a useful 3D equivalent. 

 

Once you've created your tree, you can then send it to the Sculpteo 3D print service to create it in real life. You can also order "separate elements", such as branches and bases to assemble your tree pieces into an actual tree structure as shown above. 

 

The pricing of your tree varies, depending on the number of elements. Our test involved six "petals" (USD$8 each), a 5-way branch to connect five descendants to the ancestor (USD$26), and a 19 x 17 cm base (USD$99), for a grand total of USD$172. Pricey, but certainly unique. 

 

Via iTunes and eliumstudio

Is Your 3D Printer Filament Toxic?

You own a personal 3D printer that accepts 3rd party filament and you've purchased a selection of cool colors from an online shop - but is that filament safe? 

 

Aside from the obvious choices of color, quantity and filament diameter, the one factor most considered is price. Usually the lowest priced filament that meets the first four requirements wins your business. 

 

It's possible that the filament you purchased from an inexpensive overseas manufacturer contains a slightly different chemistry. Some regions do not have the same safety and materials standards as others, thus it's possible your cheapo filament may be toxic to some degree. 

 

Why would this happen, even if it was permitted? Additives are used to develop a full range of colors, and it's possible that certain colors make use of potentially toxic heavy metals. 

 

What can you do? We see only three choices: 

 

Accept the risk and continue your business as usual. You're probably doing this one already. 

 

Check with your filament supplier to ensure they provide non-toxic filament. While some vendors make a point of doing this, others may simply buy inexpensive filament from manufacturers just as you might. 

 

A third action you can take is to simply ventilate your PrintCave a lot more than you do now. Step away from that printer, go outside and get some fresh air. And do the other two steps, too. 

Loci Remembers Your Flights in 3D

Loci is a fascinating dynamically generated sculpture by artist Andrew Spitz of the Netherlands. Each "Loci" is unique to the owner, who specifies a series of airline flights. These flights are then translated into abstract 3D flight paths and then printed to fit on a world map card. 

 

3D models are digital beasts, and as such they can literally take on any conceivable shape or design. It's the creativity that fascinates us, and Loci is an amazing linkage between physical and digital reality. It's not a scan, nor a traditional  model, but something else. Alone, a Loci print simply looks like some loops. But add in the map card and it becomes a memory, a desire and an experience. 

 

But it represents something very real. You could, for instance, capture the memory of a notable trip using a Loci. Or use it as an amazing invitation to join an expedition. You can even link it TripIt or FourSquare to capture location data automatically.

 

The project is now in a prototype state, and is intended to be included in an iPhone app under development. 

 

Via Sound+Design and Shapeways

What's In Your PrintCave?

Sports fans might have a ManCave, equipped with a wall-sized flat screen, cushy recliner chairs, bar fridge and chip bowls. But what makes up a PrintCave? 

 

A 3D printer, obviously, and perhaps storage for filament. But what else might you have in your PrintCave? Tools? Showcase of your best models? Lighting? Something you have that no one else does? 

 

We'd like to find out. If you're proud of your PrintCave, please send a description of your setup with images (and your name and general location) to info@fabbaloo.com and we'll feature the best entries in a future post. 

 

Image Credit: Wikipedia