This week Rob installs smart blinds, tries VR exercise, programs NFC chips, flies an FPV drone, and tries to make a snowplow, and Christen falls out of her shower. They also look at some interesting applications for additive manufacturing, aka 3D printing.
Would you eat a 3D printed steak? Watch this video to see how it’s made.
Christen shares how she used 3D printed forms in a traditional lost “wax” casting technique.
Rob shares some projects he’s created like, Xmas light hooks, a custom remote holder, a DeLorean vent blade, and prototypes for his Scratchband designs. If you’re interested in starting a 3D printing hobby, Rob recommends Ender 3 Pro, tinkercad, and thingiverse
Finally, 3D printers can print using biodegradable printing material.
Unconventional things artists are 3D printing
- Neri Oxman and 3D printed glass (2015), (also 3D printed architectural forms through co-fabrication, in coordination with silkworms and bees). Oxman et al are also experimenting with printing chitosan (water-based additive fabrication of biodegradable materials)
- Diemund Strebe, bioartist, 3D-printed a living replica of Van Gogh’s severed ear (2015).
- Coiled earthen architecture
- Yael Arkirev creates 3D printed conductive material
Are 3D printed guns a concern for our future? This YouTuber fires a 3D printed firearm.
Things that Blow Our Minds
Rob: Still hoping there is a greater-than-zero chance for life in this universe other than on Earth, he discovers an article hypothesizing that tidally locked planets which orbit red dwarfs might have areas that are conducive to supporting life.
Christen: Discovers research developing medicine from Baltic amber to fight drug-resistant bacteria.
“Abietic acids and their derivatives are potentially an untapped source of new medicines, especially for treating infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria, which are increasingly becoming resistant to known antibiotics.”