3D Printing Goes Gargantuan (in scale)

No Gravatar

3D printing has intrigued me since it was first discussed.  And, last year, this area really seemed to explode.  (Materialise discussed a slew of innovations that were achieved.)  My primary interests have been in rapid prototyping and medical innovations, but many of the other areas are really interesting, too.

Neri Oxman, an architect trained at the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) with medical training from Hebrew University with a PhD from MIT, is now affiliated with the MIT Media Lab.  (If you have not visited this facility, you should- soon.   Not just because it’s among my almae matres, but because it is an astounding architectural structure, and it houses amazing research.) Dr. Oxman is proposing to use 3D printing (rapid prototyping machines) to advance the field of architecture.  Since the 3D printer can afford a change in the porosity of concrete,  as it is printed, Dr. Oxman plans to produce a concrete column that has low density, porous concrete in the interior portions and denser concrete on the outside.  The outside is where the bending stress is greatest.  This process should reduce the amount of concrete needed for a structure by some 10%, and, therefore, greatly reduce the costs of construction.   (By the way, there is lots of work going on at MIT with concrete, such as was reported here on 3 June 2010.)

Dr. Oxman is developing software that can process the data about physical stresses in a structure and the design constraints (size and shape of the structure, light requirements for the building) via an algorithm that specifies the material properties needed within the structure.  Right now, the structures she develops are relatively small- such as the chair (“Beast”, Museum of Science in Boston) that employed the stresses her body creates to yield a beautiful, functional chair.

Oxman MIT Wrist Splint

The next step in her work is to design and print braces for people who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome (as shown above).  The clinician, in concert with her team, would map the pain characteristics for the patient, and then use the 3D printing to prepare a customized brace to attenuate the stress for that particular patient.

Dr. Oxamn’s ultimate goal is to extend this process to the construction of buildings.  Areas of low stress (non-load bearing regions) could be made with porous concrete, thereby allowing for light penetration into the structure.  The load-bearing regions would employ much denser structures.

Share this:
Share this page via Email Share this page via Stumble Upon Share this page via Digg this Share this page via Facebook Share this page via Twitter
Share

14 thoughts on “3D Printing Goes Gargantuan (in scale)”

  1. Hello
    Surfing the Internet looking for 3D printers, I found your article.
    I am an amateur sculptor, creating my sculptures in clay, wrap it with gypsum, takeout the clay and cast different concrete mixtures.
    I am looking for 3D printer (that will ease production phase) and can print my sculptures out of 3D model.
    I’ll appreciate any information / links you can send me regarding 3d printing concrete.

    Thank’s a lot
    Udi

    1. Concrete is not a medium with which we operate. Our expertise is medical and engineering, not concrete. I know Loughborough University is working with this, MIT has one professor working with concrete, and there is concreteprinter.com. Above and beyond that, I know nothing.
      Good luck, Udi.

      Roy

  2. After exploring a number of the articles on your web site, I honestly appreciate
    your way of writing a blog. I book-marked it to my bookmark
    webpage list and will be checking back in the near future.
    payday loans line feed recently posted..payday loans line feed

    1. Thanks so much for your kind comments.
      I must admit that I am not a fan of payday loans. I know they could serve a purpose- but there needs to be better controls of the (usurious) interest they acquire.

  3. I blog quite often and I seriously thank you for your content.
    This article has truly peaked my interest.
    I will bookmark your blog and keep checking for new information about once a week.
    I subscribed to your Feed as well.
    Indira Chapman recently posted..click here

  4. You are so interesting! I don’t believe I’ve truly read through something like that before. So great to find someone with some genuine thoughts on this issue. Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This website is one thing that is needed on the web, someone with a bit of originality!

  5. Pingback: Homepage
    1. Thanks for your visit. And, as you can see, the commercial aspects of your note have been removed.
      And, yes, I stand by the comments and statements that were rendered in my post. As a matter of fact, today’s post is also about 3D printing.

      Roy

Comments are closed.