Harvard Researchers Demonstrate New 3D Printed Lightweight Cellular Composites
Key to the project was perfecting inks made of epoxy resins, spiked with viscosity-enhancing nanoclay platelets and a compound called dimethyl methylphosphonate, but also with two types of added fillers: tiny silicon carbide “whiskers” and discrete carbon fibers.
It turns out that the direction that the fillers are deposited controls the strength of the materials, just as it is easier to chop a piece of wood along as opposed to against its grain.
Verification tests have shown that the technique yields cellular composites that are as stiff as wood, 10 to 20 times stiffer than commercial 3D-printed polymers, and twice as strong as the best printed polymer composites.
Slovenia-Based Company Designs and Constructs Three 3D House Printers
Houses constructed by 3D printers may be closer than we think.
The printers, known as the P1, P2, and P3, each stand 2 meters tall, but can print objects much higher than that.
The BetAbram team says that each of the printers has been constructed, but they are still working on developing software for the P2 and P1 printers. The team says they have already printed a lot of smaller object like sculptures, and even miniature houses, but not any full-sized houses just yet.
And of course, there was news earlier this year of the 3D house printing robot. Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis of Southern California grabbed headlines across the world with news that his 3D printing concrete-ejecting robot could print a house in 24 hours.
While these devices show us just how far 3D printing has come, 3D printing everyday homes isn’t quite here yet. Just like the other 3D house printers, the BetAbram machines could potentially be used to provide emergency houses for natural disasters, or to help provide affordable housing in impoverished countries.
3D Printed Great Pyramid of Giza
The MakerBot Academy has recently released a content pack that’s designed to give students an inside look at one of the oldest and largest pyramids.
The content pack gives students a look into the ancient Egyptian civilization by allowing them to recreate a 3D printed model of the Great Pyramid of Giza –the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one to remain largely intact.
The content pack includes a two-part story, a lesson plan that allows students to explore the engineering, design, and construction behind the structure, and a 3D printable model of the pyramid. The pyramid is printed as two parts that slide together to form the pyramid, while allowing viewers to separate it and take a deeper look inside. The 3D printed model of the Great Pyramid of Giza shows the three chambers of the pyramid – the queen’s chamber, the king’s chamber, and the lower chamber.
The kit equips teachers with the resources needed to give their students an inside look at the ancient pyramids from the classroom with no need to make the journey across the world.
This isn’t the first content pack that MakerBot has released. Just a few months ago they released the “Frog kit” which enabled students and teachers to take an inside look at the frog – without the mess from dissecting an actual frog.
As for the pyramid model, giving students visuals or the ability to hold a model in their hands increases their interest and allows them to see the object differently. It gives them an inside look at history, increases their knowledge, and educates them all at the same time.
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Microsoft 3D Scan Project to Enable Users to Create 3D Models
Microsoft researchers have announced their latest research project, which will enable users to turn everyday objects into 3D models using their phones
The software would enable Windows phone users to use what they call “Skynet UI” to scan physical objects and transform them into 3D models. The process was revealed late last year but has since become simpler to navigate and easier for everyday consumers to use.
Last year when the process was revealed, the 3D reconstruction process was being created to allow users to create and recreate 3D images. But as research has advanced, along with technology, so has the process of creating 3D models.
With “3D reconstruction” combined with the Skynet UI feature, the process has been made simpler. Microsoft adds that the Skynet UI design aims to enhance user experience and lower the barriers between customers and the 3D reconstruction process. It allows for a user to scan an object and the program on the camera will gives cues of when and where to move the camera. The image can then be sent to a 3D printer.
The three research scientists behind the project, Jiawei Gu, Rishard Cai, and Zhiwei Li, have shared their work online, demonstrating how the process will work. Using a Windows phone handset, you can simply take a 360-degree photo using the program the camera gives you.
The combined process allows you to make a high-quality 3D scan of a face that can ultimately be turned into a 3D printed model if you so desire.
SOURCE: 3DPRINTERS
