3D Printing

Scalable 3D Printing Technique Produces Stretchable, Flexible Soft Plastics

A team has reported that they used a class of widely available polymers called thermoplastic elastomers to create soft 3D printed structures with tunable stiffness. Engineers can design the print path used by the 3D printer to program the plastic’s physical properties so that a device can stretch and flex repeatedly in one direction while remaining rigid in another. Read on to learn more.

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.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on how MicroLumen engineers develop tubing that ensures precision and reliability in medical device applications; one on Carnegie Mellon University and the Mayo Clinic teaming up in the Transforming Transplant Initiative; one on a fully digital design-to-manufacturing process that has the potential to revolutionize lower limb socket production; and one on a new 3D inkjet printing system that works with a much wider range of materials.

Solvent-Free 3D Printing Material Could Enable Biodegradable Implants

In a paper published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, researchers at Duke University have invented a new solvent-free polymer for DLP printing. Besides eliminating the shrinkage problem, the lack of solvent also results in improved mechanical properties of the part while maintaining the ability to degrade in the body. 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.

Medical Podcasts

Listen to our medical podcasts, including one on 3D printing in healthcare; one on robotics and cobots in medical device production; one on the challenges of achieving biocompatibility, meeting medical-grade standards, and navigating the regulatory landscape for 3D printed devices; and one taking a look at how printed health is transforming medicine.

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.

3D Printed Microneedle Technology Transforms Remote Healthcare

A revolutionary system combines remote health monitoring and drug delivery using 3D-printed hollow microneedles. This innovative approach promises to transform healthcare...

Overcoming Challenges in Material Selection for 3D Printed Medical Devices

In this season, we are taking an in-depth look at Printed Health: Transforming Medicine with Advanced Manufacturing, and this episode will focus specifically on...

The Landscape of 3D Printing in Healthcare

The ethical implications of integrating robots into healthcare, discussing topics such as patient trust, privacy concerns, and the balance between human and robotic interaction in caregiving.

Future Medications Could Be Personalized on a 3D Printer

In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first 3D-printed drug, Spritam (levetiracetam), for epilepsy. Several other manufacturers and drug companies are develop.ing their own ones. But the widespread adoption of 3D drug printing will require stringent quality control measures to ensure that people get the right medication and dosage. Read on to learn more about the subject.

Flambeau Medical Expands 3D Printing Services

Flambeau Medical, a full-service contract manufacturing organization serving the medical device and life sciences industries, has added a new industrial 3D printer to expand its rapid...

Imperceptible Sensors Printed Directly on Human Skin

Researchers have developed a method to make adaptive and eco-friendly sensors that can be directly and imperceptibly printed onto a wide range of biological surfaces.

From the Editor - Surge in Metal AM Systems Drives Growth in 3D Printing

Shipment of additive manufacturing (AM) systems for metal parts increased by 24.4 percent in 2023, according to Wohlers Associates latest report. See what Editor and Director of Medical Content Sherrie Trigg thinks about the matter.

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.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on a smart material that's activated by both heat and electricity, one on new materials and applications for medicine, one on a new 3D inkjet printing system that works with a much wider range of materials, and one on the next generation of polymers for 3D printing.

High-Speed Microscale 3D Printing

3D printed microscopic particles — so small that to the naked eye they look like dust — have applications in drug and vaccine delivery, microelectronics, microfluidics, and abrasives for intricate manufacturing. Researchers at Stanford University have introduced a more efficient processing technique that can print up to 1 million highly detailed and customizable microscale particles a day.

New 3D Printing Method Shows Promise for Porous Medical Implants

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. It could be useful for...

3D Printed Skin Closes Wounds

Fat tissue holds the key to 3D printing layered living skin and potentially hair follicles, according to researchers who recently harnessed fat cells and supporting structures from clinically procured human...

New Products and Services

See the new products and services, including Seminex' high-power multichip module, a new technology from Renishaw that enables users of RenAM 500 series metal additive manufacturing systems to reduce build times by up to 50 percent, and Applied Motion Products' servo series engineered for high machine performance.

From the Editor - Study: The Post-COVID Impact of 3D Printing and Generative Design

As the COVID pandemic began to drive rapid changes in healthcare, innovative manufacturers and makers around the world began using 3D printing and generative design to fill a dire need for masks, swabs, ventilator components, and other medical equipment. Read on to learn more thoughts from Sherrie Trigg, Editor and Director of Medical Content.

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.

Made-to-Order Diagnostic Tests on the Horizon

Researchers have invented a lab-on-a-chip that can be 3D printed in just 30 minutes. The chip has the potential to make on-the-spot testing widely accessible.

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).

Siemens Expands U.S. Additive Manufacturing Initiatives

Siemens is expanding its focus on additive manufacturing (AM) initiatives in the United States to help accelerate the transformation of the U.S. AM industry through serial additive...