Photo credit: Maximilian Schneider
Automotive designer Maximilian Schneider envisions a hypercar unlike any other, and it’s called the Rimac Scalatan vision 2080. Not only is it powered by lithium-oxygen batteries, but it features a 3D-carboprinted chassis made of a titanium-graphite alloy encapsulated by an aerodynamic and ultra-rugged graphene outer shell. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: Hassell Studio
Ever wonder what an above-ground Mars habitat could look like if it were built by a group of autonomous robots? If so, Hassell Studio shows us their proposal, which was also entered into NASA’s international 3D Printed Habitat Challenge. The team partnered with structural engineers at Eckersley O’Callaghan (EOC) and it consists of an external shell made from local Martian regolith. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.
Engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) have built a mini Mars rover using 3D printers and commercially available components. To be more specific, it’s based on the Resource Prospector 15 (RP15) prototype from 2015 that uses 12 different motors to drive its four wheels. This miniature version can crawl or paddle out of obstacles. Read more for a video and additional information.
Inventor Ivan Miranda specializes in 3D-printed projects, and his latest is a massive tank that you can actually ride inside of. Yes, all of the parts have been printed, and took weeks to do so. There are electronics inside that make it move, including a battery bank and motors. Plus, when Miranda is actually inside, the tank can be remote controlled. Read more for a video and additional information.
UC San Diego NanoEngineering researchers have developed a highly expandable foaming resin for use with SLA 3D printers. This material expands with heat after UV-curing, which enables you to make parts significantly larger than the build volume of the printer used to fabricate them. It could eventually be used for architecture, manufacturing, aerospace, energy, biomedicine, and even to build flotation devices. Read more for a video and additional information.
Photo credit: Oddity Central
Lalastein is a professional 3D scanning expert and camera man who has worked on several Japanese films. However, he wanted to be known for his side projects, which is creating ultra-realistic face masks using 3D printers. To accomplish this, he used a Super Scan Studio Face Rig 3D scanner and a Stratasys J750 3D printer. Read more for additional pictures and information.
University of California San Diego engineers have developed a new method to create insect robots that doesn’t require any special equipment and works in just minutes. “Flexoskeletons” enable them to create soft, flexible, 3D-printed robots, which have both soft and rigid parts. These flexoskeletons are made from 3D printing a rigid material directly onto a thin sheet that acts as a flexible base. Read more for a video and additional information.
Italy-based startup Isinnova has started to 3D-print valves that transform snorkeling masks into functional CPAP ventilators to save COVID-19 patients. What is a CPAP mask used for? It’s to helps aid patients who can still breathe spontaneously on their own, but need help keeping their airways unobstructed. They’ve created 500 of these 3D printed respirator masks so far and distributed to hospitals in Italy to those needed. Read more for a video and additional information.
Belgium-based software and 3D printing company Materialise wants to stop the spread of COVID-19, starting with its new 3D printed hands-free door opener. The plans are free for anyone to use, and enables one to open or close doors using just their arm, thus eliminating the need for direct contact with handles. Read more for two videos and additional information.
Created by industrial designer Alan Wong, Kranio X is a handcrafted Bluetooth speaker unlike any other, starting with the lynx skull-shaped casing that contrasts a feral, organic feature with the cold, synthetic mechanical parts. Fortunately, not animals were harmed in the making of this device, as all of it has been 3D-printed. Offering 10-watts of power and weighing in at 4.4 pounds, it measures 240 x 160 x 153 cm. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.