Npr 3d printing

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The White House says the U.S. currently has a housing shortage of about 4 million homes. There are a lot of reasons for that. But in some places, houses just can't be built fast enough. Habitat for Humanity thinks giant 3D printers could make a difference and has now built its first two 3D-printed homes in the U.S. From member station KJZZ in Phoenix, Katherine Davis-Young reports on their potential.

KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG, BYLINE: Shawn and Marcus Shivers are thrilled to be moving into their first home. The most exciting part is that it's right in the heart of Tempe, Ariz., where they raised their three sons.

SHAWN SHIVERS: We've both lived in this area our whole life, so we were born and raised here.

DAVIS-YOUNG: But by the time they saved enough to consider buying a new home, they really didn't think they'd be able to afford to stay here. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index shows home prices are rising faster in the Phoenix metro area than anywhere else in the country - up 32% just in the last year. Experts say part of the reason is Phoenix hasn't built nearly enough new houses to keep up with explosive population growth over the past few decades.

(SOUNDBITE OF MACHINERY WHIRRING)

DAVIS-YOUNG: The Shivers family got lucky and are buying their house with the assistance of Habitat for Humanity. That means they're helping out with the construction. But the walls of this house are being built with a 3D printer. The printer moves a steel rail back and forth between columns that straddle the building site. Following automated plans, it lays a line of wet concrete a few inches thick as it goes. Then it coils one layer on top of the last, building up the interior and exterior walls of the 1,700-square-foot three-bedroom. Next, workers add a traditional wood-framed roof.

(SOUNDBITE OF HAMMER BANGING)

DAVIS-YOUNG: When they applied for a Habitat home, the Shivers had no idea their family would end up in one of the first 3D-printed houses in the U.S.

S SHIVERS: At first, I wanted it for sure because it was so innovative and new, and he was kind of skeptical because he's...

MARCUS SHIVERS: I mean, I have to worry about, you know, internet, plumbing, electricity. Who's going to come and fix it? I mean, after seeing it now though, I'm a lot more comfortable. It's actually beautiful.

DAVIS-YOUNG: Debra Bradley with Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona says she hopes this technology will help the organization meet demand faster in the future.

DEBRA BRADLEY: You know, if we can get down to where we can build a house in seven or eight hours, the exterior of the home, and the cost makes sense and the product is stable and long-lasting, then why wouldn't we do that?

DAVIS-YOUNG: Only a handful of 3D-printed homes have been built nationwide. Habitat has only built one other, in Virginia. And right now, the technology is still too new to be cost-effective, says Mark Stapp. He's a longtime developer and director of the real estate program at Arizona State University. Stapp says framing a traditional house might only come out to 15% of the overall cost. So when it comes to 3D printing, he doesn't expect concrete would reduce the price of materials all that much.

MARK STAPP: We don't have sufficient amount of experience in order to be able to scale this and get the cost savings that people would hope.

DAVIS-YOUNG: But he says 3D printing could reduce labor costs significantly and help in places where there's not enough labor available, like in Phoenix. Stapp says he could see it making a difference maybe five years down the road.

STAPP: It absolutely has potential.

DAVIS-YOUNG: There are obstacles, though. Tempe has no building codes to address 3D-printed homes, which made permitting a challenge. But Habitat for Humanity's Debra Bradley says even if the organization's first 3D-printed home in Arizona came in over budget and behind schedule, the point was to show it can be done.

BRADLEY: And now we can take this and prove to the world we can do things differently and have a better outcome.

DAVIS-YOUNG: She says change has to start somewhere, so why not start with the Shivers family with their first home in Tempe?

For NPR News, I'm Katherine Davis-Young.

(SOUNDBITE OF REUBEN VAUN SMITH'S "UNDER THE THUNDER")

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First 3D Printed Footbridge In Amsterdam Revealed To The Public : NPR

August 27, 20215:30 PM ET

The almost 40-foot 3D-printed pedestrian bridge designed by Joris Laarman and built by Dutch robotics company MX3D has been opened in Amsterdam six years after the project was launched. The bridge, which was fabricated from stainless steel rods by six-axis robotic arms equipped with welding gear, spans the Oudezijds Achterburgwal in Amsterdam's Red Light District. Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty hide caption

toggle caption

Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty

The almost 40-foot 3D-printed pedestrian bridge designed by Joris Laarman and built by Dutch robotics company MX3D has been opened in Amsterdam six years after the project was launched. The bridge, which was fabricated from stainless steel rods by six-axis robotic arms equipped with welding gear, spans the Oudezijds Achterburgwal in Amsterdam's Red Light District.

Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty

Following four years of planning and research, the world's first 3D printed footbridge recently opened to the public in Europe.

The almost 40-foot bridge, unveiled last month, was built by Dutch company MX3D and will serve as a "living laboratory" in Amsterdam's city center.

Researchers and engineers at Imperial College London were able to 3D-print the bridge — which now serves pedestrians and cyclists crossing Amsterdam's Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal.

"A 3D-printed metal structure large and strong enough to handle pedestrian traffic has never been constructed before," said Imperial College London professor Leroy Gardner in a news release.

A 12-meter 3D-printed pedestrian bridge designed by Joris Laarman and built by Dutch robotics company MX3D has been opened in Amsterdam six years after the project was launched. Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett hide caption

toggle caption

Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett

A 12-meter 3D-printed pedestrian bridge designed by Joris Laarman and built by Dutch robotics company MX3D has been opened in Amsterdam six years after the project was launched.

Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett

Designers first created the concept for the bridge in 2015, with the goal of making an "exceptionally efficient structure," emphasizing both simplicity and safety, according to Popular Mechanics.

"We have tested and simulated the structure and its components throughout the printing process and upon its completion, and it's fantastic to see it finally open to the public," Gardner said.

Now that the bridge is unveiled, researchers at Imperial College London will begin collecting data in real-time to monitor how it behaves with foot and cyclist traffic.

"Research into this new technology for the construction industry has huge potential for the future," said Imperial College London co-contributor Dr. Craig Buchanan. "It has been fascinating and we are delighted that the structure is now ready to be used."

What is 3D printing and how does it work?

}1 Artem Popov: what is 3D printing and how does it work?

One of the promising areas of IT is 3D technologies, which have not yet exhausted their potential, grandiose social prospects and implementation (in the section of biomechanics and not only).

Our institute is not an exception; the Student Design Bureau “Computer Innovation Creativity” (SKB “KIT”) was created within its walls, where 3D printing technologies are actively developing. Supervises SKB postgraduate student of the 2nd year of study of the Department of Information and Analytical Security Systems Artem Popov , who is also the captain of the ENACTUS and PreactUM ITA SFU teams.

Artem spoke about the idea of ​​creating the Prototyping and 3D Modeling Laboratory at SKB, his vision of the use of 3D technologies, examined the printing process in detail and explained what 3D printers are capable of.

“We call the prototyping and 3D modeling lab HackSpace. Once, my friends and I visited Germany under the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) program, where we first saw university laboratories and a place called HackSpace. This is a space for students of technical specialties, which brings together people with common goals and interests in technical creativity. This is how the idea of ​​creating a place where students could gather and do their projects together was born. At present, the idea has been implemented and we have the necessary equipment, premises, Internet access and a number of like-minded students. nine0005

This year our team will take part in the PreactUM program, within the framework of which we will implement projects on the basis of the HackSpace laboratory aimed at solving various social problems.

There are many different designs of 3D printers and 3D printing technologies to solve problems. For example, in our laboratory, such technology as FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) is used - layer-by-layer deposition of materials. If you know how FDM technology is used, you know how 90% of all printers in the world. This is a technology that uses ABS or PLA plastic for printing. ABS is the plastic that we are all used to, from which many devices are made, for example, keyboard mouse cases, and PLA is a “tolerant” plastic to nature, environmentally friendly, made from corn starch. And even if we lose a PLA model somewhere, in a few years it will simply decompose and disappear. But at the same time, PLA is strong enough, it can perform the necessary functions and be useful in solving certain problems. 3D printing is also used in robotics. nine0005

Thus, engineering students of our university can contact us and use the equipment of our laboratory. And if they have any questions regarding the correct algorithm for performing work on the device, then we will explain again and will gladly repeat, because, in fact, everything is quite simple.

Plastic is heated to a temperature of 230°C and becomes plastic. A special program is included - a slicer - to create a g-code on the printer. This is the algorithm code for moving the print head and controlling the printer. 3D models can be prepared in Autodesk 3ds Max and beyond. That is, a program is taken, then it is adapted in a 3D editor to be presented in another specialized format, and a ready-made code comes out of this, which is loaded into the printer, after which the printing process begins. We load ABS or PLA plastic, and layer by layer with FDM technology, the geometry and volume we need grow up, and in the necessary places, rafts appear - a kind of stand to strengthen the model on the site, or special supports, because the printer cannot print on weight, and so he prints a kind of mini-columns, which are then removed manually with a file. nine0005

There are also characteristics of plastic, which are realized with the help of various additives, mixtures, and therefore there is room for experimentation. We have a specialized machine that allows us to recycle plastic. This year we will conduct experiments to obtain new properties. For example, it is very interesting for me to make conductive plastics in the near future, so that I can immediately make some kind of circuits.

Now we have a successful, in my opinion, project that the guys and I came up with - this is the Touching Museum project. We are further developing it, including using 3D printers to create tactile aids for the blind using 3D printing technologies. We digitize various monuments, that is, we obtain an electronic model from a photo image using a 3D scanner, and after that we can send this model for 3D printing and get a reduced copy that you can touch without coming to our city. Those people who have not seen the object can understand how it looks, imagine in their minds what is currently inaccessible to them. We printed tactile pictures for special books and developed an audio guide - all this is a comprehensive solution for the project, which allows blind people to receive additional audio information on their own. nine0005

We believe that this is a good application of 3D technologies, and in late February-early March we will visit various special libraries for the blind in the Southern Federal District and hold exhibitions for people who could come and touch these tactile displays. The exhibition is called “The World at Your Fingertips”. In addition to the exhibition, we are holding a training seminar for the staff of these libraries, in which we show how to work with a 3D printer and a 3D scanner - all so that they can create the same exhibits on their own, share and exchange with other similar libraries. Naturally, as part of the tour, we will also involve people who are already involved in 3D printing in their cities and bring them together with library staff. Our goal is to unite them, to make a collaboration in order to make some kind of manuals, tactile images and audio files. Here is an example of what our laboratory has been able to achieve in recent years, and we do not plan to stop there. nine0005

However, it is no secret that such activity is taking place all over the world and now 3D printers are not a new story, there are other technologies. For example, we all know that all kinds of artificial tissues and organs are printed on 3D printers. That is, by printing we mean the programmed cultivation of something. Indeed, drawing with chocolate, that is, the creation of something automated, can also be attributed to 3D printing. Basically, it's a loom. There is my favorite stereolithography, which allows you to make very accurate models, which an FDM printer cannot. They use special liquid materials that harden under external influence, and very accurate models are obtained. This technology, no doubt, finds its application, but it is very expensive. In general, in principle, 3D printing in a broad sense is a tool that allows you to further explore space. We can send to the Moon or Mars and create what you need there by sending special materials. It has also now become possible to manufacture a personal prosthesis, for example, an arm or part of a leg with moving elements, with some kind of mechanics. It's affordable and not that expensive, and helps a lot of people. It would be interesting to conduct a survey on how much more comfortable it is than expensive prostheses. nine0005

Maybe someone will be interested in delving into this direction. Of course, we will be happy if someone comes to us either to create common projects with us, or already with their own, for the joint development and study of technologies, their pros and cons, in general, mainly to implement projects. »

Text: Kirill Lunev
Photo: Alexander Mitin

#Student CouncilIKTIB #SFU #ArticlesBIT #SFU #SIQUFU #IT #ChooseIT #IT #3D

See also

"SPbPU scientists have learned how to print unique parts from high-strength steel on a 3D printer" in the blog "Promising developments, R&D, inventions"

Russian researchers were the first in the world to learn how to control the mechanical properties of high-strength steel products printed on a 3D printer. Such elements are promising in the construction of main pipelines, the assembly of complex tower cranes, in aircraft and shipbuilding. The work was carried out by employees of the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) subordinated to the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia. nine0005

© scientificrussia.ru

In Russia, there is a domestic analogue of 3D printing technology by arc welding, developed at SPbPU. During this process, solid metal wire is used. With the help of an electric arc, it melts, and the necessary product is formed layer by layer. In this case, the welding mechanism is placed on an industrial robot and moves according to a given program. The technology has existed for less than ten years, but has already proven itself among industrialists: the cost of finished products is reduced compared to traditional methods for manufacturing the right parts, and the speed of production is increasing. However, earlier specialists changed the technological parameters of printing without explaining the relationship between the printing parameters and the characteristics of the finished product. nine0005

Scientists of the Laboratory of Light Materials and Structures of SPbPU have learned how to make some elements of the product stronger and others more plastic right during 3D printing. The novelty of the method lies in a clear description of the effect of printing parameters on the mechanical characteristics of the finished product.

“In a scientific article, we described how changing print settings affects the strength of metal layers in 3D printing. The strength of the layers depends on the microstructure, which, in turn, is determined by the cooling rates of the metal. So, by controlling the printing speed, alternating directions of movement and making intentional stops, we can create metal sections in a structure with different strengths and ductility. In general terms, the pattern can be described as follows: the faster we move the robot, the higher the cooling rate and the higher the strength,” said Oleg Panchenko, Ph.D. nine0005

Three scientific groups are working with steel 3D printing in our country: in Perm they specialize in growing with the help of plasma, in Moscow they are engaged in aluminum materials. Specialists of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University work with a wide range of materials and an electric arc. According to experts, the developments of domestic scientific groups are comparable in characteristics to foreign ones, and in some areas surpass them. Thus, Polytechnic scientists were the first to develop a process for printing aluminum products with superplastic properties. Industrial giants are interested in the work, in university laboratories they print parts by order of industrial partners. nine0005

Industry representatives are showing interest in buying 3D printing technology itself. Now specialists are creating a 3D printer by order of a large state corporation.

According to the authors, the mechanical characteristics of steel will reduce the thickness of complex parts and thus facilitate the entire structure. Elements printed in this way can be used in construction, the production of machine building parts, the manufacture of railway cars, the aircraft and shipbuilding industries.

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