New Process Means Faster 3D Printing

Researchers have developed a printing process that prints strong nonmetallic materials in record time — five times faster than traditional 3D printing. The process, called SWOMP, which stands for Selective dual-wavelength Olefin metathesis 3D printing, uses dual-wavelength light, unlike the traditional printing process. Read on to learn more.

3D Printed Active Fabric

Scientists have developed an innovative wearable fabric that is flexible but can stiffen on demand. Developed through a combination of geometric design, 3D printing, and robotic control, the new technology, RoboFabric, can quickly be made into medical devices or soft robotics. Read on to learn more about it.

A Band-Aid for the Heart? New 3D Printing Method Makes This, and Much More, Possible

In the quest to develop lifelike materials to replace and repair human body parts, scientists face a formidable challenge: Real tissues are often both strong and stretchable and vary in shape and size. A CU Boulder-led team has taken a critical step toward cracking that code. They’ve developed a new way to 3D print material that is at once elastic enough to withstand a heart’s persistent beating, tough enough to endure the crushing load placed on joints, and easily shapable to fit a patient’s unique defects. Read on to learn more.

Eco-Friendly 3D Printing

A method for 3D printing called vapor-induced phase-separation 3D printing, or VIPS-3D, can create single-material as well as multi-material objects. Read on to learn more about it.

Highly Conductive Sensors for Wearables

To advance soft robotics, skin-integrated electronics, and biomedical devices, researchers have developed a 3D-printed material that is soft and stretchable — traits needed for matching the properties of tissues and organs — and that self-assembles. Read on to learn more.

Monitor Measures Disease Markers

A wearable health monitor can reliably measure levels of important biochemicals in sweat during physical exercise. Read on to learn more about the 3D-printed monitor.

3D Printing Method Builds Structures with Two Metals

Taking a cue from the structural complexity of trees and bones, Washington State University engineers have created a way to 3D print two types of steel in the same circular layer using two welding machines. The resulting bimetallic material proved 33–42 percent stronger than either metal alone, thanks in part to pressure caused between the metals as they cool together.

Researchers 3D Print Key Components for a Point-of- Care Mass Spectrometer

Their device, which is only a few centimeters in size, can be manufactured at scale in batches and then incorporated into a mass spectrometer using efficient, pick-and-place robotic assembly methods.

Infection-Resistant, 3D Printed Metals Developed for Implants

The work could lead to better infection control in many common surgeries, such as hip and knee replacements, that are performed daily around the world. Bacterial colonization of the implants is one of the leading causes of their failure and bad outcomes after surgery.

Multimodal Graphene-Based E-Textiles

Instead of using toxic chemicals or optical masks for patterning, a research team used laser direct patterning technology to form laser-induced graphene (LIG) on e-textiles and successfully manufactured graphene-based e-textiles.

Piezoelectric Material Printing

A microprinter can print piezoelectric films 100 times faster for the production of MEMS for sensors, wearable, or implantable medical devices, offering the possibility to lower the mass production costs.

Bioink Enhances 3D Bioprinted Skeletal Muscle Constructs

An advancement in 3D bioprinting of native-like skeletal muscle tissues has been made by scientists at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI).

Eye Implant Treats Diabetes

A microscale device for implantation in the eye presents new opportunities for cell-based treatment of diabetes and other diseases. The 3D printed device aims to encapsulate insulin-producing pancreatic cells and electronic sensors.

Open-Source Microscale 3D printers

An advanced microscale 3D printing technology used for tissue engineering, cancer research, and biofabrication is now accessible to researchers worldwide. The technology centers around melt electrowriting (MEW), a unique class of additive manufacturing.

Programmable 3D Printed Wound Dressing Improves Treatment for Burn, Cancer Patients

One of the challenges in treating burn victims is the frequency of dressing changes, which can be extremely painful. To bring relief to this pain and related problems, researchers have created a new type of wound dressing material using advanced polymers.

3D Printing with Bacteria-Loaded Ink Produces Bone-Like Composites

Researchers have pioneered a 3D printable ink that contains Sporosarcina pasteurii: a bacterium that, when exposed to a urea-containing solution, triggers a mineralization...

Monitoring Drug-Induced Cardiotoxicity

Researchers have created an engineered heart via 3D printing technology that allows for early monitoring of drug-induced cardiotoxicity. They produced the heart model using biohybrid 3D printing.

3D Printed Insoles Measure Sole Pressure Directly in Shoe

Researchers are developing a 3D-printed insole with integrated sensors that allows the pressure of the sole to be measured in the shoe and thus during any activity. This helps athletes or patients to determine performance and therapy progress.

DfM and Product Development for Micro Medical Device Applications

In its most general sense, DfM for medical devices means the design of parts sympathetic to the production process being used in order to make optimized outcomes in a timely fashion.

Using 3D Printing to Aid in Planning Tumor Removal

The SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital’s pediatric maxillofacial surgery team has used 3D-printing technology to successfully perform a complicated operation to resect a malignant tumor in an 11-year-old boy.