A 3D printing appreciation blog
We couldn’t do what we do without 3D printing at Team UnLimbited.
All of our arms are made with a 3D printer, and our designs are open-source so anyone anywhere in the world with a 3D printer can help someone with an upper limb difference.
With this blog we want to give some credit to 3D printing and shine a light on how awesome it is!
First, a little bit of history
3D printing sounds a bit futuristic so you will be forgiven for thinking it is a recent invention. 3D printing has actually been around since the 1980s.
In 1980, a Japanese lawyer named Dr. Hideo Kodama, was the first person to file a patent for Rapid Prototyping technology (another term for 3D printing). Unfortunately, Kodama had his patent denied because he missed the one-year deadline. You can make a note of that for the next pub quiz. 😉
Now let’s skip ahead 6 years to 1986 when an inventor called Charles (Chuck) Hull secured the patent for the first stereolithographic apparatus (SLA) machine. This is just a scientific way of saying 3D printing machine. Charles’ research and work led to the invention of the first 3D printer. Thank you, Charles!
Some awesome medical advancements
In the 2000s things started to get really interesting for 3D printing. There were lots of medical advancements and applications of 3D printing in medicine, and these are growing constantly.
Scientists at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine successfully implanted a 3D printed human bladder into a patient. The bladder was covered in the patient’s cells and as a result it wasn’t rejected. A victory for science!
In 2008, the first 3D printed prosthetic leg was invented and then in 2012 the first 3D printed jaw was made in the Netherlands.
But, 3D printing in the medical industry is not just used for creating prosthetics and implants. There are also some other great uses. For example, doctors use 3D printing to plan and practice complex operations before they take place.
In Belfast in 2018, a young woman needed a kidney transplant from her father whose kidney potentially had a cancerous cyst. Surgeons had to first remove the cyst from her father’s kidney; a very complex operation. They were able to practice and perfect the operation beforehand on a 3D printed model of the father’s kidney. Fun fact, Steve and Drew met the father and daughter at the Science Museum and the 3D printed kidney is just a short walk from the Team UnLimbited arm
We love the open-source movement
An open-source 3D printer is a printer where the hardware designs and the software designs are all available under an open-source license. It is brilliant because it makes 3D printers and designs accessible to people all over the world.
In 2005 Dr Adrian Bowyer, a retired academic engineer, began an ambitious project called ‘The Replication Rapid-Prototyper Project’ (RepRap). The project was about inventing a machine that could print a replica of itself and its parts. In 2008, the Darwin, a self-replicating printer that could do just that was released.
RepRap was one of the first low-cost 3D printers and was the project that started open-source 3D printing.
3D printing is awesome
We have only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the possibilities of 3D printing in this blog. 3D printing is used in lots of different industries, from manufacturing to fashion. You have probably seen 3D printed objects a lot more than you realise.
And it is not just the technology that is amazing, but the people too. The 3D printing community is so supportive and collaborative, we love it!
Without 3D printing, we would not be able to do what we do. We are grateful to have access to this amazing technology and to be able to use it to help others.
If you would like to support us on our mission to help even more people, you can donate here.