Area learning in Google Tango

Google Tango is finally here and it promises to change the world we live in, or at least map it. It’s the 3D scanning project to end all 3D scanning projects, as potentially every single phone on the planet could contribute to a Google Maps so advanced it knows how big your sofa is.

More details are coming out about this incredible new hardware and now we’re more about the area learning aspects.

It’s easy to get lost in the Big Brother connotations and people really will. Google Tango, though, serves so many other purposes. They range from locating your mobile phone to guided tours of public buildings and jazzing up multiplayer games.

How does it do it?

Cameras and a depth sensor combine to map the immediate area and give your phone or tablet a sense of spatial awareness. It works much like radar, with infrared signals, and combines them in the blink of an eye with the phone’s inbuilt accelerometers, gyroscopes and more.

Now your phone already senses movement, but this is a ‘drift’ based estimates of the phone’s own movement. In short, it isn’t very good.

The accelerometers and gyroscopes in your phone just aren’t that sophisticated, they never needed to be, so they come with a margin of error. That’s especially true if you move your phone aggressively. Lighting changes, erratic movements and more cause objects to drift out of place, because your phone has no memory and is essentially building a new image every time.

It does a good job of correcting things that have fallen out of place due to relative movement, but it’s an ongoing bodge job rather than a real solution.

Google Tango 3D maps the world

Changing the game with Tango

Tango has a memory. It builds the space and remembers it, while building a constant picture based on new movement and inputs. So it will be much more accurate.

A simple demonstration of this technology was to show how an app without area learning could be convinced that a stationary box on a table had been shaken out of existence by just shaking the phone. Turning on area learning meant that the box stayed in place.

Area learning enabled devices can also transmit the complete model of the room, for instance, to another device with just a single line of code. This has real connotations for multiplayer games, as well as privacy nuts.

How will we use this tech?

You can even mark a spot for another device to find, accurate to within millimetres. That is a cool trick in your home. In a retail environment it’s the start of an app that will take you to each and every product and sound an alert when you’re near an item of interest. In a museum it turns your phone into an augmented reality tour guide and there are uses we probably will never think of until some bright spark points them out.

It also allows for serious augmented reality, which can be as simple as walking around your home with a VR headset on. It can also be as complex as working on a 3D print project, adding parts to a physical entity in virtual space before actually creating them.

We have already seen a version of Minecraft in the real world with Microsoft’s HoloLens. Using the phone’s camera and the VR system to produce augmented reality gives us the kind of options that we’ve been dreaming about.

It’s more than a tape measure

On a personal level you’ll be able to redecorate your home or see how a particular piece of furniture in a store would fit in with your current look or virtually remodel your bathroom. Google’s press information hailed the end of the tape measure as your phone will be able to measure between solid objects, but we feel this is wilfully selling this system short.

Then there is the mapping potential of 2 billion smartphones around the world. Inevitably not all of them will be Tango-enabled for some time to come. But once the privacy battles are fought and lost, every phone can contribute to an accurate map of every public space.

What does that mean? We honestly don’t know, but we do know that companies will fight over the data that this system provides and that Google’s data capture has just gone to another level. Advertising could become more context specific, your phone will know far more about you and your home and there will be more.

This isn’t just a sharper resolution to the technology we already have, it’s a new dawn.

This is really happening soon

It’s a developer tool only right now, but that will change in a hurry. Lenovo is set to release a Tango-equipped device soon and we’ll have to wait and see what difference area learning makes to our lives.

We already know, though, that it’s going to have a big impact.

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A 3D Printer Made This Building - And People Actually Work There

Dubai says it has completed the world's first 3D-printed office building.

While other construction projects have at least partly relied on 3D printers, the Dubai government says this entire building is printer-made, even the furnishings and interior designs. And it's not just for show: The office is supposed to be a functional workspace, with phone hookups, water, electricity and air-conditioning.

Situated inside Dubai's Emirates Towers complex, the single-story office measures 2,690 square feet and will be the temporary home of the Dubai Future Foundation, according to a press release. The building opened May 23.

Now, you're probably wondering: How big is the 3D printer that created this thing? It's a whopping 20 feet high, 120 feet long and 40 feet wide. (Imagine the nightmare it must be if it jams.) The jumbo printer completed the task by "extruding a cement mixture layer by layer," per Gizmag.

In addition to the large printer, smaller mobile 3D printers were also used.

All told, it took 17 days to print the basics of the building, and installing it onsite took only two.

Video: Office of the Future in #Dubai, world’s first 3D printed office https://t.co/aR4xxnl8i3

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) Ngày 24 tháng 05 năm 2016

The building cost just $140,000 to erect, thanks to minimal labor and costs involved in the construction process. The United Arab Emirates minister of cabinet affairs, Mohamed Al Gergawi, claims this was 50 percent cheaper than building it a more traditional way.

"It's not just a building, it has fully functional offices and staff," Mohamed Al Gergawi also said, per Reuters. "We believe this is just the beginning. The world will change."

Last year, China erected the world's tallest 3D-printed apartment building, which at the time was more of a showpiece than a functioning residence.

The Dubai building will become the permanent home of the Museum of the Future next year, according to Engadget.

The UAE and Dubai hope to become "leading global centres of 3D printing by 2030." Maybe by then we'll have entirely 3D-printed cities.

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This simple 3D printer is the one you might actually want for your home

Most 3D printers on the market, with their sharp, shiny innards exposed, look like they could put your eye out if you make one wrong move.

Compared to those clunky, industrial-looking competitors, the Glowforge — a device that uses lasers to slice through materials and create objects of your design — is the Easy Bake Oven of 3D printers.

The simple silver and white box lets users craft everything from leather wallets to chocolate bars by carving into a particular substance, rather than layering plastic goop into precise piles, like most traditional 3D printers do. Users need only lift the lid, drop their material inside, and load a pre-fab template or custom design.

Dan Shapiro, CEO and cofounder of Glowforge, tells Tech Insider that most 3D printers are like robots with glue guns. The Glowforge, on the other hand, is "a robot that has a lightsaber," he says.

The GlowForge "printed" these custom leather wallets.

Here's how it works: Users can design coasters, toys, leather-bound journals, and more using software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or Sketchup. They can even draw an image by hand. When they're satisfied with their concept art, the user then uploads the image to the Glowforge printing app and places the appropriate material into the machine.

A bird's eye camera inside the Glowforge autofocuses on the material. The device can recognize what it is — be it wood, plexiglass, fabric, or food — and orient the laser head accordingly. The camera also allows the user to preview and edit a design before the laser begins sculpting.

When everything's ready, just push the print button. A coaster is made in fewer than seven minutes, while more complicated projects may take a few hours.

When I discovered the Glowforge in May at the Bay Area Maker Faire in San Mateo, California, it was surrounded by the fruit of its loom: custom game pieces for Settlers of Catan and a Victorian-style dollhouse made of salmon-colored plywood. There was also a picture frame that Shapiro made as a last-minute Mother's Day gift for his wife.

There's a new way for fans of Settlers of Catan to geek out.

But each piece on display required additional assembly. Because Glowforge uses subtractive 3D printing technology instead of additive, it can only produce relatively two-dimensional designs. Those objects may be stacked or stitched together, of course, but hobbyists looking to make more complicated hardware or figurines will be better off with a traditional 3D printer.

Still, the Glowforge has racked up major support from amateur makers. It became the most successful 30-day crowdfunding campaign in history when it raised $28 million last fall.

Glowforge has twice delayed shipments, but hopes to start shipping in December. Users will then be able to buy raw materials for the Glowforge from the company's online store as well. It will likely mark up prices for those, however, trading cost for convenience. In most circumstances, designers can gather the materials they need at Home Depot.

The GlowForge can cut a variety of materials, even seaweed paper.

While 3D printers may be going mainstream, they remain a luxury item — the Glowforge is currently available for pre-order for $2,395, and will run about $3,300 upon launch. That's not chump change for a family looking to foster their kids' creativity, or for a young professional who runs an Etsy store on the side.

Shapiro hopes the Glowforge will nonetheless attract all sorts of makers.

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FELIXprinters Forms Partnership with Dubai-Based 3D Printer Reseller East Gate Global

Netherlands-based 3D printer manufacturer FELIXprinters announced today that they are forming a new partnership with East Gate Global, a 3D printer reseller based in Dubai. As part of the partnership agreement, East Gate Global will offer local support and distribution services for FELIXprinters in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and in the rest of the Middle East region. Since its release in September, FELIXprinters’ flagship desktop 3D printer the Pro 1 has quickly become the company’s most popular model in the UAE. This new partnership is FELIXprinters’ first step in an aggressive expansion into the Middle East/Gulf Cooperation Council (ME/GCC) market.

While FELIXprinters’ Pro 1 3D printer has already been a hot seller in the UAE, shipments and service were still being handled primarily through the company’s IJsselstein-based headquarters in the Netherlands. Under the agreement with East Gate Global, the Pro 1 and other FELIXprinters products will have larger local warehousing in the region, which will result in faster delivery times, lower shipping and import costs, and local support services. East Gate Global will also contribute to local promotion of the FELIXprinters Pro 1 throughout the Middle East. Sales and promotion will primarily be handled through the new, recently launched East Gate Global web portal.

“We [ME/GCC] have had a lot of interest in 3D printing hardware over the past year as more and more businesses in the region are willingly to invest in affordable professional desktop printers – instead of the overpriced printing services and commercial-quality printers that are currently available. The affordable Pro series from FELIX printers finds itself to be in the right place at the right time,” explained Majed El-Mohtadi, the Managing Director of East Gate Global on his reasons for becoming the region’s official distributor.

FELIXprinters Pro 1.

FELIXprinters’ Pro 1 and the rest of their line of desktop 3D printers are surprisingly affordable, high-quality printers with several high-end features usually reserved for professional-grade machines. The Pro 1 has easy to remove and replace dual extruders with a clever smart nozzle positioning feature to prevent part collisions and misprints. The heated print bed is easily removable to allow for easy part removal and the ability to start a new print right away, and it offers a respectable 237 x 244 x 235 mm (9.3 x 9.6 x 9.25 inch) printing envelope, as well as automatic calibration and leveling. The Pro 1 also features a smart filament sensor feature that pauses the print job when filament runs out and notifies the user to change the spool. The Pro 1 costs about $2,400, right in line with most prosumer-quality desktop 3D printers with similar features.

“Even though there’s been a number of desktop 3D printers that have been commercially available in the region for a while now, it wasn’t until the FELIX Pro 1 did we begin to see the desktop 3D printer make its way to the actual offices of architects and engineers. Not only is the Pro 1 incredibly silent, but it’s surprisingly affordable for the exceptional quality materials that can be achieved with it,” continued Majed El-Mohtadi.

Here is some video of the FELIXprinters Pro 1 in action:

In general the Middle East has been slow to adopting 3D printing technology, which is uncharacteristic for the notoriously tech-savvy region. However there has been a growing movement among local businesses to encourage companies to begin offering more 3D printing options and technology to the Middle East and lower the entry cost, and it finally seems to be paying off. Not only are more 3D printer manufacturers making efforts to begin offering their products in the region, the local governments are finally starting to encourage local businesses to adopt the technology.

Recently, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, released his official strategy for developing new 3D printing technology and building a 3D printing capital in that region of the world. The detailed strategy has been coming more and more into play recently, as we have been closely following, as Dubai in particular embraces 3D printing.

“We are very excited to have East Gate Global as our official partner to create a solid base in the UAE. We see great opportunities for our existing and soon to be released 3D related products,” said the director of FELIXprinters, Wilgo Feliksdal, who co-founded the company with his father Guillaume Feliksdal.

Now that FELIXprinters has an official presence in the ME/GCC to offer local sales, service and support for their 3D printers, upgraded parts and filaments, they expect their marketshare to expand dramatically. According to the Feliksdals, they intend to capitalize on their partnership with East Gate Global, their support network and list of eager buyers to expand deeper into the region throughout countries like Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq and Jordan by the end of the year. You can learn more about FELIXprinters line of 3D printers here, and if you’re in the Middle East you can contact East Gate Global here. Discuss further in the FELIXprinters Partners with 3D Printer Resellers in Dubai forum over at 3DPB.com.

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nScrypt and NovaCentrix hybrid 3D printer named winner of 2016 Innovations Auditions

Nearly two years ago, micro-dispensing and 3D printing company nScrypt partnered with electronics company NovaCentrix to create an unrivalled, all-in-one system for 3D printing electronics. Together, and with a significant investment from FlexTech Organization, the companies were able to combine nScrypt’s top-of-the-line 3Dn 500 3D printer with NovaCentrix’s PulseForge to create the currently named 3DnPulseForge, a system which was recently named the winner of the 2016 Innovations Auditions competition hosted by the annual SME RAPID conference on 3D printing.

At the 2016 Innovations Auditions hosted by RAPID, nScrypt and seven other innovative additive manufacturing companies and entrepreneurs were invited to showcase their ideas and technologies to a panel of judges and investors. Keeping in line with the Auditions format of the event, each company was given five minutes to pitch its 3D printing innovation and explain how it could impact the additive manufacturing industry in a big way. Among those in attendance for the event were Trilion Quality Systems, talking about their 3D Digital Image Correlation for holistic measurement of material strength technology, Laser Design with their CyberGage360 3D scanning system, and a number of other candidates.

In the end, Orlando, Florida-based nScypt was selected as the winner of the competition. The 3D printing system developed by them in collaboration with NovaCentrix has offered a versatile multi-head 3D printer capable of printing in an impressively wide range of materials. Primarily, the 3DnPulseForge has applications in the 3D printing of complex electronics and hybrid circuit boards. The easy-to-use system can even print an entire working electronic circuit at the push of a single button, without any necessary post-processing.

Kenneth Church, CEO of nScypt said of the achievement, “Working with NovaCentrix has been rewarding on many fronts. Great collaborators can do great things together, and together we have created a new level of possibility for 3D printed electronics. We really appreciate being recognized by RAPID for our joint effort.”

Church hopes that the continued advancement of 3D printing technologies, like nScrypt’s own, will help to resurge the American manufacturing industry. He explained, “We used to be so good at machining here in the U.S. We can regain that position, but we can also do much more. Rather than just milling big bulk parts, we can 3D print and polish where it’s possible and then mill where we need to mill.”

nScrypt’s technology, by offering both precise and fast 3D printing capabilities, is undoubtedly contributing to additive manufacturing’s viability as a large-scale manufacturing option. Additionally, the technology also offers an unprecedented level of customization, which will impact a number of industries. As Church continued to explain, “Personalization in medicine will continue to be really important, but there will also be a bigger demand for it in consumer goods, as well. With 3D printing and the technology it enables, someday people will want more than just comfortable shoes. They’ll want shoes that can give them feedback and data, shoes that can talk to them.”

While nScrypt and NovaCentrix’s advanced 3D printing system has not been put on the market yet, the attention it has been receiving, along with having won top prize at the 2016 Innovations Auditions competition, indicate that the technology will be a disruptive force, not only in the additive manufacturing world, but in the manufacturing sector at large.

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An Israeli 3D printing startup announces move to print stem cells

In an unusual move Nano Dimension, an Israeli company called focused on printing electricity-conducting nano-material ink, is expanding into the biotech sector

Nano Dimension, a 3D bioprinting company located in Ness Ziona, Israel, has successfully tested a prototype for a new type of printer that uses stem cells to produce 3D models. The trial was done in conjunction with Haifa-based Accellta.

The move by Nano Dimension is a major pivot. As the name implies, they have been focused on printing nano-sized components for durable electronics. Calling it a pivot might be a leap in itself though, as this could be a rare effort by a 3D printing startup to expand simultaneously into both biotechnology and electronics manufacturing. Their products depend on a combination of inkjet printing, proprietary software and of course nanomaterials, mainly printing conductive and dielectric inks for printed circuit boards (PCBs).

“3D printing of living cells is a technology that is already playing a significant role in medical research,” said Amit Dror, CEO of Nano Dimension. “But in order to reach its full potential, for the field to evolve further, there is a need to improve printing speeds, print resolution, cell control and viability as well as cell availability and bio-ink technologies.”

Accellta is the biotech expert in the relationship. The company manufactures “reproducible suspension-based cell culturing systems” which were essential for Nano Dimension’s system.

“By enabling high precision 3D bioprinting and differentiation of stem cells into required tissues, our combined technologies have the potential to enable vast areas of development,” said Dr. Itzchak Angel, Chairman and CEO of Accellta. “We hope and believe that this will bring the mutual capabilities and know-how of both companies to create 3D bioprinting solutions that combine a high precision, high-throughput printer with dedicated bio-ink technologies, derived from stem cells.”

Various estimates exist for the future value of the industry. Grand View Research forecasts a $1.82 billion industry by 2025, while IDTechEx predicts it will be worth more than $6 billion by 2024.

There are several competitors in the market: EnvisionTEC’s 3D Bioplotter, Organovo’s NovoGen MMX 3D BioPrinter, RegenHU, Cyfuse Biomedical, Russia-based (and not-so-inspiringly named) 3D Bioprinting Solutions, Regemat3D, the BioAssemblyBot, GeSim Bioscaffolder, and many more.

Several companies in the field have also broken the stem cell barrier. Biopen might have the most advanced concept, which is testing a device that would allow 3D sketching by doctors during surgery using stem cells and other biomaterial. That wouldn’t make the larger printers obsolete, but help real-time improvisation by surgeons who might need material in imprecise dimensions faster than specific printing preferences could be uploaded to a bioprinter. A team at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland is also working on a valve-based technique to print the cells.

“By combining our high speed, high precision inkjet capabilities with Accellta’s stem cell suspension technologies and induced differentiation capabilities led by a world-renown group of experienced engineers and scientists, we can enable 3D printing at high resolution and high volumes,” Dror added.

Founded in 2012, Nano Dimension is run by CEO Amit Dror, CTO Sharon Fima, COO Dagi Ben-Noon and CBO Simon Fried. The company will present at the LD Micro Invitational in Los Angeles on June 7.

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Sure, we have a 3D printer ... but we're not using it much yet

Pella has been using 3D printing for 14 years to make prototypes, but only recently started using the technology to make parts for its windows and doors.

The company still doesn't make too many pieces that way, though. While the technology and materials have improved, the costs haven’t hit their sweet spot yet, said Kevin Gaul, the Iowa-based company's engineering manager. 

“Materials can still be a little bit of a bear, either from capability or cost,” he said. “If we’re going to use hundreds of thousands of these parts a year, it doesn’t make sense to 3D print.”

Experts say many companies that invested in 3D printing are hitting road blocks with their machines, ranging from cost issues to lack of digital manufacturing expertise.

“People are interested enough to buy it or invest in the technology, but there’s this lag in how they can actually use it effectively or match their expectations,” said Mike Vasquez, founder of Chicago-based digital manufacturing consulting company 3Degrees.

With promises that 3D printing could help people eat healthier or create body parts, expectations have risen pretty high in the past couple of years.

Scientists say they're closer to 3D printing body parts

Many companies got caught up in that hype before they figured out the right ways to incorporate the technology, Vasquez said. They may lack the know-how to use it, and with some companies, it might not make good business sense.

Three of every four companies that are using 3D printing don’t think they’re using the technology to its full potential, according to a survey 3Degrees released earlier this month. 

Fifty-four companies from around the country responded to 3Degrees' survey, 38 of which use 3D printing technology. Only half of those 38 said they had moved past prototyping to experiment with end products.

Even if a company has a perfect execution plan and expertise to back it up, it takes time to implement, to train engineers how to think differently about design.

“There’s going to be a little push back,” Vasquez said. “It’s going to take some time to mature.”

Society as a whole needs to change the way it thinks before that can happen, said Julie Friedman Steele ⇒, founder of the 3D Printer Experience in River North.

Those using 3D printers need to start thinking more like creators than consumers, she said.

"Makers and hackers tend to utilize it pretty easily, because they think pretty differently about what they want to do," she said. "It's just about how you think about manufacturing and the products that you use."

She’s seen many companies that jumped into the 3D printing fray without realizing what it takes to maintain the machines, and investing in the wrong kind of technology.

Even schools, which have been populating labs with the machines and adding them to curriculum, are underutilizing 3D printers, Steele said.

Some companies outsource 3D printing needs.

Urban Architecture Studio, which works out of WeWork in River North, has 3D Printer Experience create some of its models, mainly because they don’t have space or the capacity to maintain a machine of the necessary caliber, said architectural designer Daniel Caven.

Gaul, from Pella, said his company intentionally hasn’t reached full capacity with their 3D printers. They buy machines that are more advanced than they need, hoping to grow into the printers' capabilities. Pella also experiments with 3D printing technology before making the investment.

“We really try to learn before we buy,” Gaul said. “When we bring it in house, we know the technology and what the applications are going to be, so we can make good use of the technology once we make that investment.”

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'Alien' boy gets new skull in pioneering 3D printing surgery

A YOUNG boy often compared to an "alien" since birth has been given a chance at a normal life thanks to 3D printing technology.

OPPORTUNITY: The operation has given the young lad a chance at a normal life

Doctors creating a detailed model of the boy’s misshaped head – who suffered previously because of a rare skull defect.

Now eight months old, the boy known as Xiao Yu, is now recovering following the successful surgery.

SURGERY: Doctors were able to print the young boy a 3D skull

OPERATION: The surgery proved to be successful as the young lad is recovering

Craniosynostosis, which is estimated to affect six babies in every 10,000, causes the joints between the patient’s skull bones to close prematurely before the brain is fully formed.

More worrying than the effect on the subject’s appearance, however, is the fact that the condition can impair brain development – which could cause seizures and even death.

Xiao Yu was put in the care of Dr Bao Nan and his colleagues at the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center in East China.

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Repurposing Portland Stone Waste with the Novi 3D Printer

Background

Dealing with the waste in this world is now, more than ever, of crucial importance. In the limestone quarrying industry, for instance, it has been suggested that valuable waste is around 80% to 90%. In an effort to sustainably deal with this high amount of valuable limestone waste, Jack Biltcliffe, in collaboration with ASTUDIO and the Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust, developed Novi, a 3D printing mechanism that has been designed from the ground up to work with the extrusion of limestone slurry. This project was developed as part of a major project for an undergraduate degree at Brunel University London.

Quarrying Limestone – An Inefficient Process

The architecture industry, which is the primary market for quarried limestone, has set high quality standards and requirements for limestone. Inefficiencies which cause waste during the quarrying and masonry stages are largely due to the fact limestone is a natural material which contains many natural faults. For the quarries it is not economical to cut around these faults and so extracted stones with faults in them are often wasted. The whole masonry process produces waste at such a fast rate it seems impossible to keep up, and so vast areas are needed to store and process waste. When a large enough quantity has accumulated the waste stone can then be transported to a crusher to be turned into aggregates.

Working with the Isle of Portland

The Isle of Portland has been built around the limestone quarrying industry. Portland Stone is some of the most sought after limestone, notable buildings such as St Paul's Cathedral (London, UK) use it as a building material. Through contacts on the Isle of Portland such as the Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust (PSQT), this project has been able to collaborate with quarries and become involved with the exciting regeneration project happening on the island. The objective of this project is to reuse the waste material produced during the quarrying in a manner that will help with the regeneration project on the Isle of Portland through a sculptural piece.

Limestone Paste Extrusion Development

Through a series of iterative experiments, a limestone paste extrusion process was developed as part of a major project for an undergraduate degree at Brunel University London. Initially, it was observed that a fine grain of Limestone would mix with coolant during the stone cutting process to create a limestone slurry. This slurry can be left to dry out, then hardens completely and is bound together. The process of drying out slurry can be exploited for paste extrusion and ultimately 3D printing purposes.

Material Development

Testing of the pure limestone prints presented many challenges. For instance, once the printed object comes into contact with water it disintegrates back into slurry again. Structural testing also showed the pure limestone parts were extremely weak in tension. Material development through the addition of external compounds into the mix has been ongoing, with positive results so far.

3D Printer Development

The first physical experiments involving 3D printed limestone objects involved hacking a ‘Mendel90’ desktop 3D printer to use a 10ml syringe, as a form of controlled paste extrusion. After optimizing the syringe setup and managing to successfully print in limestone, it quickly became apparent that safely extracting prints was a problem because of the long drying time. The small scale test objects had to dry for over 12 hours before they could be handled or removed from the build plate. This means the 3D printer cannot be used for long periods of time while a print dries. To combat the need for waiting on prints, further research into tri axial movement mechanisms was conducted. A version of a robotic arm seemed a great fit because of its versatile nature. Further research into robotic arms found that one of the simplest mechanism, giving all 3 axis of movement required, is the SCARA mechanism. The SCARA robot is traditionally used as a pick and place robot in assembly line operations. The two arms work together to recreate the XY positional values. Unlike conventional 3D printers it is not constrained to a self contained build plate, instead any flat surface can become a build plate and the printer can move to a new build plate. A custom developed SCARA robotic arm called ‘Novi’ was designed and developed as part of the project with 3D Printing specifically in mind.

Larger Scale Extruder

A larger format paste extruder was developed alongside ‘Novi’, to allow for larger prints. The new extrusion system builds upon the previous system, a larger format syringe with a capacity of 200ml was chosen to fit on the end of the arm. The benefit of continuing to use syringes at this stage is ease of use and the ability to buy in multiple syringe bodies which can be filled with different material mixes and used as a cartridge drop in drop out system.

Application

The hope for this project is that it will help with the regeneration happening on the Isle of Portland through the creation of sculptural pieces. Further development is underway to build more ambitious designs and to also explore other practical applications that could impact the architectural industry.

Please visit the Made in Brunel student showcase 16-19th June to see the printer in action!

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