white papers

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1807/65777

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    Research Brief on Additive manufacturing and Healthcare, with a specific focus on the printing of custom medical devices
    (unpublished, 2017-03-08) Ratto, Matt
    Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) is currently being used to produce a variety of medical devices including implants, hearing aides, guides for surgery and training, and custom prosthetic and orthotic devices. The focus of brief is on currently deployable and in some cases commercially-available AM healthcare products. Therefore, newer and more research-oriented AM processes such as bio-printing is not discussed. It is our argument that AM innovations can provide enhanced treatment options for personalized healthcare, but that the successful extension of AM innovations into mainstream medical practice requires deeper attention to the social context of production and use. Two example projects are discussed.
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    The Discrete Practices of 3D Printing
    (2015) Southwick, Daniel; Ratto, Matt
    Current discourse around 3D printing has tended to focus on its ability to produce physical manifestations of the digital. While this narrative had helped to popularize these technologies, relying on the powerful and appealing notion of being able to “turn digital dreams into physical realities”, it has also meant that the dominant perception of the technology has been oversimplified. Those who have only read about 3D printers or have only had a basic or controlled experience with them tend to see it as something that is purely digital, whereas users with experience are conscious of the fact that the technology is a combination of both the digital and the material. Yet, understanding 3D printing is more than just coming to terms with its materiality. The central conclusion to be drawn from this research needs to be the diversity of these systems. If 3D printing is ever to be come wildly adopted, or at least a ubiquitous tool for design, the complexity of the various contexts it can occupy needs to be more effectively addressed.
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    Participatory Material Culture Environmental Scan
    (2012) Record, Isaac
    This environmental scan provides a snapshot of desktop fabrication technologies in 2012. The report focuses on two streams of emerging technologies: (1) additive manufacturing, or “3D printing”, and (2) sensor/controller/actuator toolkits, or “control systems”. Both technologies have existed for decades, but have only recently attained “desktop” status in virtue of increasing public availability, falling capital and supply costs, and the wider availability of enabling technologies like easy-to-use programming languages. The intention is not to ignore well- established desktop prototypers like milling and sewing machines. Rather, the hope is that the attention surrounding emerging technologies will help to underline the opportunities that desktop prototyping affords. Moreover, because these technologies are still emerging, there is ample opportunity to intervene and shape their trajectories, for example to encourage the development of accessible tools. In this report we attend roughly to developments in the $100-$10000 range for 2012 equipment, $10000-$100000 for horizon equipment. Similarly, we attend to parts in the $1-$100 range for 2012 products, and $100-$1000 for future/planned products.