Who says 3D printers can’t save the world?
Posted on December 18, 2015
by
Angela Darnall
The 3D Printers for Peace Contest not too long ago introduced the winners of their contest to provide you with revolutionary methods to place desktop 3D printers to work for the larger good. The competition, created and sponsored by Michigan Tech College, was designed to problem the 3D printing group to create options for real-world issues, corresponding to vitality conservation, battle decision, and medical units. For the reason that mission of MatterHackers is to make desktop 3D printing enjoyable, straightforward, and helpful, we helped sponsor this contest by offering the third-place prize – a sampler pack that includes a large assortment of our favourite filaments.
First place design: VaxBeads, by John Van Tuyl.
The primary place winner was John Van Tuyl, recognized on Thingiverse as jvantyul. He created beads known as VaxBeads. These are made for kids in creating nations to put on so as to clearly, shortly, and precisely decide which vaccines they’ve had and which of them they want. They’re more durable to lose and may final for much longer than a bit of paper. This makes each the medical doctors’ and the households’ lives simpler in the case of their youngsters receiving healthcare. This additionally prevents youngsters who’ve already been vaccinated from getting the identical vaccines once more, which supplies valuable assets away to those that don’t want it and leaves much less for individuals who haven’t acquired them. Some firms who dispense vaccines, like Vaxtrac, are trying to unravel this situation with software program, however till then, monitoring techniques like VaxBeads can fill within the gaps.
Second place design was a Photo voltaic Powered Water Purification Cone, by Matt Courchaine.
Second place design was a photo voltaic powered water purification cone, by Matt Courchaine. The cone makes use of the surprisingly easy thought of colours to control the sunshine and warmth to ensure that it to be photo voltaic powered. White is used for the cone to make the solar’s gentle simpler to go by means of. It makes use of passive photo voltaic heating to soak up the solar’s vitality by utilizing black plastic for the tray. The water within the tray evaporates then condenses alongside the within of the cone, and after a time frame, sufficient droplets kind so as to create ingesting water. Think about placing this in sizzling areas the place water is scarce so as to create swimming pools of water. This enables ingesting water to be out there without spending a dime reasonably than forcing folks to have money-based jobs and buying water, which might enable sure communities centered on agriculture and self-sustenance to take care of their lifestyle.
Aaron Meidinger, winner of third place, created Braille textual content tablets.
Third place winner was Aaron Meidinger, who created customized Braille textual content tablets. An individual can print any letters they need so as to talk the specified message. The intent was for a sighted particular person to have the ability to assist a blind particular person study Braille, or simply to speak between sighted and blind folks. This may very well be particularly helpful for folks simply studying methods to learn Braille: they will sort within the message they wish to talk, determine the interpretation, and create the message virtually immediately. This enables for one thing akin to Braille instant-messaging, however in three dimensions. A recreation of Scrabble is also performed between blind and sighted folks with this, though a board with raised borders for every sq. must be created as effectively.
What comparable concepts can the remainder of the group provide you with? I personally can be thinking about seeing the opposite entries that didn’t make the lower for high 3. There are nonetheless a mess of environmental and humanitarian points that this new expertise might be able to assist the place politics and coverage can not. Listening to about sure topics will be troublesome and disempowering in some ways as a result of oftentimes we really feel like we wish to assist however marvel how one particular person could make a distinction. The responses that these three folks, together with Michigan Tech, MatterHackers, and plenty of different people and communities, have contrived are proof that one particular person could make a distinction and clear a path for extra options. With the desktop 3D printing revolution permitting entry to the toolbox that may assemble these solutions at an reasonably priced worth, creating resolutions should not as distant as we might imagine.
