News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
UK-based filament producer Filamentive has released a declaration of recycled content for its products. The announcement comes in response to the globe’s climate crisis and plastic consumption and waste problem.
While many innovative designers are looking for ways to slow the environmental destruction of our planet, some are looking ahead to come up with products that could serve humankind when climate change consumes the earth. Biomimicry designer Jun Kamei from the RCA-IIS Tokyo Design Lab falls into the latter category as he has designed a 3D printed amphibious garment which enables humans to breathe under water.
If you’re nostalgic for the days of Chia Pets, you might be very excited to learn about filament pioneer Kai Parthy’s latest 3D printing material. Called GROWLAY, the new filament can be printed into various structures and then functions as a breeding ground. Unlike the famous 1980s toy, which could sprout chia sprouts and grass, GROWLAY objects can be used to breed a wide number of things including grass, moss, fungus, mildew, lichen, mycelium, phama-cultures and mother cells.
As forest fires increasingly rage through forests and towns around the world—currently Colorado and New Mexico are battling intense wildfires—it is starting to sink in that they are a reality of climate change and something we will inevitably be seeing more of. To reckon with increasingly powerful and frequent wildfires, firefighters require more powerful and high-quality equipment that they can rely on.
In a proof-of-concept study, researchers from ETH Zurich and Caltech in Pasadena, CA have demonstrated a new propulsion system for motorless swimming robots. Unlike traditional aquatic mechanisms which rely on propellants or engines to move in water, the swimming robots—made entirely from 3D printed parts—use fluctuations in water temperature to propel themselves.
Led by innovative architect and designer Neri Oxman, MIT’s Mediated Matter lab is responsible for some of the most inventive and avant-garde additive manufacturing research out there. From 3D printed glass technology to its responsive and bioinspired mask collections, Mediated Matter has a complex vision for 3D printing and digital fabrication which it continually brings to the table in compelling ways.
UPM, a Finnish company specializing in driving the forest-based bioindustry into a sustainable, innovation-driven and exciting future, is introducing its new UPM Formi 3D filament. The new product is based on a new type of biocomposite that has been specially developed for 3D printing. It brings together advanced cellulose fibre and biopolymer technologies.
Living in increasingly contaminated cities, people are using protective masks more and more frequently. While there are many styles for adults, there are far fewer designed especially for children, for whom pollution is definitely more harmful. At least on a massive scale.
The wait it over – 3D print with hemp filament! Entwined is 3D printing filament produced from USA-grown and processed industrial hemp. Industrial hemp crops require no herbicides, no pesticides and grow more densely compared to corn.
Led by the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), the main goal of the Cell3Ditor project is the development of a 3D printing technology for the industrial production of SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cells) stacks by covering research and innovation in all the stages of the industrial value chain. The 3D printed SOFC stacks will be cost-effective and flexible for commercial applications.