News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden have developed 3D printed models from patient-derived cells to simulate motor neurons in the lab. These structures, known as motor neuron organoids, are expected to support research into neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and help explore treatment strategies without the need for invasive procedures.
In Canada, Indigenous communities face a serious housing crisis, with the Assembly of First Nations reporting that well over 150,000 new homes are required in order to begin to close the housing gap. To help address this urgent need for housing, Toronto-based real estate developer Horizon Legacy has teamed up with Two Row Architect, a native-owned firm from Six Nations of the Grand River reserve in southern Ontario. Together, the partners are breaking ground on a new construction project that will use robotic 3D printing technology to build a three-story residential building.
United Utilities, a British water supply company, is progressing its plans to adopt 3D printing methods across its AMP8 delivery and daily operations. The move comes as the trailblazing ‘Water Industry Printfrastructure’ (WIP) project reaches its conclusion after two successful years during which several industry firsts have been achieved. Funded through Ofwat’s Innovation Fund, the project was led by United Utilities, in partnership with tech innovators ChangeMaker3D, Manchester Metropolitan University’s (MMU) PrintCity, and Scottish Water.
Texas A&M Agrilife Research, QuadTex, and ICON, a leading construction 3D printing company, have recently completed three 3D printed homes for student housing in McGregor, Texas. The 1,197-square-foot homes will provide housing for students participating in agricultural research and technology innovation at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research station in McGregor.
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Litehaus, a startup headquartered in Portugal leveraging 3D printing technology for construction, has recently raised a pre-seed round of 1.5 million euros with the participation of Explorer Investments (one of the largest Portuguese investment funds), Cornerstone VC, Pascal Levy-Garboua, and the Claster Group.
According to Northumbria University, researchers have been awarded a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Fellowship to lead innovative research into low-carbon, 3D printed construction materials. The funding of over a quarter of a million euros will enable postdoctoral researcher Dr. Jyotirmoy Mishra to join Northumbria University to undertake a fellowship exploring the potential of sustainable, waste-derived alternative activators in 3D printed geopolymer mortars.
Stanford researchers have taken a major step toward addressing one of the biggest hurdles in organ bioprinting: building realistic vascular networks capable of sustaining lab-grown tissue. Their new platform, published June 12 in Science, accelerates the design of these blood vessel systems and translates them into 3D printable models—bringing the promise of personalized, functional organs closer to reality.
Vinmec Healthcare System, a private Vietnamese hospital network, has performed a Total Femoral Replacement (TFR) using a patient-specific 3D printed implant on the world’s youngest recorded osteosarcoma patient. The implant was designed and manufactured domestically, making it the first such biomedical product developed entirely within Vietnam.
According to the University of Bristol, scientists have used the UK’s largest shaking table to mimic conditions of a medium-magnitude earthquake to assess the potential damage to a 3D printed building. Traditional concrete design has well-established seismic behaviour, but 3D printed concrete introduces new variables such as layered deposition, unique material properties, and non-traditional geometries. As such, assessing how these factors influence structural integrity under earthquake loading is vital.