Surprises of 3D printing in 2017
December 24, 2017 | 17:31 |1731
Although 3D-printing is not innovative for 2017, nevertheless this year, becoming even more advanced, surprised us with both the ink solutions and the finished products. LiveScience has published a selection of the most unusual 3D-printed works, created by the engineering thought in 2017.
Recovery mask
A 4-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier puppy named Loca was the first patient have been tested for a mask to recover from serious muzzle injuries. A mask resembling a gypsum bandage was made by the UC Davis College of Engineering at the request of the California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Three months later, the right cheekbone, jawbone and temporomandibular joint of the puppy, damaged in the fight with the other dog, completely knitted.
Dwelling House
In March 2017 in Stupino, situated near Moscow, construction 3D printer of Apis Cor company printed out a house. This is the first house in Russia, printed entirely, and not assembled from panels.
In a building of about 38 square meters, the only parts installed by human hands were windows and doors. According to the contractor, 3D printing can accelerate the pace of construction work and make it environment-friendly.
Glass Ink
Glass for a long time resisted 3D printing, because its use in printing requires high temperatures for melting the material. Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, solved the task with a new technology.
Engineers used the so-called liquid glass, a solution of silica nanoparticles in a photopolymer, as a starting material for a three-dimensional printer. The 3D-printed object is exposed to UV light, which hardens the material into a certain shape. The object is then heated to a temperature of 1300 degrees Celsius to fuse the silica nanoparticles into a transparent glass structure.
Cheese
Scientists from the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork in Ireland, experimented with 3D printers in food production.
The researchers printed cheese, which was softer and faster melted. The tasters liked these qualities very much.
Artificial Eyes
Scientists from Holland created 3D-printed eyes for children born with pathology. Unfortunately, these prostheses do not restore vision, but only contribute to the correct formation of the eye bone without disturbing the natural proportions of the face.
Robot-climber
Engineers from the University of California at San Diego have printed the robot soft legs, allowing to move through a different landscape - sand, in narrow spaces or even climb the rocks.
The construction of the legs consists of three spiral tubes made of a combination of soft and hard materials.
At each step, the robot "checks" the conditions and instantly adapts the limbs that bend in different directions to the surface using special pistons.
Materialized Laughter
In February, the International Space Station printed the first extraterrestrial piece of art.
The Californian company Made In Space under the project #Laugh recorded laughs of more than 100 thousand people and turned it into a digital 3D model in star-shape. After that, the best laughing voice was chosen. Its design was sent to the ISS, where it was zrinted in a 3D format.
Micro-camera
Researchers from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, with the 3D-printing created a micro camera featured by "eagle eye" vision. It could be used in miniature unmanned aerial vehicles, in robots or surgical endoscopes.
Engineers printed four lenses with a different focal length and field of view from 20 to 70 degrees and placed them on a tiny chip.
The camera, like birds of prey, is capable of viewing objects at distances of up to several kilometers.
