Sp3dr: Restorative 3D Printing

Ricky Ledesma | SD-7620-FA15-W15 The Practice of Sustainable Design | A15.1 | 12/11/2015

12/11/2015 All rights reserved. Sp3dr images, videos, and documents are confidential.

Research Manufacturing Methods

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.

Venn Diagram of 3D printing: System, Process, Material

Research 3D Printer Product Overview

From 1980-2008: 3D printers sold for industrial R&D sector only.

From 2009-present: Desktop 3D printing grows exponentially.

~150k industrial printers sold

~425k desktop printers sold + ~200k industrial printers sold

Filament materials include thermoplastics, metals, food, etc.

Printer parts are not found in nature and cannot degrade
Open opportunities to customize objects for needs and wants.

Research Conventional 3D Printing Process

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.

SWOT Analysis of 3D Printing:

Strengths
Rapid prototyping
Localized manufacturing
Additive manufacturing

Weaknesses
Toxic fumes can be made from using certain materials
Need to ensure models are capable of 3D printing

Opportunities
Sustainable additive manufacturing
Grow products from organic materials

Threats
People can design and build anything the imagination
comes up with, like a gun.

SP3DR: Restorative 3D Printing

Conventional 3D printers can recycle their
motors and metal frames, but they cannot
provide a restorative process back into the planet
for their machined parts or their 3D printed parts.
Now that you have a grasp on the concept of
conventional 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.

SP3DRs Design Constraints & 3D Printing Concept

The key stakeholders are: the biosphere, employees, customers, economy, and product design teams
The key design drivers are: Sp3dr will mimic a spiders web generation process and the webs natural
material composition. First, it will intake agro-waste and other biomaterial to prepare and store filament
inside glands that have a highly concentrated aqueous environment. Once commanded to build a 3D
printed object the glands will be activated to deploy material into a spinning duct for mixing and extrusion
of a 3D printed object made out of sustainable biomaterials. At the end of a usage life cycle, the object
degrades in compost when living organisms interact.
The key design objectives are: Work within living systems, facilitate upcycling, consider the complete life
cycle performance, and optimize input and output material health.
End
of
use

Illustrated 3D printing process

mixture of
another
biomaterial
3D printed object

Compost pile

Brainstorming Ideas with Divergent Thinking

During the Brainstorming session, I used mind mapping or the impose constraint method to help me tackle two very key
issues, 1) making sustainable biomaterial similar to natures composition and 2) mixing materials to generate non-toxic
filament materials. Each of these issues are vital to Sp3drs sustainable 3D printing process. With divergent thinking,
abstract ideas and constrained ideas are fed into the melting pot in order to help you find a project direction.
For both issues, we can utilize mycelium and agro-waste as our sample materials because
they have been found to be the glue of the forest floor. If we can use these as test materials,
store them in a highly concentrated aqueous environment, heat the mixture to improve
bondability, and extrude them out of a nozzle to form an object, then we may have a viable
replacement for thermoplastic materials.

Brainstorming: Sp3dr Core Components

Brainstorming with a rough mind map of particular sections of the device appearance, operation, and
process.

Brainstorming: Initial Sp3dr Sketches

Lifecycle Flow and Impact Assessment

How best can Sp3dr integrate and cycle into the community,
industrial systems, and nature? The community and industrial
systems can utilize Sp3dr as a tool in order to spark design
collaboration. Sp3dr also creates sustainable biomaterials,
which can degrade in a compost pile.
To create a Sp3dr 3D printer, we can 3D print the entire body
(internal and external) and legs rather than injection molding
the parts. Refer to the Appendix for detailed data on the
impact assessment.
For the sustainable biomaterial, we will stick with mycelium
and mushrooms as our sample feedstock. These materials
help farms turn waste into another source of income, and
helps Sp3dr produce 3D printed objects out of sustainable
biomaterial. Refer to the the Appendix for detailed data on life
cycle flow.

External System Concept

Outer shell: Hard, durable, PLA material
Legs: flexible, durable, flexible PLA material
These parts can be 3D printed by an existing 3D printer,
which can be locally manufactured anywhere in the world
now.
Electronic brain controller manages movement and
communication.
Sp3dr is powered by the sun. To make it run more
sustainably, Sp3dr can learn how to run off the
agro-waste it is ingesting.

Internal System Concept

Internal gland(s): Capable of storing liquid feedstock material until
printer is ready to use the material. Material will be ingested, then
broken down, and converted into a liquid paste form, much like
the human stomach functions. Need to research how the
digestive system operates to improve upon Sp3drs functionality
of making sustainable biomaterials from ingesting random natural
and man-made materials from the local environment.
Spinning duct: Mixes the materials to form a sustainable
biomaterial that is harmless to humans and the natural
environment.
Legs: Act similar to drip tape to extrude small beads of material
from the spinning duct in a continuous fashion to create an even
layer for the 3D printed part.

Bringing SP3DR to Scale

Test robotic
movement and
functionality
Design body,
storage glands,
extrusion
process

Continue
testing and
apply for
certifications

Begin
production of
SP3DR 3D
printers

Begin USA tour

of education
outreach
programs with
SP3DR

Jan 2016 | Jun 2016 | Jan 2017 | Jun 2017 | Jan 2018 | Jun 2018 | Future endeavors

SP3DR Kickstarter
campaign
R&D
biomaterials
and mixing
process
Test first prototype

Begin
delivery of
SP3DR 3D
printers

Add
Improvements
for internal
hardware and
software

Begin design
of version 2

Conclusion
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.

Appendix Life cycle flow:

PLA Shell (Part 1)
First, we will analyze the lifecycle flow of
the 3D printed body that will be made out of
PLA. This outer shell will be used to protect
the Sp3dr from any impacts due to weather
or other wildlife.

Appendix Life cycle flow: PLA Shell (Part 2)

Appendix Life Cycle

Flow:
Glands (Part 1)
Second, will will analyze the Glands that
begin the breakdown process during
ingestion of biomaterial and store the
proteins, enzymes, etc. When the gland is
activated, material in liquid form will funnel
out of the gland.

Appendix Life cycle flow: Glands (Part 2)

Appendix Life cycle flow: Sustainable Biomaterial (Part 1)

Finally, we will analyze the lifecycle of the Sustainable Biomaterial that is ingested, broken down, fused for printing, and then
decomposed.

Appendix Life cycle flow: Sustainable Biomaterial (Part 2)

Appendix Life Cycle Inventories - Outer PLA shell of Sp3dr

Injection molding process and the 3D
printing process for polymer
processing. Polymer Processing incurs
a significant amount of impact per
pound. When Polymer processing is
taken out of the equation, PLA
material (0.00024 impact/hour) has a
slight advantage over PA 6, primary
(0.00048 impact/hour).
What would happen if Polymer
processing was changed to
sustainable biomaterial processing?
The amount decrease or increase,
depending on the processing
technique used.

Appendix Life Cycle Inventories Sustainable Biomaterial

Sp3drs ingestion process to create
sustainable biomaterial from the local
materials found in lawns, parks, and
other green spaces. This comparison
is more intuitive because the second
group of materials are all man-made,
and do not contain any natural fibers
that can be easily broken down.

Image Bibliography
Slide 1
M3D Kickstarter image, M3D LLC, accessed December 10, 2015,
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/07/article-2598856-1CE824D700000578-740_634x399.jpg
Slide 3
Context Research Update, Context World Limited, accessed December 10, 2015, http://3dprint.com/108950/context-research-update/
lulzbot machine - http://core0.staticworld.net/images/article/2015/01/img_0865-100540662-orig.jpg
filament spools - http://product-images.highwire.com/3732778/fillament-spools-2.jpg
Slide 6
We compost, accessed December 10, 2015,
http://www.miniwiz.com/miniwiz/images/stories/products/energy/solarbulb/ICONS-01-01-01.jpg
Batman cookie cutter, accessed December 10, 2015, http://img3.yeggi.com/images_q/212636/model-of-a-batman-cookie-cutter
Slide 7
molecule icon - https://image.freepik.com/free-icon/atom-molecule_318-28500.png
plant icon - http://cdns2.freepik.com/image/th/318-69528.jpg
soil icon - https://image.freepik.com/free-icon/soil_318-101088.jpg
spider icon - https://image.freepik.com/free-icon/spider-halloween_318-30036.png
crossed eyes icon - https://image.freepik.com/free-icon/annulled-emoticon-square-face_318-58439.png