3D Printing

Bespoke Innovations’ 3D-printed Prosthetics: If Lizards Can Grow Tails, Humans Should Print Limbs

by Socrates
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3D printing is revolutionizing the field of prosthetics. San Francisco company Bespoke Innovations is printing designer prosthetics specifically to restore symmetry to the bodies of amputees, while making a fashion statement at the same time. Reuters video report by Ben Gruber: Transcript: Dennis Weikel is having the lower half of his body scanned and digitised. It’s the first step towards getting a new type of cover for his prosthetic leg. He hopes it will finally allow him to stop hiding the fact that he is an amputee. Dennis Weikel, Amputee and Bespoke Client: “I usually would just wear a pair of pants and cover the whole thing, just kind of leave the questions out of it, I don’t actually want to talk about it. Just kind of leave it off the table and, I guess, the word I would want [...]

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HackLab.TO: Toronto’s Hacker Collective

by Socrates
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When Eric Boyd invited me to visit HackLab.TO I got very exited. I have always had a fascination with hackers and love visiting their creative space because these guys are always pushing the envelope and often point the way for things to come. In the past, I have lacked the proper equipment to do an on-site audio or video recording without having to borrow it from my friends or my very generous brother-in-law. Fortunately, though, last week I got the biggest anonymous donation ever received at Singularity Weblog. The money allowed me to purchase a brand new Canon VIXIA HF G10 (aff) camcorder as well as a Fujifilm X10 (aff) photo camera, and thus equipped I headed to HackLab.TO. About HackLab.TO HackLab.TO is a community space with a diverse membership, including artists, computer programmers, web designers, and hardware hackers. It is inspired by the [...]

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The Man Who Prints Houses: a Documentary about Enrico Dini

by Socrates
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The Man Who Prints Houses is a documentary about Enrico Dini. Dini is a robotics expert. He is also a self-styled ‘stone alchemist’: able to mimic the process of how rock forms under the seabed. Combining these two skills, he has developed a groundbreaking new construction technique based on the principle of 3D-printing. Enrico’s dream is to one day see houses of any shape and size printed robotically in solid stone – but as we all know, dreams can come at a price… Enrico Dini is on a quest to revolutionise the way we view construction. But with his family life in tatters, and his business on its knees – has he sacrificed too much for the greater good? The Man Who Prints Houses is a poignant, funny and awe-inspiring documentary that delves into the troubled mind of a genius intent [...]

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Singularity University Tours Autodesk

by Socrates
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Autodesk is among the most notable sponsors, supporters and big time friends of Singularity University. At the same time, it is also a very cool company in its own right with many of its cutting edge 3D design technologies used in a variety disciplines from industrial design to special effects in blockbuster movies such as AVATAR. The videos below were shot when me and my classmates from Singularity University GSP11 visited the Autodesk demo office and showroom in San Francisco. Hope you enjoy the video tour as much as I did filming it. The first clip shows several SU students from GSP11 talking to SU academic adviser Jonathan Knowles via his tele-presence robot. During our conversation we talk about Scottish kilts, email spam, 3d printing and, most interestingly, the story behind how Autodesk became a Singularity University sponsor. (Thank you Jonathan!) [...]

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3D Printing: Is Bio-Printing the Future of Organ Replacement?

by Socrates
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I have written previously about the unfolding revolution in 3D printing which will eventually penetrate every facet of home-made manufacturing including the printing of food. Now, picture the following scenario: You get a full 3 dimensional scan of your complete body geometry. One day there is an accident and unfortunately you lose an ear or some other part of your body. Still, nothing that you really should worry about: Your doctor opens up your unique body geometry back up file, selects the exact specs on the missing body part and prints out a brand new ear which is virtually identical to the one you just lost. This may well be the future of organ and body-part replacement technologies produced by the latest breakthroughs in reconstructive medicine and bio-printing. Sounds far-fetched? Well, here are some videos in support of that claim. [...]

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What Do You Want To Print For Lunch? 3D Food Printer Gives New Meaning To Fast Food

by Socrates
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Another chapter of the on-going revolution in 3D printing technology is unfolding in the field of food. Cornell University graduate students from the computational synthesis lab are developing an open source 3D food printer that allows users to print their own lunch. The initial price point of the printer is expected to be around 1,000 dollars with hopes that soon after its debut the price will drop to about $700. Since it is an open source project all the digital blueprints, food recipes, designs and information required to build, buy and operate your own 3D food printer will be available as a free download to anyone interested. So, how long before we start printing vegetarian steaks?

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3D Printing

by Socrates
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Today the NY Times published an article about the budding manufacturing revolution spurred by 3D printing. As the name suggests, 3D printing produces 3 dimensional objects as the final products of the printing process. What is even more important is that, once the technology gets sufficiently advanced, 3D printers will likely be able to produce virtually any kind of objects from clothing, toys, prosthetic limbs, microchips and electronics to cars, houses, airplanes, satellites, robots, pets and fully functional human organs. Check out the original NY Times video below to see where the technology is right now. Can you imagine a world where cheap portable 3D printers are available in every house? The only question I have is: What is the first thing that you are going to print out from your own personal 3D printer? Video Update: Last December, Objet [...]

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