3D Printing Houses for Utopia

3D Printing Houses for Utopia 3D Printing Houses for Utopia 3D Printing Houses for UtopiaLast year, the Italian 3D printer company WASP unveiled the worlds largest 3D printer. Its a giant hexagonal tower 40 feet high and 20 feet wide. The size of the machine, which is called Big Delta, wasnt an attempt to get into the Guinness book of world recordsit was more an attempt to get to utopia (WASP stands for Worlds Advanced Saving Project). The printer is made to build homes, in whatever far-flung places might need them, cheaply and of the material found there.No one has ever printed earth and strawwith this first living module we want to prove, even to ourselves, that you can do it.Maurizio Andreoli,WASPs spokesmanWhat we are doing is an experiment that is somewhat extreme, says Maurizio Andreoli, WASPs spokesman. No one has ever printed earth and straw. With this first living module we want to prove, even to ourselves, that you can do it.They are currently proving just that.In a commune called Massa Lombarda, in Italys province of Ravenna, they have begun building in their Technological Village, dubbed Shamballa. They now have produced a wall the height of an average-sized person.The mixture of dirt and straw is light and strong. Image WASPAccording to WASP, its extruder turns dirt and straw that are combined with a mixer and a motorized hoe into a fiber-reinforced material like a composite. The group claims, using its technology, Two men can build a refuge in a week. And that refuge neednt be box-like, utilitarian, and boring. Walls can curve and undulate, homes can be free of corners, so the worlds neediest may end up in the most cutting edge architecture. The shanty towns of the future may be a bit funkier than their predecessors.Their current wall, a rising cylinder that looks as if its been stretched on a potters wheel, is made of two layers bolstered by wavy or zig-zagging lines inside. Beause it is hollow, it could be filled with insulation or some kind of ventilation system. But this first prototype wont be for living in. WASP plans to tear it down and use the fibrous material for building new structures.A BigDeltaWASP 3D printer. Image WASPWASP isnt the only firm trying to print homes or homelike structures. Berkeley Khoshneviss Contour Crafting has been laying down walls for some time. And researchers at the Netherlands Eindhoven University have been printing some groovy structures with their concrete printer. But the people behind WASP may be the most idealistic. They dont patent their inventions, and they invite anyone who wants to contribute to come help them build in Shamballa. They hope Big Delta will eventually be able to help create the 100,000 new homes a day that the UN has said will be needed throughout the world over the next 15 years.Once the prototype is done, we are going to abflug a very intense studio work on other materials, but always in the direction of sustainabilityenvironmentally and economically, says Andreol i.Michael Abrams is an independent writer.Learn more about the latest technologies in 3D printing at ASMEs AM3D Conference Expo.

3-D Printing Vet Terry Wohlers Sees Endless Opportunities

3-D Printing Vet Terry Wohlers Sees Endless Opportunities 3-D Printing Vet Terry Wohlers Sees Endless Opportunities 3-D Printing Vet Terry Wohlers Sees Endless Opportunities Terry Wohlers was there before additive manufacturing was an established industry. He began developing 3-D printed parts 30 years ago, when the technology was still untested. Wohlers, now president of Wohlers Associates, has written more than 420 books, articles, and technical papers, and delivered 150 keynote presentations on five continents. This year marks the 23rd anniversary of his Wohlers Report, which provides an in-depth analysis of the global additive manufacturing industry. Alan Brown, Mechanical Engineering magazines senior editor, recently caught up with Wohlers.ME You were one the worlds first AM consultants. What got you interested in additive manufacturing? T.W I started Wohlers Associates as a rechneruntersttzte konstruktion consultant in 1986 and quickly stumbled across 3-D printing. I contacted 3D Systems, and they sent me a full-scale distributor cap, back in the days when cars had those. I was just astounded, and I thought Wow, if this is really possible, it could be as big as CAD and a perfect complement to solid modeling.Terry Wohlers sees additive manufacturing helping small manufacturers and simplifying various supply bases.ME Then what happened? T.W I started working with the worlds largest manufacturer of in-ear hearing aids to design and manufacture custom-fit devices. They sent me to events. I was like a sponge, soaking it all up and meeting people. One thing led to another, and eventually I was spending almost all my time in additive manufacturing.For You Additive Manufacturing Requires Different ApproachME That was 25 years ago. Whats the biggest change since then? T.W Additive manufacturing is finally getting the respect it deserves. And with that comes investment. Were seeing incredible amounts of money being spent on this technology, such as Strykers $400-mi llion AM manufacturing facility.ME There is a lot of interest in metal AM. Whats going on there? T.W Metal is smoking hot today. There are many new vendors. Where companies previously bought one, two, or three machines to qualify processes, they are now buying five, 10, or 20 machines to go into production.ME Are the economics changing? T.W The prices are being driven down, and they need to be. You can afford to pay $250 per kilogram for materials to get prototypes right, because thats where changes are least expensive in the design cycle. When you get into production, its a whole different animal. Your costs must be closer to conventional materials and processes. This issue is being addressed, but it will take time.ME Are engineers taking true advantage of AMs flexibility? T.W Engineers who used AM for prototyping didnt really change their designs because they still had to produce them on conventional equipment. To use 3-D printing effectively and affordably, you need to design dif ferently. For example, you can consolidate many parts into one, or optimize a parts topology to increase its strength-to-weight ratio. unterstellung are new ways of thinking, and were just beginning to scratch the surface.ME To gain widespread acceptance, new technologies must turn peoples heads. Has 3-D printing done that? T.W GE did it with the nozzle system for its LEAP engine. That was a real milestone, a critical part that cannot fail. Boeing, Airbus, and Stryker are also great examples. Companies can look at them and say, Hey, we can do that, too. But cost remains an issue. When volumes are low and part value is high, it is easier to build a business case around AM.ME Do you believe AM can transform industry? T.W It has the ability to disrupt the supply chain almost entirely. When you consolidate 500 parts down to 10, you can imagine how that might impact your material suppliers, your part vendors, and the people that assemble and test your products. It introduces the possibil ity of doing more local manufacturing and really simplifying the supply base and making things much faster and more economically.ME What do you think will be making news in five years? T.W I hope costs improve to the point where major automobile companies are adopting this technology in a big way for production.Read More Additive Manufacturing Transform Supply Chain Protecting a New World of 3D-Printed Products New 3D Printer Extruder Takes Manufacturing to Next Level For Further Discussion To use 3-D printing effectively and affordably, you need to design differently.Terry Wohlers

Google looking to profit from orphans

Google looking to profit from orphansGoogle looking to profit from orphansA shorter version of Advantage Google, the essay at the back of yesterdays Times Book Review section, might read Dear Judge Chin Please reject the Google class action settlement, Rakoff-style. The proposed deal would settle the suit brought by authors and publishers against Google for copyright violations in connection with the companys digitization of 1000000s of books. Professor Lewis Hyde makes the case that the settlements treatment of books with unknown copyright owners, (orphan works) violates the public side of the copyright bargain. Of more than seven million books scanned by Google so far, four to five million appear to be orphaned.If the settlement is approved, Google will be permitted to sell and otherwise commercialize these works and split the proceeds with a new Book Rights Registry, where the money will wait five years for absent owners to claim it. After five years, all unclaimed funds will be d istributed to the authors and publishers whose works the registry represents. Hyde points out an obvious problemNothing in the history of copyright can possibly allow for such indenture. In no case are third parties meant to profit, as the Google settlement would allow. To let them do so would be like letting an executor drain an estate whose rightful heirs cannot be found.The orphan works will effectively belong only to Google and the other settling parties. It will be almost impossible for any other online player to get the same right to use them. The only way a potential competitor could avoid the threat of statutory damages would be to do what Google did scan lots of books, attract plaintiffs willing to form a class with an opt out feature, negotiate a settlement and get it approved by a judge. Even for those with time and money to spare, that promises to be an insurmountable barrier to entry. Essentially, Hyde fears that if the settlement is approved in anything like its curre nt form, Google will be granted an unlimited monopoly over electronic books.For anyone who hasread this accountof the metadata problems plaguingGoogles digitization project thus far, such a monopoly is an ominous prospect. -posted by brian