We start today with some interesting research from 3D Printing News Briefs that could help reduce the cost and size of 3D laser printing. Moving on, a cancer patient may be the first person in Kansas to receive a 3D printed pelvis. A new project at Iowa State University will focus on designing 3D-printed housing for rural areas of the state. Finally, students from George Mason University are working on the development of their first 3D printed solar car.

Researchers invent a two-step laser 3D printing process

A team of researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (CASE) and University of Heidelberg in Germany published a paper on their work of creating a two-step 3D printing process that works with continuous wave blue laser diodes on compact 3D printers, as opposed to the more commonly used larger nano laser 3D printers. Typically, pulsed laser systems are used for AM because they support two-photon absorption, which basically involves absorbing two photons at once to excite a molecule to a higher energy state, triggering a chemical reaction that hardens a material into a 3D printed structure. This team’s two-step absorption process begins with one photon transferring a molecule to an intermediate state, and a second photon then transfers it to the excited state, triggering the necessary reaction; the differences are that the photons do not have to be absorbed at the same time and the laser power required is much lower, which means less cost and machine size. The process requires photoresists. The team therefore worked with chemists to propose a photoresist system based on a photoinitiator that supports two-step absorption.

“It’s a big difference between using a femtosecond laser as big as a big suitcase for several $10,000 or a semiconductor laser as big as a pinhead and costing less than $10,” said KIT professor Martin Wegener, one of the paper’s co-authors.

“To me, a device that will be as big as a shoebox seems realistic in the next few years. It would be even smaller than the laser printer on my desk at KIT.

3D printed pelvis implanted in a Kansas man

A 3D printed titanium basin breathed new life into an active father of five and cancer patient. Curt Melin, who recently moved from Kansas to Missouri with his family, saw his doctor about flare-up leg pain after coaching football and was told he had chondrosarcoma of his hip and pelvis. ; a very rare diagnosis. The only option was to lose his leg, and that was not acceptable to Melin, so he asked his doctor for another solution to save his leg and his life. Dr. Kyle Sweeney with the University of Kansas Health System turned to 3D printing and came up with a plan to implant a 3D printed partial pelvis into Melin, using imaging to merge a CT scan and an MRI of the affected area. The surgery was successful and Melin now walks with a crutch, although he hopes to switch to a cane next year. Plus, he’s supposedly the first person in Kansas to get a 3D-printed pelvis.

Melin said, “I immediately jumped on it and said, well, if this is the first one KU has ever done, I’ll be your guy.

“It was the best-case scenario…. very very grateful for that.”

ISU 3D Printing Housing for Rural Iowa

This gantry construction 3D printer being prepared for delivery to a construction site is similar to the one the ISU researchers will use for the project. Photo by Black Buffalo.

Iowa State University (UIS) has received a $1.4 million grant from the Strategic Infrastructure Program of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), specifically for the design collegeInnovative Technologies Affordable 3D Housing Project (3D AIT). The goal of the project is to develop faster and cheaper solutions for housing in rural areas of the state through 3D printing of homes, in response to the high demand for homes in these communities due to a more remote working, higher urban living costs and ex-urban migration. The multidisciplinary team, which includes professors of architecture and education, several graduate and undergraduate students, and more, will use the funding for equipment and materials, including mobile CNC machining, robotics on site, virtual and extended reality, concrete materials and components, and a 3D site printer. Participants will work with Brunow Contracting on demonstration construction at a 40-unit development in Hamburg, as part of that city’s flood recovery efforts, and they will learn about zoning and building codes, design, affordability , community engagement and how 3D printing can help respond to natural disasters faster and potentially reduce costs, waste and material usage.

“The Strategic Infrastructure Program supports first-class, innovative projects that provide a competitive advantage to Iowa industries. This project ticks that box and more,” said Debi Durham, executive director of IEDA and the Iowa Finance Authority. “3D-printed technology is not only disruptive to the construction industry, it provides a solution for affordable, quality housing in the state that the Governor’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board has recognized as essential. to the growth of Iowa’s economy.”

George Mason University students develop 3D-printed solar car

Hypernova Solar, Mason’s student-led solar car team, meets at MIX to discuss the progress and progress of building a 3D-printed solar car for competition. The team is building the 3D printer, pictured here, which will be used to build the car. Left to right: Students Mason Abigail Kennedy, Phoenix Lee, Brandon Escobar, Kareem Elsharkawy, Petr Soucek. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications/George Mason University.

Finally, the team of solar car students from George Mason University (GMU), Solar Hypernova, is working to develop the first fully 3D printed solar car; we’ve seen 3D printed solar car concepts and prototypes with 3D printed parts, and even a solar race car with a 3D printed roll cage, but not a fully 3D printed version. The 50-member student group, which was founded in 2019 by former engineer Alex Hughes, works at the university TO MIX TOGETHER, and hopes to compete with other universities in the American Solar Challenge. The team is building a proof of concept car – the Hypernova One – and once it is complete they will design, build and test a second car for the competition. Students have fun and learn a lot in the process, and even develop their own conveyor belt 3D printer to build the car shell out of PETG, which is more flexible and heat resistant.

“I was impressed by the passion and dynamism of the team. They are constantly pushing the limits of what they can do in an academic setting,” said Hypernova Solar’s faculty advisor. Colin Reagle, who teaches in the mechanical engineering department.

“The opportunity to build a unique machine like this is a huge draw for a diverse group of students. I can’t wait to see them rolling around campus in this vehicle inspiring the next wave of students.