3D Printing and Makerspaces

The Israeli hospital we visited that is "rebuilding" all of those wounded Syrians uses 3D printers for protheses and implants. Pretty amazing stuff.

It is indeed. Her Ph.D thesis was on Bioengineered approaches to preventing hypertrophic scarring.

We will be growing limbs before I die....
 
These are a couple sets of mounts for retrofitting a set of turn signal mirrors onto my motorbike.

IMG_0465.JPG

Below is the first iteration (based on a specs/design that I copied from someone else) made from PLA. Ergonomics was waaaay off because previously mentioned person has a super agressive riding position.
The black bits are the second run that are adjust for my riding position made from some weird nylon/carbon matrix filament (google "Onyx").

The metal bits on the right are brass inserts that are melted into the plastic so that you can thread metal fasteners into it.

The big deal with 3d printing isn't making parts directly, but being able to make patterns for metal casting effortlessly.
 
I've been in Quantico this week, attending the Marine Corps' Additive Manufacturing Summit.

I have to say that I'm pretty blown away with the steps the Corps has made to push 3D printing and other maker technologies to the fleet.

The X-FAB is a 20' container with a couple of desktop, consumer-grade 3D printers (lulzbot Taz 6 and Markforged Mark Two) and one commercial-grade printer (not 100% on which one, but I think it's the Stratasys uPrint). This is a Program of Record that is being pushed to (primarily) maintenance-type units.

The TACFAB is two printers (the Taz and the Mark Two) and a laptop in some pelican cases. This is not yet, but will shortly be a Program of Record and will ultimately go out to every battalion in the Corps!

There's a 24/7 3D printing help desk. Each MEF has a local 3D printing school. They've established the Marine Maker program with a curriculum and a series of makerspaces throughout the Corps.

Here's a list of articles on 3D printing in the Marines.
 
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