This week we had the pleasure of welcoming Dot Silverman. She graduated with a physics degree and began working for Autodesk, and now she is back here at school. Dot introduced me to the world of biohacking. Her past projects include printing with mycelium, human organs on chips, and portable DNA recovery devices. The mycelium plant pot, which is mainly mushroom fungi, was my favorite item she passed around. Despite how complicated these projects seem, Dot learned most of her technical skills on the job. She thinks that the lines between different disciplines are beginning to disappear. Projects nowadays are almost exclusively multi-disciplined. Students should be aware of this and continuously expand their minds. Their ability to work with those of different technical backgrounds is extremely valuable in the workforce.

If you’re like me, you have zero prior knowledge about biohacking. Biohacking is the activity of exploiting genetic material experimentally¹. To put it another way, “if you think of biology as a computer, and the way a hacker can infiltrate the system to make it work the way they want it to, biohacking can be easier to understand. The process of biohacking can involve a distinct combination of medical, nutritional and electronic methods to make the body function exactly as you want².” So despite the nefarious sounding name, biohacking actually improves our health and quality of life.

Dot’s thoughts and experiences in the biohacking field were incredibly interesting. She also provided additional learning resources for the class to explore topics of interest. I dug deeper into the environmental characteristics associated with biohacking hoping to find a project idea. Ideally, my final class project will involve environmental sustainability in some way. I believe the planet is a critical issue that my generation must embrace, as mentioned in a prior blog post.

You’ll have to check back next week for my project selection. Though I haven’t finalized an idea yet, I was inspired by a company called Ecovative, a world leader in mycelium printing technology. Ecovative cultivates mycelium using farm waste, before “planting” it in 3D printed structures. As the fungus grows, the object materializes and becomes strong. These products are more normal-looking than you would otherwise think. If you don’t believe me, check them out. Mycelium is cheap, strong, and environmentally friendly, and thus Ecocative has profited from its unique business model. I appreciate the fact the company can operate while actively making our Earth a better place to live.

Sources:

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/biohacking

http://www.futuretechnology500.com/index.php/future-medical-technology/pros-and-cons-of-biohacking/

This week in class was a very interesting and productive. We first had a guest presentation from Alan Amling, who works for UPS. He talked about how UPS has started creating 3D printing factories so that they can custom print parts for a variety of companies and how their research into 3D Printing materials. I had heard about UPS’s endeavors into 3D printing in a class I took last semester about Logistics so it was really cool to hear from Alan about how they have accepted this technology because they realized that 3D printing is going to revolutionize the industry that they operate in. It was also very insightful to hear Alan’s thoughts about how the industry landscape is changing and why we have an advantage being able to take a class that embraces 3D printing and the maker culture.

Our next guest lecturer was from Dot Silverman who talked about her work in Biohacking. This is an area that I have always read about the cool stuff that has been going on but don’t really have a lot of knowledge of. It was really cool to hear from someone with a lot of knowledge and excitement about biohacking. It was also great that she brought in example of some of the things that she has worked on and allowed us to look at them. My favorite has to be the Mini PCR because I was able to figure out what it did before she even talked about it.

In class, we also had time with our groups to start coming up with an idea for our semester project. The night before class, both my basement and Chelly’s basement flooded due to the intense rains that we had that week. I was forced to stay up all night to deal fight the 8 inches of water in my basement. That got us thinking about our first idea which is a low-cost mat that someone would place in an area that is prone to flooding that would give the user an early warning of the presence of water. Vishal gave us some good guidance and asked us to think of a solution that would alert the user that a flood was going to happen even before the presence of water. Our other main idea is a vertical farm solution that would be tailored towards college students. The idea is that college students often don’t have the time or space to grow their own produce. This concept would give students an opportunity to grow plants that would be used in cooking in their own living rooms. We even thought about adding sensors that track the amount of water in the plants or even a tank of water that waters the plants automatically. Vishal again gave us good advice and challenged us to make it a product that can be easily replicated by regular college students.

Class Summary

This week’s class brought us even more examples of 3D printing in the real world. We heard from two individuals heavily involved in 3D printing, in completely different worlds. One was seeking how 3D printing could be used in business, the other in human biology.

First, we heard from Alan Amling at UPS. I thought it was really cool to see 3D printing being used to drive big businesses in the real world, today. Alan spoke of many of the challenges he faces in trying to implement this technology into the business. He noted that his greatest challenge is convincing firms that they won’t be sacrificing any of their intellectual property by making the switch to 3D printing, which confirms the challenges we have previously discussed in class.

Next, we had the opportunity to learn from Dot Silverman’s journey through biohacking and 3D printing. Dot opened my eyes to the possibilities that 3D printing can have on humanity beyond business. Being a business major, I often only think of things from a certain perspective. Dot showed us that 3D printing can change how we live – with the potential to custom print pieces of the human anatomy. Transplants will become much safer as 3D printing will allow some of these transplants to take place without the need of another human being. There is even a 3D printed heart that actually pumps blood. It seems like the possibilities that this technology can bring the world of medicine are endless.

Towards the end of class, our team came up with several ideas for what we want to make for our project. Overall, there was a definite theme of practicality to each of our ideas. We thought of a headphone untangler and a steering wheel attachment before settling on a grocery bag holder that looks something like this:

This holder will allow someone to simply slide the bags onto the little slot and hold from the top, grey grip. This would allow one to easily carry several bags at once.

In the News

Miami University Researchers Work Together to 3D Print Better Bones

This article dives into more of the discussion on 3D printing and bones that Dot detailed in her talk. The article describes how broken bones are being mended with the use of 3D printing through ‘scaffolds’ and ‘bridges’ that better mend the broken bone.

This video outlines how 3D printing can create human tissue in an easy-to-follow way. I thought it broke down the process of printer to person quite well and the speakers were quite engaging.

This past week our class had two guest speakers, both of whom spoke about how 3D printing is revolutionizing the areas they operate in. In addition to learning more about the applications and power of 3D printing in these areas, we also collaborated with our teams to finalize our final project ideas.

Guest Speakers

Our first guest speaker was Alan Amling, the VP of Corporate Strategy for the United States Postal Service (UPS). Amling has extensive experience working in logistics, product development, and distribution. He talked abut how 3D printing has become an integral part of UPS’s operations. Opening of a 3D printing factory in Kentucky is going to allow them to streamline the manufacturing and logistics processes.

I researched some more about ow 3D printing is impacting UPS operations, and I came across a Forbes article explaining how in 2016 UPS started on a mission to be abel to print out plastic parts and ship them to any location the world. It was quite interesting to see that two years later UPS now operates its own 3D printing factory. Another part of Alan’s talk that I found really interesting was the idea he mentioned of “best fit.” He used the example of shoe sizes and explained that they currently only exist in 0.5 increments (i.e. 8, 8.5). However, with 3D printing technology Alan stated that in the future, for all products, exact sizes and measurements will be able to be made for all products.

The next guest speaker we had was Dot Silverman. Dot is a graduate student studying education at the University of Illinois. Her interest in 3D printing started in her undergraduate career at Pomona College where she studied Physics. Dot has worked for instructables and Autodesk, and has also worked on projects through Harvard University. I really enjoyed her energy and passion for Bio-Hacking. It was interesting to learn about Bio-Hacking and how anyone can learn more about it(even if you are a non-technical person) with today’s online resources.

Out of all the various Bio-Hacking projects Dot talked about, I was most intrigued by the Backyard Brains project. The tool is extremely powerful and it allows anyone to learn more about neurology and the science behind it through the study of electrical impulses and brains.

Readings

From the readings this past week. I really enjoyed “Ten Ways to Evaluate a New Business idea”. The article’s explanation of the ten key tips needed to assess how “sticky” your idea is was very helpful to read about. Specifically, the question “Does this business idea meet a need or solve a problem?” the article posed was quite interesting. I think this idea of impact and value created is often lost when going through the process of starting a business venture.

From the article about “Generating New ideas”, I was reminded about how important creativity is in the workplace. Often times, I believe that creative ideas and innovation are often overlooked as we get into routine. The article’s point about breaking patterns by rewording problems and challenging assumptions are two ways I found to be effective in challenging yourself to be more creative.

Project Idea

1. Grocery bag holder

Our team came up with the idea of creating a holder capable of carrying multiple grocery bags. The problem we identified was the struggle to move multiple bags of grocery in one trip. This item would help solve that problem and make the grocery shopping process easier for everyone.

2. Steering wheel knob

My team’s second idea is to 3D print a ball that will make it easier to turn a steering wheel. This product would help older individuals who no longer possess the strength to easily turn a car. The ball would make it extremely easy to make a turn and it would require very little power.

Guest Speakers

Our first guest speaker this week was Alan Amling from UPS. Alan had a wealth of experience in the 3D printing and making space – at present, he worked in a logistics division of UPS.

Alan shared about how UPS is a redefining how the industry views logistics/supply-chain companies. The company is preparing to launch their own on-demand 3D printing manufacturing network. They plan to link their global logistics network with 3D printers at UPS Stores around the United States. Alan shared about how they’ve established a key partnership with a 3D printing factory in Louisville, KY. They are essentially creating a new, single-stop solution for additive manufacturing and logistics. The new platform will make 3D printing more accessible to a wide variety of potential users, from small businesses to mid-size companies.

Alan shared how the current business model of consumer-facing production is “best fit.” For example, we get to select from size 8.0, 8.5, and 9.0 for shoes – these sizes are already set and mass-produced. We choose whatever size happens to fit us “bes”t, although it may not be “perfect” fit. Alan shared that UPS is essentially breaking into the space of custom production on a user-by-user basis. He referenced Adidas, who has paired up with a rising new Silicon Valley printing company called Carbon. Using their new proprietary Continuous Liquid Interface Production technology, Adidas can custom-make shoes to exact scans of users’ feet.

Following Alan, we had the privilege of hearing from Dot Silverman, who truly embodies the maker mindset. She is a graduate student in Educational Psychology here at the University of Illinois. She studied Physics at Pomona College, and went on to work for Instructables, Autodesk, and the Harvard Wyss Institute. As she spoke to us, I found myself captivate by her engaging and outgoing personality.

She introduced to the amazing frontier of Bio-Hacking. Dot explained to us that traditional mindset of making calls printers, lasers, and fabrication to mind. In contrast, Bio-Hacking by definition  is a fairly new practice that could lead to major changes in our lives. It would be fair to call it “do-it-yourself” biology. It is the freedom to explore biology, growing organic things, and understanding different aspects of our physical world. Dot helped me understand that creating a microcomputer to control the movements of a cockroach is just as much “making” as printing a 3D widget is. I was particularly interested in what she shared about Backyard Brains, which is an educational tool targeting young students. It allows anyone to learn practically about neuro-scientific principals by studying our own brains, electrical impulses, and even those of insects.

Final Project Ideas

At the end of class, we had time to ideate potential final project ideas with our teams. My team, Animakers, thought of 2 potential ideas we could focus on this semester:

1. Grocery bag holder

We came to a common pain point of trying to carry dozens of grocery bags in our hands to our cars/homes during our weekly trips. We realized we could potentially create a solution that would target college students at the grocery store. We would improve on some ideas for this product that already exist (and at a lower cost!)

2. Steering wheel ball

Secondly, this idea is specifically targeted at elderly drivers, or those with low arm strength. which makes turning a wheel into a tight turn significantly strenuous. This ball/tool would allow an easier contact point to turn the wheel using significantly less force. We also looked into existing designs and considered how we could make it even more accessible.

Our class was lucky to have two guest speakers this week—Alan Amling from UPS spoke about how the company is leveraging 3D printing technology in new ways in order to grow its business and cater to the growing demand from its clients, and Dot Silverman spoke about biohacking, and its various applications from education, to industry.

It was really interesting to learn about how UPS has integrated additive manufacturing into its offerings to clients, and has consistently been able to stay ahead of the curve. Their services now enable anyone from a large manufacturer to a solo entrepreneur to order prints and access technology that they might not be able to invest in themselves.

In addition to speaking about how the technology has impacted UPS, Alan shared insights about other companies that now rely on digital making to customize for or deliver additional value to their customers. One example I thought was quite interesting was that of Nike, which is using 3D printing to create customized shoe soles based off of a scan of one’s foot. After doing additional research, I learned that several other footwear companies are using the same approach. This Fortune article talks about how New Balance, Adidas, and Nike are all investing in on-demand manufacturing processes for the long term.

I also really enjoyed hearing from Dot, because I thought her background was quite unique. She studied physics during her undergraduate years and has worked at several research labs, but is currently pursuing a graduate degree in education. Many of the projects she highlighted within the biohacking realm had to do with making science education more accessible for all, and it was really inspiring because she seemed to perfectly exemplify someone with a maker mindset. I was particularly impressed by the Foldscope, which is essentially a microscope that can provide up to 2000x magnification, and costs less than $1 to make. It was invented by two Stanford graduate students, and has now fostered a global learning community across 135 countries. I found the Microcosmos page of their website to be quite touching– it features stories from various users who have documented their learning processes while using the Foldscope.

In summary, I’d say that this week’s learnings offered a lot of practical insight as to how the maker community is so deeply rooted in making learning via technology far more accessible. While one might expect this from academia/educators, the same holds true for large corporations like UPS, who are actually able to drive profitability by adhering to the same principle.

Guest Speaker

“Are you a professor?” I asked Mr. Banach, our guest speaker for this week’s class session. “No – but I’ve written 24 books and have taught thousands of people all over the world. So, you could call me a teacher.”

It was an excellent experience being walked through using Fusion 360 with Mr. Banach. It was evident that he has taught many students – he was patient and methodical in his teaching style. We gathered in a classroom instead of the MakerLab this week, to get a hands-on tutorial on using this common CAD software. Mr. Banach walked us through drawing lines to create shapes, extruding them to give them mass, and cutting them to give them depth. Together, we designed an ice-scraper that we could actually print and utilize. After our session, I felt like I understood the basic controls of using Fusion 360 to bring ideas into reality.

Class Takeaways & Activities

Overall, this class was an extremely informative one and a key session, I believe, as we begin to start digitally tinkering. Beyond the simple physical controls of using Fusion 360, I learned some key concepts about design aesthetics. For example, using the ‘Filet’ tool to round out edges really made designs much more aesthetic than cold cut lines.

Furthermore, we learned the importance of design practicality, in terms of strength, material, and feasibility. We had to be aware of what material we were using to print a design based on its intended purpose. For example, using a brittle plastic (although cheaper!) would likely shatter our 3D printer ice scraper. We learned how to interpret stress simulations on our objects (very similar to a heat map), to see where the weakest points were. However, upping material design involves a much higher cost and “resolution” of the print. All these factors need to be considered when printing an object – it’s not as simple as design, click, print.

Tinkering

For my personal project, I decided to explore making my very own iPhone Amplifier. I looked at various designs on Thingiverse for inspiration, and then decided to take it my own direction. The iPhone would sit directly into the amplifier, sending the sound waves bouncing around the corner, amplifying in resonance, and coming out of the circular hole in front.

I’m not sure if this is a feasible design – my first thought is that there is a lot of excess waste with this model. Regardless, doing this personal project showed me that I am actually able to independently use Fusion 360 to model. I want to continue refining this design and see how I can potentially improve it.

Going Forward

Going forward, I want to grow my skillset in Fusion 360. Ultimately, I only know a few tools – extrude, filet, taper, etc. However, I believe that as I continue learning skills, my designs will get more complex and more feasible. I look forward to gaining this hands-on experience as I tinker – but I found an excellent additional resource online from AutoCad. It is a quick-start guide on using Fusion 360 and could be very helpful to our class,