User:MarkKeller22

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Introduction

My name is Mark Keller and I am in my eighth semester at The Pennsylvania State University. I am majoring in Civil Engineering with a specialization in Water Resource Management. I intend on graduating in May 2013.

BLOGS

Weekly blogs will be written based on prompts provided by the professor. These blogs are typically related RepRap in one way or another but not always directly.

Blog Number One

Useful: Ear Bud Holders


Part A

An item that is useful

In today's society headphones are almost a necessity. Whether it is for iPods, iPhones, MP3 players, or for use with your personal computer, they have become an everyday item. The problem with headphones, is that they are difficult to carry when not in use. They get tangled and can even become knotted. These ear bud holders eliminate the mess associated with shoving ear buds into your pocket or book bag. The STL file can be downloaded here.

Beautiful: Bi-Plane




An item that is artistic/beautiful

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I have always had a fascination with airplanes. The bi-plane really is a thing of beauty. Two wings, a sleek design, and the way it is able to maneuver through the air all contribute to its beauty. The STL file can be downloaded here.
Pointless Battery Holder






An item that is pointless/useless

This battery holder can hold both AA and AAA batteries, but why? It is simply used to store batteries, no other purpose. Batteries already come in packages, and some are even resealable. This acts as a permanent storage container for the batteries. This item is both pointless and useless. The STL file can be downloaded here.
Funny: Shark With A Fricken Laser





An item that is funny/weird

The "shark with a fricken laser" is from the Austin Powers movies. As a kid, and even still today I watch those movies and laugh. The scenes with Dr. Evil talking about sharks with lasers is always a classic and makes me laugh every time. It is funny to see that somebody took the time to draw one that can be rapid prototyped. The STL file can be downloaded here.
Strange: Lower Jaw Bone





An item that is scary/strange

Although I can see some purpose for printing such an object, I feel that a lower jaw bone is a rather strange object to print. Typically if it were being used for medical purposes it would either be molded or an actual bone would be used, but to print one using a 3D printer for "personal use" just seems strange to me. The STL file can be downloaded here.




Part B


I do feel that I am a tinkerer. I love to take things apart and see how they work and then try to put them back together. I do feel that the amount of tinkering I do is decreasing as I get older. I do not have the same amount of free time to tinker as I did when I was younger, and my job does not require any tinkering. But when given the chance I thoroughly enjoy tinkering. My dad and my uncle's are all tinker. They grew up on a farm and had to fix things when they broke. Not only did they fix things, but they improved the equitment that they had, all through tinkering.

I agree with the argument. I particularly like the statement, "It’s that the notion that we can fix any problem or achieve any goal that we set for ourselves has deteriorated into a sanitized, corporatized version of what constitutes achievement." This directly relates to the fact that Americans have taken the replace it rather than fix it attitude. It is easier to just go out and replace something rather than fix what they have. This is the influence that corporate America has instilled upon us. The more we buy the more profit they make.

Things evolve through tinkering. No mater what field we are talking about, it is tinkering that pushes the progress. New things are created and old ideas are improved. So preserving the habitat, or allowing tinkering to continue to prosper will help us to "catch up" to where we should be.

The primary design principles that are the use of multidisciplinary brainstorming, finding out what do humans really want, and going beyond what you think you can do. It was pretty neat to see that someone who is as smart as Kelly and has created as many things as he has, is working on building a 3D printer, the same project that we are undertaking. I think that all of the principles can be applied to our work. We all think differently and using the minds of multiple individuals to complete a task helps it move that much quicker. Going beyond what you think you can do applies here as well. We may not all be programmers or good at physically building things, but we are all capable of doing it. This project will have us working on issues that we know nothing about, but we will, with struggle and time, be able to complete the tasks.


Blog Number Two

Mother Of All Demos:

When I first saw the mouse cursor move, it took me back to when I was younger. We had an old Macintosh computer I believe it was a mid to late 90s model, one of the grey boxes. That is what it looked like a grey box. We would fire it up and when moving the mouse, it had a similar lag to it like the one shown in the Douglas Engelbart video, Mother Of All Demos. It would have a string of pointers following as you moved the mouse until you would stop at a specific point. The program that Englebart was running sort of reminded me of Microsoft Word. Creating new files is similar to creating new documents. Each file can be saved and reopened at a later date. It can even open multiple files at one time. The copy and past functions are features that we use in every day life on computers. Sitting here in today's world, I take for granted all of the things that Englebart is demonstrating. I am incredibly impressed with technology that he is demonstrating. It is incredible to see how innovative people are and the technological feats that they have accomplished. At the time I don't believe that I would have been able to recognize the importance of what was being demonstrated. At that point, I don't think many people were doing work on computers so it might have been hard for everyone to visualize the importance, but had I been in the audience I would have recognized that copy and past is a useful feature as well as being able to save files.


Professor Richard Doyle: Open Source Futures

In Professor Doyle's talk, which can be seen here, he talks about the importances of having intellectual property (IP) be patented vs. open sourced, with an emphasis on the advantage of IP being open source. Doyle talks about the Mother Of All Demos and explains that people didn't initially believe that it was real. This is not an unreasonable belief at least at first. It is a completely new technology, one of the firsts of its kind. This reaction can still be seen with some people in regards to advances in today's technology. Sharing information that we generate is vital to progress. The progress of
Field Lok Gasket
a specific field, progress of a country, and the progress of the world. We share information to better society, to better mankind. I feel that there are certain areas in which we should share information rather than patent it. For example, anything dealing with healthcare. To come up with a advancement of some sort in any sort of medical field can have a huge impact on the world. Why should these advancements, cures, new practices, new methods, be kept from the public? Just because somebody is not getting paid enough is not an acceptable answer. In other areas though, I feel that putting a patent on an idea is acceptable, areas where life and death are not involved. I don't feel that there should be huge profit margins in these situations, but patenting allows for large profits. As an example, I work in the water and waste water industry. In this industry, ductile iron pipe is often used for water delivery. In pressurized lines, the pipe needs to be restrained and Field Lok gaskets are used. For a number of years, a specific company had the patent for this product and charged an exorbitant amount for each gasket. Once the patent expired, other companies created similar products for a fraction of the cost. Open sourcing ideas allows for refinement of the idea. It gives anybody anywhere the opportunity to say, "how can I make this idea better." In most areas I would say no we are not missing out by patenting ideas. If you are strictly in an invention for monetary gains, then yes, but looking toward progress, no. The internet is the best way to share our knowledge. It is widely accessible and allows for easy communication between parties. For example, without much thought, a site similar to craigslist could be created with categories for people to share their ideas no matter what topic. From there the refinement of ideas can begin.


Blog Number Three

3D Printing in:

Civil Engineering:

In his TEDx Talk, Behrokh Khoshnevis discusses the application of 3D printing in the Civil Engineering world. He begins by explaining how construction, by today's methods, is hazardous, wasteful, corruption prone, and costly. He presents some facts on these issues such as, approximately 10,000 people are killed in construction accidents in this country. He then introduces the concept of using 3D printers in construction. I think that this idea is brilliant! But I do have some reservations about the idea. The concept is genius, using a printer/robot to perform all aspects of the construction process. My hesitation with this concept is that it will eliminate skilled labor jobs. Khoshnevis discusses this potential problem but his solution is that it will create jobs for a different set of people, those older and could not typically work in the construction industry. That is all well and good, but where does that leave the skilled laborers? My only other concern with the printing of buildings is a whole new style of repair will be necessary. It is inevitable that repairs will need to be made at some point, but fixing printed material is a new concept and not quite the same as repairing a building that utilized current construction methods. Overall though, the idea is fantastic and makes complete sense. Why not reduce the cost, waste and time of construction by using giant printers.


Bio Tech:

The article How 3D Printers Are Reshaping Medicine is really fascinating. The fact that we can print cell tissue in order to create new organs, vales, bone and even skin. It makes sense that printers would be used to make custom prosthetic limbs and hearing aids, but to print a new organ for somebody is and incredible medical marvel. Although the technology is not quite ready to be used in all instances, the fact that we are working towards the possibility of being able to create/print new human parts from man manipulated cells is mind boggling. I think that we can see the biggest change directly through the pharmaceutical companies gain by using 3D printing. Their costs are boosted/money is wasted in development due to the use of using 2D cell models. This gives a semi accurate analysis of how drugs will react with the human body. But by using 3D cell tissues generated by 3D printers will allow for a much more accurate representation and will decrease the cost of the research and ultimately decrease the cost of prescription drugs.


Food Science:

In the article,
Hamburger
a $300k 3D-printed burger exists, because why not?, it talks about combining bioprinting with edible food. It is the same process that is used to print organs. I think that the idea is cool, but at the cost of $300,000, it is just slightly ridiculous. If the process can be made cheaper it will be an awesome part of society, but until then it is completely useless.

In the article, The Delicious Future: 3D Chocolate Printer Finally Available for Purchase, food printing is discussed. The technology is now available to the public. For a measly $4000 you can have your own 3D printer that will print edible chocolate creations. Typically ABS or PLA plastic is used as the printing material, but with advancements, chocolate can now be printed. I think that this is awesome. Although it is expensive, it is neat that you can personalize candy and make custom chocolates by transferring a drawing to an STL file to G Code finally to a printed product. Within reason, you can make any design that you want. It takes chocolate making to a whole new level.


Fashion:

After reading the Q & A with Iris Van Herpen and checking out some of the dresses that she has designed, I am truly in awe of the capabilities of 3D printing. The black dress was incredible. The intricacies of the design and the overall appearance of the dress was stunning. It is difficult to believe that it was printed rather then sewn. The encroachment into fashion is an excellent interdisciplinary mesh. Van Herpen discussed researching different materials as well as collaborating with scientists and architects in order to gain insight and the know how to literally create clothing. This shows that 3D printing is not just limited to those in the science field and that science is not limited to those in the science field. Like Van Herpen says, there are less restrictions when it comes to printing clothing, although there are some initial hurdles to over come. I think that it is neat to think that one day we will be able to buy a design file and then print our own cloths. It is completely wild and imaginative but sometimes hard to believe that it is even possible. Van Herpen has been working closely with the 3D printing industry to develop new methods and materials so that new levels of clothing printing can be reached. It is an excellent example of how progress is made.

Enrico Dini's Roundabout Sculputre and Printer




Other Examples

I was watching TV the other day, and Season 6, Episode 14 of The Big Bang Theory two of the main characters, Rajesh Koothrappali and Howard Wolowitz purchase a used 3D printer. They want to use it for many different things, predominately work related, but they also print a whistle and action figures. Although it may not be a real instance, it is proof that 3D printing is on the up and up in today's society.

In this interviewwith Enrico Dini, 3D printing is discussed for buildings. Dini is a civil engineer with a passion for architecture. He feels limited in design by traditional construction methods so he invented and patented a full scale 3D printing method that uses epoxy to bind sand allowing him to print buildings in a cost effective manner. Ultimately his goal, after refinement of the printer, is to build a roundabout sculpture to be placed in Pisa, Italy.





Blog Number Four

Wow! The article about Liam's Robohand was inspiring. It is awesome that they were able to create a prosthetic using a 3D printer. The really neat thing is that the initial designs were created by two people hundreds of miles apart. Communicating by email, Ivan Owen and Richard Van As were able to design and trouble shoot prototypes, initially for Van As, but ultimately create the design for Liam. Owen and Van As prove that there are people out there who don't care about monetary gains but are truly out to help for the good of mankind. They keep the design and information open sourced so that it might continue to help those who cannot afford prosthetic limbs that run in the thousands of dollars. It is very admirable that do it this way, and continue to grow and look to push their creation with larger companies.

The technology for both open, and closed-sourced apparatus' are wildly incredible. In looking at a closed-sourced product, I came across a company called Touch Bionics. They created a prosthetic hand called the i-limb ultra. They claim that it is the most natural feeling and functional prosthetic hand on the market. Look and feel is one benefit of the closed-source hand. I would defend this by saying that prosthesis is a new comer in the open-source side of things. The hand designed and built by Owen and Van As is a completely functional unit, but it is crude and unrefined. The biggest difference between the two prosthetic hands, is that the model produced by Touch Bionics is computer based. It has numerous capabilities including variable digit grasp strength, automated hand grips, and the ability to pick up small objects. Currently, in the open-sourced model, it is pure mechanical operations. This is both a strength and a weakness. As far as a weakness goes, the open-source hand is very limited in its range of motion and physical capabilities. But as far as strengths go, a purely mechanical device is cheaper and can be fixed more easily. Cost wise, the open-source prosthetic is significantly less money than that of the closed-source hand. Any figures that I could find indicated that the Touch Bionics hand cost in excess of $6,000.

The prosthetic that Owen and Van As created can be found on Thingiverse. Information on their project can be seen at their blog, Coming Up Shorthanded. What Owen and Van As are really looking for is monetary donations to help keep the project going. They want to help as many people as they can, but financially it is not possible. One way that we can get involved is to visit the Fundraising Page. We can either make our own donations or we can put together our own fundraising efforts. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter are excellent ways to help spread the word. By exposing society to this cause and soliciting funds, Owens and Van As could reach and ever surpass their goal of $50,000.


Blog Number Five

Lincoln Statue



The article, "What's the Deal with Copyright and 3D Printing?" by Michael Weinberg, reiterates the fact, for me, that issues dealing with intellectual property (IP) are very difficult to understand. Weinberg starts the article by discussing the types of intellectual property, Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks. He immediately dismisses trademarks from the article because there is really no connection to 3D printing. The relevance to 3D printing is that things can be patented but are more likely to be copyrighted. There are sites on the internet for posting files that can be 3D printed such as Thingiverse, but how do they deal with copyright infringement? Anything can be posted to the website, but if someone contacts them and about a certain file, they will take it down. There is a procedure that is followed that keeps these sites from any legal issues, but instead put the problem in the hands of the two parties involved. The rules and regulations dealing with copyrighting and patenting and 3D printing are rather complex, but after reading Weinberg's article, I feel that I understand more of the topic. That being said, the issue is still very hazy for me, as well as it is hazy in the
Notre-Dame de Reims
courts where they rely on past rulings to help dictate what is and is not a copyright violation.

In my first blog, Blog Number One, I posted 5 3D printable objects that I found on Thingiverse. Of those five, I think that only the bi-plane has the possibility of having a patent/being copyrighted, but I doubt that it is. It is a model of what could be an actual design but looks very simplified, so it makes me skeptical. The ear bud holder would be my only other thought, but it seems like a "useful" object such as the article described. I wouldn't think that it would have a copyright/patent.

Blake Ziegler has a model of Abraham Lincoln that was scanned using a 3D scanner and then printed. Models/sculptures typically have copyrights associated with them. Due to the magnitude of importance of Abraham Lincoln, I'm sure that the original sculpture is copyrighted. Carina has two that items that are most definitely copyrighted. The first is a printed model of Notre-Dame de Reims. Architecture is automatically copyrighted. She also has Minions which are from the movie
Minions
Dispicable Me. Things from movies are also copyrighted.

There are two reasons why licensing, they are legal and cultural reasons. Looking at the legal perspective, granting a license now makes the usage conditions clear no matter how the copyright laws evolve. There are differences though, giving full permission vs. restrictive. Giving restrictive permission can cause more problems than it does good. From the cultural stand point, it shows that the creators want their products to be built upon. It allows for their creations to be replicated and made better and used in other aspects. Those who want this usually use sites such as Thingiverse.





Blog Number Six

The article Disruptions: On The Fast Track to Routine 3-D Printinggives a look into the future of 3D printing. The world has come along way with technology, but we are not to the point of the Jetsons as
Penn State's Open Hybrid Mendel 3D Printer
many thought we would in the new millennium, but 3D printing is rapidly advancing. 3D printers provide a large printing capacity, in that they can print metals, plastics and ceramics all in very customizable orientations. The 3D printing industry got a big promotion and applause from President Obama in his State of the Union address in January. He believes that this is a step in the right direction towards bringing manufacturing back into the United States. Not only does 3D printing have an affect on all industries but it is making its way into schools. Many school, grades K-12, are incorporating 3D printing into their curriculum. The Center for Technology and Teacher Education uses them in their classrooms in was such as building models and then analyzing the efficiency of the design. According Nick Bilton, the author, what makes this possible is the reduction in price. A few years ago these units were nearly $20,000 but can now be purchased in the neighborhood of $1,000. In London, within they year, they are planning to "print" a house. Although it might not be the most beautiful house on the street, what it comes down to for 3D printing, is with time, what won't they be able to print?


The State of the Union address was mentioned in this article because Obama discussed 3D printing. There is a government funded movement to create 3D printing "hubs". The the speech addresses the concept and what it can do in America. Obama makes it seem that he is at the helm of this endeavor, whether that is true or not is unclear, but Obama is aiming to bring manufacturing back to the United States. He is hoping that larger companies will follow suit. I think that it is important. This country was built on manufacturing. But these processes have long been outsourced to drive down costs. I think that it is time for manufacturing to again be a big part of the U.S. economy.


In the article Using 3D Printers to Transform Learning in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Courses the authors discuss
UVA's 3D Printers
how The University of Virginia plans to alter their mechanical engineering course. Depending on how they reorganize, this has the potential to do well, but at the same time it could fail. The article predominately discussed the relevance to the dynamics course. When looking at specific problems dealing with gears, linkages, and moving systems they will print out models, see how they function and then solve for the necessary information. The class will use computer aided drafting (CAD) to draw the objects and load the files into the printer where the parts will be made. I will admit, there were times in my dynamics class where it would have been helpful to see how the system actually worked rather than just a photo. The working model would allow students to feel which way the forces act and draw an appropriate free body diagram. At the same time, this would extend the course, or at least require the addition of another credit. Learning to use the printer, and become sufficient at using CAD would require an significant chunk of time. This can be seen as a flaw. Adding additional credits, or time that is uncredited to an engineering workload is an increase in stress on the student.


These printers are very different than ours. The printers at The University of Virginia are commercialized and very refined. Our Open Hybrid Mendel's are by no means commercialized, but we are able to refine them pretty well. Additionally, the article says that their 3D printers can print the dynamic systems fully assembled. The OHM printers that we use do not have that capability. I have no knowledge of the the ease of use of commercial 3D printers, but I feel that if we were to use our printers in the same manner it would work well. I feel that our printers are capable of that task. What it comes down to is time again. We are halfway through the semester and we are still working on fixing kinks in our printer and overcoming obstacles that we encounter while printing. For a dynamics class to jump in just start printing would not work on our machines, and I would think that it would be the same for commercial 3D printers.

Projects

Open Hybrid Mendel Construction

Dual Extruder Construction

Bonus Blogs: 3D Printing In Society

War Against Magazine Capacity

There has always been an issue with gun control in America. The issue, in the more recent past, has been a huge topic from a political standpoint. The Republicans and Democrats have very different views on the Second Amendment. Gun control was a big issue, for Americans, in the presidential race between John McCain and Barack Obama. The uproar on the issue died down some number of months later, but was brought to light again after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting on December 14, 2012. The major issue now is magazine capacity of all weapons, with the primary focus on assault weapons. It is the feel of most Democrats that the number of rounds a magazine can hold should be limited. Currently, the typical magazine capacity for an "assault style" weapon such as the AR-15 is 30 rounds, but can vary state to state. Politicians are not trying decrease the capacity to a possible maximum of 10 rounds. This is a very touchy topic for some people, and there are those who don't understand why one might want a magazine to hold that many rounds. I'm not here to make a case or give my opinion (although it may not be hard to figure out), but to share the way that one group of people is looking at this issue. The issue is that the government is looking at banning the sale of magazines with a capacity over a certain amount. One group is looking to 3D printers to "solve" the issue of government intervention. In the article, Print and fire: 3D printing could muzzle new gun laws, a group has open-sourced a file that allows those with a 3D printer to be able to print 30 round magazines. I am not sure where the legality of this will fall when all is said and done, but they are not being sold but rather created. No matter what your stance on the issue, I think that this is cool and innovative. It is really neat to see the expansions of fields that now able to incorporate 3D printing into a "manufacturing process" that allows those with 3D printers to build their own products rather than buy them.

Promotion By The President

Coming at a later date...... Obama's speech highlights rise of 3-D printing