User:MarkKeller22
Introduction
My name is Mark Keller and I am in my eighth semester at The Pennsylvania State University. I am majoring in Civil Engineering with a specialization in Water Resource Management. I intend on graduating in May 2013.
BLOGS
Weekly blogs will be written based on prompts provided by the professor. These blogs are typically related RepRap in one way or another but not always directly.
Blog Number One
Part A
An item that is useful
In today's society headphones are almost a necessity. Whether it is for iPods, iPhones, MP3 players, or for use with your personal computer, they have become an everyday item. The problem with headphones, is that they are difficult to carry when not in use. They get tangled and can even become knotted. These ear bud holders eliminate the mess associated with shoving ear buds into your pocket or book bag. The STL file can be downloaded here.
An item that is artistic/beautiful
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I have always had a fascination with airplanes. The bi-plane really is a thing of beauty. Two wings, a sleek design, and the way it is able to maneuver through the air all contribute to its beauty. The STL file can be downloaded here.
An item that is pointless/useless
An item that is funny/weird
The "shark with a fricken laser" is from the Austin Powers movies. As a kid, and even still today I watch those movies and laugh. The scenes with Dr. Evil talking about sharks with lasers is always a classic and makes me laugh every time. It is funny to see that somebody took the time to draw one that can be rapid prototyped. The STL file can be downloaded here.
An item that is scary/strange
Although I can see some purpose for printing such an object, I feel that a lower jaw bone is a rather strange object to print. Typically if it were being used for medical purposes it would either be molded or an actual bone would be used, but to print one using a 3D printer for "personal use" just seems strange to me. The STL file can be downloaded here.
Part B
I do feel that I am a tinkerer. I love to take things apart and see how they work and then try to put them back together. I do feel that the amount of tinkering I do is decreasing as I get older. I do not have the same amount of free time to tinker as I did when I was younger, and my job does not require any tinkering. But when given the chance I thoroughly enjoy tinkering. My dad and my uncle's are all tinker. They grew up on a farm and had to fix things when they broke. Not only did they fix things, but they improved the equitment that they had, all through tinkering.
I agree with the argument. I particularly like the statement, "It’s that the notion that we can fix any problem or achieve any goal that we set for ourselves has deteriorated into a sanitized, corporatized version of what constitutes achievement." This directly relates to the fact that Americans have taken the replace it rather than fix it attitude. It is easier to just go out and replace something rather than fix what they have. This is the influence that corporate America has instilled upon us. The more we buy the more profit they make.
Things evolve through tinkering. No mater what field we are talking about, it is tinkering that pushes the progress. New things are created and old ideas are improved. So preserving the habitat, or allowing tinkering to continue to prosper will help us to "catch up" to where we should be.
The primary design principles that are the use of multidisciplinary brainstorming, finding out what do humans really want, and going beyond what you think you can do. It was pretty neat to see that someone who is as smart as Kelly and has created as many things as he has, is working on building a 3D printer, the same project that we are undertaking. I think that all of the principles can be applied to our work. We all think differently and using the minds of multiple individuals to complete a task helps it move that much quicker. Going beyond what you think you can do applies here as well. We may not all be programmers or good at physically building things, but we are all capable of doing it. This project will have us working on issues that we know nothing about, but we will, with struggle and time, be able to complete the tasks.
Blog Number Two
Mother Of All Demos:
When I first saw the mouse cursor move, it took me back to when I was younger. We had an old Macintosh computer I believe it was a mid to late 90s model, one of the grey boxes. That is what it looked like a grey box. We would fire it up and when moving the mouse, it had a similar lag to it like the one shown in the Douglas Engelbart video, Mother Of All Demos. It would have a string of pointers following as you moved the mouse until you would stop at a specific point. The program that Englebart was running sort of reminded me of Microsoft Word. Creating new files is similar to creating new documents. Each file can be saved and reopened at a later date. It can even open multiple files at one time. The copy and past functions are features that we use in every day life on computers. Sitting here in today's world, I take for granted all of the things that Englebart is demonstrating. I am incredibly impressed with technology that he is demonstrating. It is incredible to see how innovative people are and the technological feats that they have accomplished. At the time I don't believe that I would have been able to recognize the importance of what was being demonstrated. At that point, I don't think many people were doing work on computers so it might have been hard for everyone to visualize the importance, but had I been in the audience I would have recognized that copy and past is a useful feature as well as being able to save files.
Professor Richard Doyle: Open Source Futures
Blog Number Three
3D Printing in:
Civil Engineering:
In his TEDx Talk, Behrokh Khoshnevis discusses the application of 3D printing in the Civil Engineering world. He begins by explaining how construction, by today's methods, is hazardous, wasteful, corruption prone, and costly. He presents some facts on these issues such as, approximately 10,000 people are killed in construction accidents in this country. He then introduces the concept of using 3D printers in construction. I think that this idea is brilliant! But I do have some reservations about the idea. The concept is genius, using a printer/robot to perform all aspects of the construction process. My hesitation with this concept is that it will eliminate skilled labor jobs. Khoshnevis discusses this potential problem but his solution is that it will create jobs for a different set of people, those older and could not typically work in the construction industry. That is all well and good, but where does that leave the skilled laborers? My only other concern with the printing of buildings is a whole new style of repair will be necessary. It is inevitable that repairs will need to be made at some point, but fixing printed material is a new concept and not quite the same as repairing a building that utilized current construction methods. Overall though, the idea is fantastic and makes complete sense. Why not reduce the cost, waste and time of construction by using giant printers.
Bio Tech:
The article How 3D Printers Are Reshaping Medicine is really fascinating. The fact that we can print cell tissue in order to create new organs, vales, bone and even skin. It makes sense that printers would be used to make custom prosthetic limbs and hearing aids, but to print a new organ for somebody is and incredible medical marvel. Although the technology is not quite ready to be used in all instances, the fact that we are working towards the possibility of being able to create/print new human parts from man manipulated cells is mind boggling. I think that we can see the biggest change directly through the pharmaceutical companies gain by using 3D printing. Their costs are boosted/money is wasted in development due to the use of using 2D cell models. This gives a semi accurate analysis of how drugs will react with the human body. But by using 3D cell tissues generated by 3D printers will allow for a much more accurate representation and will decrease the cost of the research and ultimately decrease the cost of prescription drugs.
Food Science:
In the article, The Delicious Future: 3D Chocolate Printer Finally Available for Purchase, food printing is discussed. The technology is now available to the public. For a measly $4000 you can have your own 3D printer that will print edible chocolate creations. Typically ABS or PLA plastic is used as the printing material, but with advancements, chocolate can now be printed. I think that this is awesome. Although it is expensive, it is neat that you can personalize candy and make custom chocolates by transferring a drawing to an STL file to G Code finally to a printed product. Within reason, you can make any design that you want. It takes chocolate making to a whole new level.
Fashion:
After reading the Q & A with Iris Van Herpen and checking out some of the dresses that she has designed, I am truly in awe of the capabilities of 3D printing. The black dress was incredible. The intricacies of the design and the overall appearance of the dress was stunning. It is difficult to believe that it was printed rather then sewn. The encroachment into fashion is an excellent interdisciplinary mesh. Van Herpen discussed researching different materials as well as collaborating with scientists and architects in order to gain insight and the know how to literally create clothing. This shows that 3D printing is not just limited to those in the science field and that science is not limited to those in the science field. Like Van Herpen says, there are less restrictions when it comes to printing clothing, although there are some initial hurdles to over come. I think that it is neat to think that one day we will be able to buy a design file and then print our own cloths. It is completely wild and imaginative but sometimes hard to believe that it is even possible. Van Herpen has been working closely with the 3D printing industry to develop new methods and materials so that new levels of clothing printing can be reached. It is an excellent example of how progress is made.
Other Examples
I was watching TV the other day, and Season 6, Episode 14 of The Big Bang Theory two of the main characters, Rajesh Koothrappali and Howard Wolowitz purchase a used 3D printer. They want to use it for many different things, predominately work related, but they also print a whistle and action figures. Although it may not be a real instance, it is proof that 3D printing is on the up and up in today's society.
In this interviewwith Enrico Dini, 3D printing is discussed for buildings. Dini is a civil engineer with a passion for architecture. He feels limited in design by traditional construction methods so he invented and patented a full scale 3D printing method that uses epoxy to bind sand allowing him to print buildings in a cost effective manner. Ultimately his goal, after refinement of the printer, is to build a roundabout sculpture to be placed in Pisa, Italy.
Blog Number Four
Wow! The article about Liam's Robohand was inspiring. It is awesome that they were able to create a prosthetic using a 3D printer. The really neat thing is that the initial designs were created by two people hundreds of miles apart. Communicating by email, Ivan Owen and Richard Van As were able to design and trouble shoot prototypes, initially for Van As, but ultimately create the design for Liam. Owen and Van As prove that there are people out there who don't care about monetary gains but are truly out to help for the good of mankind. They keep the design and information open sourced so that it might continue to help those who cannot afford prosthetic limbs that run in the thousands of dollars. It is very admirable that do it this way, and continue to grow and look to push their creation with larger companies.
The technology for both open, and closed-sourced apparatus' are wildly incredible. In looking at a closed-sourced product, I came across a company called Touch Bionics. They created a prosthetic hand called the i-limb ultra. They claim that it is the most natural feeling and functional prosthetic hand on the market. Look and feel is one benefit of the closed-source hand. I would defend this by saying that prosthesis is a new comer in the open-source side of things. The hand designed and built by Owen and Van As is a completely functional unit, but it is crude and unrefined. The biggest difference between the two prosthetic hands, is that the model produced by Touch Bionics is computer based. It has numerous capabilities including variable digit grasp strength, automated hand grips, and the ability to pick up small objects. Currently, in the open-sourced model, it is pure mechanical operations. This is both a strength and a weakness. As far as a weakness goes, the open-source hand is very limited in its range of motion and physical capabilities. But as far as strengths go, a purely mechanical device is cheaper and can be fixed more easily. Cost wise, the open-source prosthetic is significantly less money than that of the closed-source hand. Any figures that I could find indicated that the Touch Bionics hand cost in excess of $6,000.
The prosthetic that Owen and Van As created can be found on Thingiverse. Information on their project can be seen at their blog, Coming Up Shorthanded. What Owen and Van As are really looking for is monetary donations to help keep the project going. They want to help as many people as they can, but financially it is not possible. One way that we can get involved is to visit the Fundraising Page. We can either make our own donations or we can put together our own fundraising efforts. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter are excellent ways to help spread the word. By exposing society to this cause and soliciting funds, Owens and Van As could reach and ever surpass their goal of $50,000.
Blog Number Five
In my first blog, Blog Number One, I posted 5 3D printable objects that I found on Thingiverse. Of those five, I think that only the bi-plane has the possibility of having a patent/being copyrighted, but I doubt that it is. It is a model of what could be an actual design but looks very simplified, so it makes me skeptical. The ear bud holder would be my only other thought, but it seems like a "useful" object such as the article described. I wouldn't think that it would have a copyright/patent.
Blake Ziegler has a model of Abraham Lincoln that was scanned using a 3D scanner and then printed. Models/sculptures typically have copyrights associated with them. Due to the magnitude of importance of Abraham Lincoln, I'm sure that the original sculpture is copyrighted. Carina has two that items that are most definitely copyrighted. The first is a printed model of Notre-Dame de Reims. Architecture is automatically copyrighted. She also has Minions which are from the movie Dispicable Me. Things from movies are also copyrighted.There are two reasons why licensing, they are legal and cultural reasons. Looking at the legal perspective, granting a license now makes the usage conditions clear no matter how the copyright laws evolve. There are differences though, giving full permission vs. restrictive. Giving restrictive permission can cause more problems than it does good. From the cultural stand point, it shows that the creators want their products to be built upon. It allows for their creations to be replicated and made better and used in other aspects. Those who want this usually use sites such as Thingiverse.
Blog Number Six
The article Disruptions: On The Fast Track to Routine 3-D Printinggives a look into the future of 3D printing. The world has come along way with technology, but we are not to the point of the Jetsons as many thought we would in the new millennium, but 3D printing is rapidly advancing. 3D printers provide a large printing capacity, in that they can print metals, plastics and ceramics all in very customizable orientations. The 3D printing industry got a big promotion and applause from President Obama in his State of the Union address in January. He believes that this is a step in the right direction towards bringing manufacturing back into the United States. Not only does 3D printing have an affect on all industries but it is making its way into schools. Many school, grades K-12, are incorporating 3D printing into their curriculum. The Center for Technology and Teacher Education uses them in their classrooms in was such as building models and then analyzing the efficiency of the design. According Nick Bilton, the author, what makes this possible is the reduction in price. A few years ago these units were nearly $20,000 but can now be purchased in the neighborhood of $1,000. In London, within they year, they are planning to "print" a house. Although it might not be the most beautiful house on the street, what it comes down to for 3D printing, is with time, what won't they be able to print?
The State of the Union address was mentioned in this article because Obama discussed 3D printing. There is a government funded movement to create 3D printing "hubs". The the speech addresses the concept and what it can do in America. Obama makes it seem that he is at the helm of this endeavor, whether that is true or not is unclear, but Obama is aiming to bring manufacturing back to the United States. He is hoping that larger companies will follow suit. I think that it is important. This country was built on manufacturing. But these processes have long been outsourced to drive down costs. I think that it is time for manufacturing to again be a big part of the U.S. economy.
These printers are very different than ours. The printers at The University of Virginia are commercialized and very refined. Our Open Hybrid Mendel's are by no means commercialized, but we are able to refine them pretty well. Additionally, the article says that their 3D printers can print the dynamic systems fully assembled. The OHM printers that we use do not have that capability. I have no knowledge of the the ease of use of commercial 3D printers, but I feel that if we were to use our printers in the same manner it would work well. I feel that our printers are capable of that task. What it comes down to is time again. We are halfway through the semester and we are still working on fixing kinks in our printer and overcoming obstacles that we encounter while printing. For a dynamics class to jump in just start printing would not work on our machines, and I would think that it would be the same for commercial 3D printers.
Blog Number Seven
3D Pen
The 3D Pen Plotter is sweet. It is not precise like a 3D printer but it allows more flexibility. It is a hand held device that prints plastic in shapes drawn by the pen holder. It can be used to draw 3D objects free in the air, or given a pattern, it can trace the pattern and stick them together creating 3D objects. The ease of use is the big attraction here. It is a simple device that plugs into the wall, the plastic wire feeds into the back and a button extrudes the plastic through the hot tip. There are very few limitations to this device. Everything is limited mainly by the user’s ability.
Tangibot
The Tangibot is a MakerBot Replicator just refined and made cheaper. It was developed based off of the open source information regarding MakerBot. It is very accurate and well refined machine capable of quality prints. Tangibot offers savings of up to $700 when compared to MakerBots. The creator of Tangibot has an extensive background in electronics and has shown that his machines are reliable and accurate. He is looking to further refine the process and bring down the cost as development continues. Unfortunately he did not meet his funding goal and the project, on kickstarter, is at a standstill.
RoBo 3D Printer
The RoBo 3D Printer is another attempt at a mass produced open source 3D printer. They do a very good job of making it look aesthetically pleasing. Their cost for the product is very low when compared to MakerBots and the Tangibot. At $500 plus shipping, the RoBo 3D Printer is a steal. They boast a large printing platform, a printer capable of high detail, and it is open source. This helps their development. Changes can be made by anyone and then posted. RoBo 3D Printer can then take those changes and incorporate them into their next generation.
Form 1
The Form 1 3D printer is really cool. As advertised, it looks to produce very high resolution prints. They don’t actually mention a cost within the article as far as the purchase price goes, but they say that it will be much less than a conventional 3D. This is not an open source 3D printer so the costs will typically be a little higher. But the technology is phenomenal. This though, is where they are getting into trouble. 3D Systems has filed a suit against Formlab for knowingly infringing on a blanket patent for stereolithography and cross-sectional 3D printing. The technology that Formlab is using is very high tech, but apparently covered under a patent for the time being. If this can get sorted out, in favor of Formlab, I think that they have an excellent higher end product.
Printxel
The Printxel 3D printer has an awesome price of $300. It is a low cost machine capable of printing quality parts. The prints that are shown on Kickstarter seem very well done. The printing area is somewhat small, 5.5” x 5.5” but for the cost and quality the small print area can be overlooked. The design of the printer is unique to any others that I have seen thus far and seems to work well. I think that overall it will be a good printer.
The Vision
Based on the Prusa Mendel printers, The Vision is one user’s refined version. The creators didn’t stop at the “normal” specs. They have multiple models to fit the needs of the individual user. They offer a lot of options to customize your printer. From being made of plywood to lexan, they also offer different bed sizes up to 12.25” x 12.25” as well as the option for a dual extruder. There is no mention of cost for each specific model, but the $750 pledge level gets you the most basic printer.
I think that Kickstarter is a really cool and valuable tool. It gives those who do not have the means to back projects the opportunity to try and get those funds. I’m not sure that Kickstarter itself is the future of crowd-sourced fundraising but I think that it is a good representative of where it is heading. It allows people to see if funding is available but if the goal is not met, the investors owe no money.
Every business or website in the world has its problems, including Kickstarter. The article Who’s the Shop Steward on Your Kickstarter? highlights some of the “flaws” of the website. I use the term “flaws” loosely because I feel that they are just part of the business. Kickstarter is somebody’s business and they are looking for a profit just like each and every person who is putting ideas up to get funded. They have to pay the people who manage the money issues, and it is profit/income so you need to pay the taxes on the income. All of this comes out of the money you raised while reaching your goal. What it comes down to, is that if you need X amount of dollars, you need to set your goal at Y. Y includes the 10% that goes to Amazon and Kickstarter and then plan on the 15% income tax. They may not be forthcoming with these expenses at the beginning, but they are not trying to hide them. As an aspiring entrepreneur, you should know some of the ins and outs of the business world, and one of the key things to remember is that nothing is ever free. You should expect that there would be fees to be paid. While there are also countless hours of marketing to be put in to raise the money that you hope to, that too should be expected. If your idea is truly good, the marketing and advertising will take care of itself with minimal help. But if you really believe in something, it shouldn’t be that big of deal to have to push your product to friends and people you don’t know asking for support. If this is hard for you, you are in the wrong business.
When using Kickstarter you don’t have to front the money as you would if you went with a storefront. Kickstarter allows you to see if others think that you have a good idea and they show that by giving money to support your venture. With a storefront you need a large volume of money to start out. You need to pay for the store front, invest in the equipment and the overhead and you still don’t know if the company will go anywhere. If you manage to get an investor, the investor will want some cut of the profits as does Kickstarter. On the other hand though, having a storefront enables your customers to see exactly what you are offering. As opposed to pictures and videos, the customer can see and feel exactly what they are buying and ensuring that it is what they want. I don’t think that either option, Kickstarter or the actual storefront, will be going anywhere anytime soon. I think that they both have their advantages and allow for an entrepreneur to facilitate the selling of an object the way that best fits him.
Projects
Open Hybrid Mendel Construction
Dual Extruder Construction
Bonus Blogs: 3D Printing In Society
War Against Magazine Capacity
There has always been an issue with gun control in America. The issue, in the more recent past, has been a huge topic from a political standpoint. The Republicans and Democrats have very different views on the Second Amendment. Gun control was a big issue, for Americans, in the presidential race between John McCain and Barack Obama. The uproar on the issue died down some number of months later, but was brought to light again after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting on December 14, 2012. The major issue now is magazine capacity of all weapons, with the primary focus on assault weapons. It is the feel of most Democrats that the number of rounds a magazine can hold should be limited. Currently, the typical magazine capacity for an "assault style" weapon such as the AR-15 is 30 rounds, but can vary state to state. Politicians are not trying decrease the capacity to a possible maximum of 10 rounds. This is a very touchy topic for some people, and there are those who don't understand why one might want a magazine to hold that many rounds. I'm not here to make a case or give my opinion (although it may not be hard to figure out), but to share the way that one group of people is looking at this issue. The issue is that the government is looking at banning the sale of magazines with a capacity over a certain amount. One group is looking to 3D printers to "solve" the issue of government intervention. In the article, Print and fire: 3D printing could muzzle new gun laws, a group has open-sourced a file that allows those with a 3D printer to be able to print 30 round magazines. I am not sure where the legality of this will fall when all is said and done, but they are not being sold but rather created. No matter what your stance on the issue, I think that this is cool and innovative. It is really neat to see the expansions of fields that now able to incorporate 3D printing into a "manufacturing process" that allows those with 3D printers to build their own products rather than buy them.
Promotion By The President
Coming at a later date...... Obama's speech highlights rise of 3-D printing