3D Printing Research

Korean 3D bioprinting specialist T&R Biofab has patented a way of creating human tissues that could one day be used to develop a heart disease treatment which doesn’t put patients through open surgery.  Utilizing T&R Biofab’s process, scientists have already proven it possible to create 100-micrometer cardiac spheroids, capable of regenerating damaged tissues upon transplantation. While the technology remains at a pre-clinical stage, the firm’s patent approval in Japan could now be significant, in that the only developer of something similar in the country, has reportedly licensed it out for $600 million.  Imaging showing cardiac fibrosis taking place in spheroid samples after 8 weeks. Image via T&R Biofab. Regenerative cardiac therapy According to CDC heart disease data, cardiac illnesses are the leading cause of death in men and women across most racial and ethnic groups in the US. As such, the development of robust cardiac therapies is a matter of…    read more 

A team of international researchers has turned towards mother nature in a bid to 3D print ceramic composite materials with bio-inspired toughening characteristics. Ceramics composites with damage-resistant properties are in high demand, as toughness is a key requirement in a wide variety of industrial applications. These materials also tend to offer combinations of chemical and mechanical stability, qualifying them for use in everything from automotive and aerospace to energy systems. Unfortunately, many of today’s conventional ceramic composite processing techniques, such as ice templating or freeze casting, are unable to create parts with complex and custom geometries, owing to limitations in mold manufacturing. The international team is now exploring how the protective structures found in mantis shrimps can be used in conjunction with digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing to create geometrically complex ceramic composite components. The mantis shrimp. Photo via Roy L. Caldwell, University of California, Berkeley. What’s so special…    read more 

A team of US researchers led by Virginia Tech has used 3D printing to create octopus-inspired adhesive suckers. Octopi, along with other members of the cephalopod class, rely on a combination of controllable adhesives and embedded sensing to stick to and manipulate objects underwater. Many of today’s synthetic adhesive-based manipulation systems tend to be human-operated without any sort of integrated sensing, which can result in relatively slow adhesion activation and release. The Virginia Tech research team has now developed its own nature-inspired nervous system capable of detecting objects and automatically switching on adhesion in a matter of milliseconds. Having implemented the 3D printing-enabled adhesive skin into a wearable glove, the scientists have created a novel approach to reliably manipulating objects in an underwater environment. The adhesion mechanism of the 3D printing-enabled sucker gloves. Image via Virginia Tech. Mother nature knows best To this day, effective and reversible adhesion to underwater…    read more 

The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA) has issued a report outlining a new method of passivating metal powder condensate waste from the 3D printing process. Developed by Sintavia, a service bureau for aerospace parts, and powder specialist KBM Advanced Materials, the new process involves adding the powder waste to a resin material to create a non-hazardous mixture. This allows the waste to be safely transported to recycling plants, where it can be reclaimed from the resin matrix and reused in additive manufacturing. According to Sherri Monroe, the AMGTA’s Executive Director, the latest report is a “must-read” for companies that operate with laser powder bed fusion (PBF) technologies. She adds, “Not only does this new process reduce transportation costs, but it is also reversible, meaning that metal recycling companies can have unsoiled access to the underlying powder once it is received—thus allowing for the potential to recycle waste material that…    read more 

A group of Italian researchers has developed a 3D printed artificial skin that could be used to improve the tactile sensing capabilities of robots. Researchers from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and the Sapienza University of Rome created the 3D printed skin which successfully mimicked the function of Ruffini receptors, a type of cell located on subcutaneous human skin tissue that detect stretching, vibrations, warmth, and pressure.  Once attached to a robot and combined with a deep learning algorithm based on a multi-layered convolutional neural network (CNN), the skin can estimate the force and point at which the robot comes into contact with an object, potentially enabling safer human-robot cooperation in the future.  The 3D printed artificial skin. Image via Nature Machine Intelligence. 3D printing artificial skin 3D bioprinted skin models and grafts have received increasing interest and development in recent years due to their potential uses…    read more