UK company PPT unveils multi-material 3D printing breakthrough, via 3ders.org:
Cambridge-based, the Queen’s Award winning technology and product development company TTP has today announced its ground breaking Vista 3D, a new 3D print head that is capable of printing with more than one material.
Unlike existing 3D printing solutions, the Vista 3D print heads can dispense or print both organic and inorganic materials, including ceramics, metals, plastics, enzymes, and even biological cells. It opens up the possibility of printing products as diverse as toys, medical devices, aircraft parts and even diagnostic test strips at the touch of one button.
“Our latest breakthrough will change the face of manufacturing over the next ten years.” said TTP’s Dr David Smith. “The manufacturing process has remained the same for centuries with one company making products in a factory then shipping them out when orders are made. Multimaterial 3D printing will change this. No longer will organisations need to bulk buy or wait for items to be restocked, companies can simply print off the products they need, when they need them.”
… “From a medical perspective, the opportunities are endless from printing out a diagnostic test to ultimately printing off an organ that can be used in the human body.” claimed Dr Smith.
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!