Thord D. Hedengren

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Tag: 3D printers

  • Disney prosthetics

    Disney is backing a startup that offers 3D printed prosthetic for children at the very reasonable price of $500. Iron Man, Elsa from Frozen, and a Star Wars themed one is up for grabs. Engadget writes:

    Open Bionics is part of the 2015 Disney Accelerator programme, which explains its choice of characters. Still, the ‘House of Mouse’ has been gracious enough to provide royalty free licenses, as well as time and input from its creative teams. The three versions are fitted with LED lights and, in the case of the Iron Man model, a vibration motor for when the user wants to fire a “rocket.”

    Sure, the startup is part of a Disney project, but it’s still pretty darn great for kids. Prosthetic limbs are usually very expensive.

  • The first object 3D printed in space

    The first 3D printed thing in space is, fittingly, a part for a 3D printer. The faceplate was printed on November 24 on the International Space Station.

    “We chose this part to print first because, after all, if we are going to have 3-D printers make spare and replacement parts for critical items in space, we have to be able to make spare parts for the printers,” Werkheiser said. “If a printer is critical for explorers, it must be capable of replicating its own parts, so that it can keep working during longer journeys to places like Mars or an asteroid. Ultimately, one day, a printer may even be able to print another printer.”

    3D printers are deemed crucial for space exploration, since the logistics of carrying all the possible spare parts alone are staggering. Aptly named company Made In Space is betting on this, and it was they who worked with NASA on this experiment. There were issues though, and it’s a learning mission for now, because it would seem that 3D printing in micro-gravity offers makes the plastic material behave differently.