A violent debate: could guns be made at home by 3D printers?

Gun laws have been back in the media recently due, largely, to the horrific events at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012 which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults. In response President Obama has just unveiled gun control proposals

3D Printing - To print or not to print? Aspects to consider before adoption - A supply chain perspective

3D printing is believed by many to be the next industrial revolution. The technology is already deployed in production. However, supply chain literature is still in its infancy regarding this topic, despite 3D printings radical impact on supply chains. A framework has been developed to assess various aspects that need to be considered when deploying such technology as part of the production process. Literature has been drawn from cross-discipline (e.g. social sciences, engineering, and business). The challenge for businesses will be whether to incur the cost impact today or the opportunity cost of tomorrow if 3D printing is not adopted

Electrical conductivity, impedance, and percolation behavior of carbon nanofiber and carbon nanotube containing gellan gum hydrogels

The electrical impedance behavior of gellan gum (GG), GG-carbon nanotube, and GG-carbon nanofiber hydrogel composites is reported. It is demonstrated that the impedance behavior of these gels can be modeled using a Warburg element in series with a resistor. Sonolysis (required to disperse the carbon fillers) does not affect GG hydrogel electrical conductivity (1.2 ± 0.1 mS/cm), but has a detrimental effect on the gel\u27s mechanical characteristics. It was found that the electrical conductivity (evaluated using impedance analysis) increases with increasing volume fraction of the carbon fillers and decreasing water content. For example, carbon nanotube containing hydrogels exhibited a six- to sevenfold increase in electrical conductivity (to 7 ± 2 mS/cm) at water content of 82%. It is demonstrated that at water content of 95 ± 2% the electrical behavior of multiwalled nanotube containing hydrogels transitions (percolates) from transport dominated by ions (owing to GG) to transport dominated by electrons (owing to the carbon nanotube network)

The ultimate iron chef - when 3D printers invade the kitchen

Printing food seems more like an idea based in Star Trek rather than in the average home. But recent advances in 3D printing (known formally as additive manufacturing) are driving the concept closer to reality. With everything from printed metal airplane wings to replacement organs on the horizon, could printed food be next? And how will we feel when it\u27s served at the table

Three-dimensional printing fiber reinforced hydrogel composites

An additive manufacturing process that combines digital modeling and 3D printing was used to prepare fiber reinforced hydrogels in a single-step process. The composite materials were fabricated by selectively pattering a combination of alginate/acrylamide gel precursor solution and an epoxy based UV-curable adhesive (Emax 904 Gel-SC) with an extrusion printer. UV irradiation was used to cure the two inks into a single composite material. Spatial control of fiber distribution within the digital models allowed for the fabrication of a series of materials with a spectrum of swelling behavior and mechanical properties with physical characteristics ranging from soft and wet to hard and dry. A comparison with the rule of mixtures was used to show that the swollen composite materials adhere to standard composite theory. A prototype meniscus cartilage was prepared to illustrate the potential application in bioengineering

3D printing and the third mission: The university in the materialization of intellectual capital

The production, diffusion and preservation of knowledge are the main goals of universities, which are critical nodes for mediating intellectual capital. In recent years, 3D printing (additive manufacturing) technologies are emerging as a possible disruptive or transformative force in the knowledge economy and by extension the material economy as consumers are given the affordance of materializing information into real-world objects. To understand the role universities will play in this potential convergence of the material and knowledge economies, this paper surveys current levels of involvement of tertiary institutions in 3D printing. The paper projects how the materialization of data will affect a range of social dynamics for creators-cum-consumers at different scales: community, region and nation-state and applies case studies to the multilevel perspective (MLP) framework. Studies are considered in three empirical cases: Berlin in Germany, Lancashire in the United Kingdom, and the United States. The research indicates that the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) \u27America Makes\u27 Program is a top-down knowledge dissemination program for 3D printing. In contrast, the UK Lancaster University Product Development Unit (LPDU) is a 3D-printing value-network, which has developed organically over a decade of operation. Fablab Berlin is a local initiative loosely coupled with industry and tertiary education providers. The paper proposes a future-oriented conceptual framework to capture a variety of present-day university engagements with additive manufacturing in terms of intellectual capital

Centrifugal automation of a triglyceride bioassay on a low-cost hybrid paper-polymer device

We present a novel paper-polymer hybrid construct for the simple automation of fundamental microfluidic operations in a lab-on-a-disc platform. The novel design, we term a paper siphon, consists of chromatographic paper strips embedded along a siphon microchannel. The paper siphon relies on two main interplaying forces to create unique valving and liquid-sampling methods in centrifugal microfluidics. At sufficiently low speeds, the inherent wicking of the paper overcomes the rotationally induced centrifugal force to drive liquids towards inwards positions of the disc. At elevated speeds, the dominant centrifugal force will extract liquid from the siphon paper strip towards the edge of the disc. Distinct modes of flow control have been developed to account for water (reagent) and more viscous plasma samples. The system functionality is demonstrated by the automation of sequential sample preparation steps in a colorimetric triglyceride assay: plasma is metered from a whole blood sample and incubated with a specific enzymatic mixture, followed by detection of triglyceride levels through (off-disc) absorbance measurements. The successful quantification of triglycerides and the simple fabrication offer attractive directions for such hybrid devices in low-cost bioanalysis

Three dimensional (3D) printed electrodes for interdigitated supercapacitors

Common fabrication techniques typically require multiple and complex MEMS processing steps to create 3D electrode architectures. Here we report on the use of Additive Fabrication metal printing based on Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technology to produce 3D titanium interdigitated electrodes. This was used as a platform to deposit polypyrrole and the resultant structure was evaluated for use as a capacitive electrode. We also demonstrate a solid-state interdigitated supercapacitor using a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-H3PO4 polymer electrolyte

A design-led approach to evaluating condom packaging

Design-led Innovation is a collaborative approach that focuses on understanding the needs and desires of all stakeholders from the beginning of a project, and uses deep human insights to create new meaning in processes and outcomes. This study aims to identify commonalities and differences in condom branding and packaging in a worldwide context to inform the subsequent design and development of a hydrogel-based condom for a pilot study in the developing world. While many safe-sex initiatives have been trialed around the world, a design-led approach to education and communication, as well as brand and packaging development was utilized to inform the direction and localization of the product subsequently developed for the pilot study. The design-led approach comprised a review and analysis of brand and packaging of numerous condom brands including: visual and verbal identity; aesthetics, form and function; textual and visual commonalities; marketing contexts; cultural context; industry standards; and legal considerations. The research findings will be used to inform the design and innovation stages of Project Geldom - a project funded under a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant focused on developing a next generation condom