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Ricky Ledesma | SD-6500-FA15-W15 Introduction to Sustainable Design | 12/10/2015

Can rapid prototyping with 3D printing put you on a path to restorative


manufacturing?
Author: Ricky Ledesma
Conventional manufacturing employs both additive and subtractive manufacturing processes in high
volume production environments. Typically, raw materials are extracted from the Earth, refined,
deposited, and assembled onto other materials to form the high tech products we have today. On the
other hand, 3D printing, or otherwise known as the additive manufacturing process, builds objects,
additively, in layers of sub-micron scale. 3D printing drives innovation, customization, and local
manufacturing while discouraging the need for extra tools that yield higher costs and long project lead
times.
From the 1980s to 2008, 3D printing was specifically married to industrial research and development
facilities. In 2009, the first commercially available 3D printer was created, in kit form and based on the
RepRap concept. Shortly after, alternative 3D printing processes were introduced to consumers, such as
DLP technology and stereolithography. Next came the growing maker movement, who learned of all the
capabilities and applications 3D printing had to offer, and when many different media channels picked
up on the technology. Ever since the maker community understood the advanced technology, 3D
printing has become a localized manufacturing service that enables top-brand products to be made on
demand. How it works: create/download 3D design, open and slice 3D design, choose a 3D printer, load
material, pick up your finished product in a matter of hours.
To begin a conventional 3D printing process, a 3D model needs to be designed in a 3D Computer Aided
Design (CAD) program. Once the model is ready, it can be imported into a slicer engine to be converted
into a language, called GCode, which the 3D printer can read. Next, the 3D printer begins to deposit the
material by each slice, or layer, from the bottom-up to create a real 3D model of the computer 3D
model. This short summary unfortunately hides most of the preparation work that needs to be
performed before printing. Print bed calibration, model orientation, model support material, filament
type, temperature, motor speed, and many other aspects of the system need to be properly defined
before beginning a print job. Once an object has been printed, the object can either function as a utility,
as a prototype, or become a souvenir depending on the material type. Thermoplastics, metals, paper,
biomaterials, and even food have become useful material types for 3D printers. However, petrol-based
thermoplastics can provide a toxic off-gas while passing through the heated nozzle, which is a safety
concern for 3D printers.
Now that you have a grasp on the concept of 3D printing, "Can rapid prototyping with 3D printing put
you on a path to restorative manufacturing?" To answer that, we will introduce SP3DR: the 3D printer
that mimics the shape of a normal spider, but will create 3D objects instead of the typical spider webs.
Sp3drs concept is to 3D print objects on demand using sustainable biomaterials from local foliage,
which enables the product to be made from the environment, have a healthy interaction during use, and
decompose back into the environment at the end of its life cycle. Conventional 3D printers can recycle
their parts into other purposes, but they cannot provide a restorative process for their machined parts
or their 3D printed parts.
To begin a 3D printing process with Sp3dr, the user will design a CAD file, import it to the slicer engine,
and Sp3dr can begin processing and printing the 3D object. One advantage of Sp3dr is the internal

12/10/2015 All rights reserved. Images, videos, and documents are confidential.

Ricky Ledesma | SD-6500-FA15-W15 Introduction to Sustainable Design | 12/10/2015


structure houses areas to ingest, store, distribute, and mix sustainable biomaterial. For example, Sp3dr
can digest mycelium (mushrooms) and agricultural waste, then these materials are stored inside damp
glands within Sp3drs abdomen. When Sp3dr receives a print job, Sp3dr can distribute the material to a
mixing chamber, where the materials bond together under heat and extrude out of the nozzle to form
the 3D printed object out of sustainable biomaterial.
How the service impacts the Public (Culturally)
Local 3D printing manufacturing processes drastically reduce the impacts of parts distribution, global
transportation, toxic synthetic materials processing, and air pollution. Products that are made from
Sp3drs biomaterial 3D printing service can be sold in local markets, use local, yet natural, raw materials
and improve public health as the service is creating less pollution from natural material usage. Second,
there is better urbanism, since communities of makers, artists, and consumers will be able to meet faceto-face about this process and teach new people how they can get involved to make their community
better through this service.
How the service impacts the Person (Personally)
The localized service yields greater connection to community through educational workshops and the
use of local materials. It also frees up a significant body of income for the taxpayers by potentially
replacing the need for owning any products. Cars, buildings, and other complex objects can be designed
and printed to improve internal and external areas of urban lifestyle. Incoming non-toxic materials are
acceptable, but they will need to be certified in Sp3drs mixing process to ensure the final post-mixed
material is non-toxic. If materials are rejected, the customers material can be recycled at the facility in
order to prevent the rejected material from going into a landfill.
How the service impacts the Planet (Environmentally)
Of course, there will be less emissions from decreased transport usage. The printed objects will be
rapidly produced through Sp3drs service. Items will be available for pick up, similar to picking a
prescription at a local pharmacy. If the customer no longer has a need for the object, they can use it as
feed material for the 3D printer to create a new object. This feedback program can assist in waste
reduction around the local community. If the consumer chooses to trash the object, it will biodegrade
without harming the natural environment.
How the service impacts Profit (Economically)
Electronic pieces of the tools will incur less long-term costs. Monthly or annual subscriptions to the
service can help cover long-term costs and workshops can be offered to learn more about 3D printing
and about how to work with Sp3dr. Anyone can subscribe to the service to bring their materials, use the
3D printing tool, and create their object. The resulting printed object will compose of attributes similar
to nature, which reduces waste generation in cities because objects can decompose like a leaf. Since the
object is attributed to nature, there will be reduced air pollution while the tool is creating the object and
while the object is operating in its life cycle.
As early brainstorming began, we knew this would be an ambitious project. We thought, What would it
take to advance the 3D printing concept and technology? How does nature self-assemble objects out of
non-toxic materials? In what ways can a 3D printer become self-replicating, grow capacity, be powered
by the sun, provide clean materials, etc.? Spiders became the best example that included all of these
traits. If we can mimic a spiders web generation process and the webs natural composition, then we
have a viable solution to creating a 3D printer that produces clean biomaterials that do not affect the
health of the planet or people. Sp3dr can use organic and/or inorganic materials to localize

12/10/2015 All rights reserved. Images, videos, and documents are confidential.

Ricky Ledesma | SD-6500-FA15-W15 Introduction to Sustainable Design | 12/10/2015


manufacturing of eco-friendly products on demand. The main body, or frame of the 3D printed object,
such as a plate, can be made of biomaterial, while additional materials such as reclaimed cotton paper
can cover the plate. Therefore, products meet the non-toxic requirement, are ecologically regenerative,
and have no negative impact on the human or ecosystem, as well as can be built on demand. One
constraint of the project is mimicking the spiders mixing process generate non-toxic biomaterials. A
second constraint is mimicking the ingestion and digestion process to physically break down and
separate materials into chemical compounds for storage.
Summary of how Sp3dr works:
INGEST - Sp3dr can receive materials to create organic and inorganic compound material to recycle
excess material.
STORE - The material can then be stored in the separated glands in either high concentration of aqueous
environment or a hydrophobic area while awaiting deployment.
DISTRIBUTE - Once commanded to build a 3D printed object of a certain size, specific glands will be
activated to deploy material into a spinning duct for mixing and extrude to print an object.
In order to scale up Sp3dr as a 3D printing process and tool, the business can be funded and promoted
through crowdfunding to groups of makers, artists, and industrialists. Next, development of production
units can begin and continue to be shipped to backers. When the product is in the users control, the
individual can begin disrupting the globalized manufacturing process, by creating 3D printed objects
with the biomaterials around their local environment that has a composition similar to natural materials.
When the user has finished using the 3D printed object, it can easily biodegrade back into the
environment. Sp3dr can also act as a distributed model, so users can purchase 3D printed objects made
from biomaterials. Furthermore, we can provide opportunities for resellers to purchase and distribute
Sp3dr through their business, while also provide 3D printing services, of 3D printed made out of clean
biomaterials.
Looking at the trajectory of making things, we are moving from conventional subtractive manufacturing,
to additive manufacturing using metals and thermoplastics, to additive manufacturing using
biomaterials. This trajectory shows we have a viable plan to rid the world of toxic materials that hurt
both people and planet. Our main object is to answer the question, "Can rapid prototyping with 3D
printing put you on a path to restorative manufacturing?" As demonstrated by Sp3dr, it is possible to
combine biologys adaptations with advanced technology to direct us toward restorative manufacturing.
We can provide people of all ages and industrial backgrounds with the essential tool and materials to
improve livelihoods around the world. The goal of this design is to radically change the way we create
things, radically change our mindset about materials, and radically change the way products interact
with the health of both planet and people.

12/10/2015 All rights reserved. Images, videos, and documents are confidential.

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