3D printing: Talk of Violins, Ships, Bugs & Bones.

Looking at what 3D printing can and cannot do. Many of the presentations I see at festivals make bits of jewellry, which although quite nice, are more about nice to have than must have. Reminds me of the Mattel ThingMaker which I had as a child. You heated plastic goo to make bugs. Fun gifts for all your friends.  Not really.

At the recent TEDx in Amsterdam there were interesting music sequences. One where concert violinist, Joanna Wronko was asked to compare her wooden violin with one that that be printed in a 3D printer. There was a clear difference sitting at the front - I found the wooden violin sounded much richer. But the 3D printed version wasn't bad at all. Sander Smit from the 3D company that printed the violin is clearly rather nervous on stage. But we do learn that this 3D printed violin is a proof of concept showing what may be achievable in a few years for a much lower price. 




The violin being demonstrated here was made using a 1 million dollar printer (used for printing medical grade parts) and the high grade plastic is also extremely expensive - the violin costs about 15,000 dollars to manufacturer.

Also discovered a video showing how a printer from Objet Connex was able to print a ship in a bottle. The Objet Connex system is able to jet two distinct materials (clear transparent and flexible black) during the same print session and then selectively place each material according to the 3D CAD design. No word on the price. But the technique is very clever.

Still, all these developments are simply nice to have and perhaps nice to know. Until you look at what a team of Australian scientists have developed.

The BioPen, developed by researchers from the UOW-headquartered Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, will give surgeons greater control over where the materials are deposited while also reducing the time the patient is in surgery by delivering live cells and growth factors directly to the site of injury, accelerating the regeneration of functional bone and cartilage.

The BioPen works similar to 3D printing methods by delivering cell material inside a biopolymer such as alginate, a seaweed extract, protected by a second, outer layer of gel material. The two layers of gel are combined in the pen head as it is extruded onto the bone surface and the surgeon ‘draws’ with the ink to fill in the damaged bone section.

A low powered ultra-violet light source is fixed to the device that solidifies the inks during dispensing, providing protection for the embedded cells while they are built up layer-by-layer to construct a 3D scaffold in the wound site.

Once the cells are ‘drawn’ onto the surgery site they will multiply, become differentiated into nerve cells, muscle cells or bone cells and will eventually turn from individual cells into a thriving community of cells in the form of a functioning a tissue, such as nerves, or a muscle.

The device can also be seeded with growth factors or other drugs to assist regrowth and recovery, while the hand-held design allows for precision in theatre and ease of transportation.

Now that really is clever.

TEDxAMS surges ahead of the pack -I

Today I went to the Royal Concertgebouw Concert Hall in Amsterdam, along with around 1000 invited guests, to witness the 5th edition of TEDx Amsterdam. I must admit, after being to many such events over the last three years, I was beginning to wonder if the format of inspiring talks was beginning to wear thin. After all, it's over 10 hours of people talking at you - an avalanche of information.

But I was so wrong. Here's ten hours compressed into two minutes.



TEDxAMS was much better than I could ever expected. Why? It was a carefully composed programme of thought, music and song. But it was also brilliantly executed. The trick was getting the balance of these elements in harmony. And as well as the right content, the context of being in the Concertgebouw was ideal. The acoustics in the hall are world class. The programme started with the Netherlands Radio Choir.....

Etienne Abelin is a Swiss Musician who runs a startup business which is dedicated to using data visualization to add a new dimension to classical music. And not only in concert halls. The so-called Music Animation Machine has also been shown in Swiss Dance clubs.  His talk is a bit difficult to follow at first because they left the reverb on from the choir. They gave out the 3D specs so you could see depth on the screens, though I personally don't think it was necessary....you can use different colours to create all the depth without the hassle of the specs.

Change of continent. Peter Ngatia Nguura comes from Nairobi. He works for the African health organisation AMREF, though this talk could just as well have been to help the start-up network VC4Africa.biz. The message- trade not aid. Peter is someone who gives a passionate performance with his body as well as his voice. And talking to him afterwards he's a very gracious listener as well as an accomplished storyteller. I suggested that he add a few visuals. That part of Africa is so beautiful that some pictures would strengthen the talk in some places. Taking it from a 9+ to a 10.



This was followed by a story of a fascinating cultural journey to communities that are in danger of disappearing. Photographer Jimmy Nelson has documented the existence of 35 unique communities in 44 countries, often travelling to very inhospitable, remote places in order to capture some wonderful images. The standard edition of the book is huge (29 x 37cms)  - it was too large and heavy for me to even contemplate taking it home on public transport. As well as this "trade edition" for 128 Euro, he's also printed 500 copies of a giant XXL edition (42 x 59 cms) for a mere 6500 Euro. I asked him whether he had also captured any sounds during the travels. The photos are stunning. But I can imagine the sounds are just as valuable too, since these languages must also be under threat. Jimmy said that indeed he has a sound recordist and videographer on the trips, since the making of the photo is a story unto itself.



It made sense to round off the first part of TEDXAMS with an illustrated talk by double bass player Dominic Seldis who is a member of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Together with violinist Borika van den Booren, he plays Valse Miniature by Serge Koussevitsky.Oh, and the preamble is brilliant. (e.g. his impressions of the Grand Prix and Seagulls 3 minutes in).