Lifeboat Foundation

In contrast, 3D-printed clothes can simply be dumped into blenderlike machines that turn the plastics into powder that can then be used to print out something new. And since 3D printing easily allows for custom sizing, the process is inherently frugal with materials.

But there are plenty of challenges that must be overcome before 3D-printed apparel goes mainstream.

One is cost. Even the smallest home 3D printers run several hundred dollars. A printer capable of printing human-sized apparel is beyond the reach of individual consumers. And it takes far longer to print an article of clothing than to produce a similar article via weaving or knitting. Peleg’s jacket, for example, takes about 100 hours to print.

Continue reading “Soon you may be able to 3D print clothing in your own home” »

A NASA technologist is taking miniaturization to the extreme.

Continue reading “NASA to Advance Unique 3D Printed Sensor Technology” »

Forget about 3D printing, the future is 4D printing creates shapes that can assemble themselves into predetermined 3D structures. The structures are made of plastic and smart memory materials that morph into different shapes. Discover more about this amazing technology in A Week in Science by RiAus.

Scottish space firm Orbex has unveiled an engineering prototype of a rocket that’s at the heart of plans to develop a UK satellite launch capability.

The company, which is involved in plans to develop the UK’s first spaceport in Sutherland, Scotland unveiled the rocket at the opening of its new headquarters and rocket design facility in Forres in the Scottish Highlands.

Designed to deliver small satellites into Earth’s orbit, Orbex Prime is a two-stage rocket that’s claimed to be up to 30% lighter and 20% more efficient than any other vehicle in the small launcher category. It is also the first commercial rocket engine designed to work with bio-propane, a clean-burning, renewable fuel source that cuts carbon emissions by 90% compared to fossil hydrocarbon fuels.

Rather than building objects layer by layer, the printer creates whole structures by projecting light into a resin that solidifies. Rather than building objects layer by layer, the method creates whole structures by projecting images onto a resin that solidifies.

It prints using light.

3D printers work by laboriously printing objects layer by layer. For larger objects, that process can take hours or even days.

Continue reading “Watch a Super-Fast 3D Printer Scientists Call the ‘Replicator’” »

Researchers have created “sponges” that would absorb excess cancer drugs before they spread through the body and cause negative side effects.

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) affect approximately 300,000 Americans, with about 18,000 new cases occurring per year. One of these patients, Jake Javier, who we have written about many times over the past several years, received ten million stem cells as part of a CIRM-funded clinical trial and a video about his first year at Cal Poly depicts how these injuries can impact someone’s life.

Currently, there is nothing that completely reverses SCI damage and most treatment is aimed at rehabilitation and empowering patients to lead as normal a life as possible under the circumstances. Improved treatment options are necessary both to improve patients’ overall quality of life, and to reduce associated healthcare costs.

Scientists at UC San Diego’s School of Medicine and Institute of Engineering in Medicine have made critical progress in providing SCI patients with hope towards a more comprehensive and longer lasting treatment option.

Continue reading “Using 3D printer to develop treatment for spinal cord injury” »

The texture of an artist’s original work can now be reproduced with AI-controlled 3D printing.