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Ronan McCann
About me:
Hey! I’m Ronan, I’m a researcher in I-Form based in DCU. I have a degree in Applied Physics and finished my PhD last year in Engineering and Material Science, where I looked at how lasers and materials interact. In I-Form, I’m currently investigating printing aluminium parts by a technique called Selective Laser Melting. I also teach a bit on design optimisation for 3D printing. When I’m not in the lab, I’m also a pretty good ultimate frisbee player!
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Anthony Newell
About me:
I am a Postdoctoral researcher in I-Form. My current research focuses on Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) using Computer Aided Technologies for improving production strategies.
My work has also included life-cycle analyses of Additive Manufacturing production methods. Life-cycle analysis is used for informing manufacturers of the environmental impact and sustainability of different part designs.
With previous experience in chemical and materials engineering, inorganic experimental chemistry, and metal powder surface chemistry I have developed expertise in both the low-level and high-level aspects of DfAM, especially for metal and plastic parts.
I would like my research to impact both sustainable technology development and sustainable manufacturing which is used to improve manufacturing time, cost and quality.
When I’m not in the office I’m usually either cycling, cooking, discussing philosophical ideas or making stupid jokes with friends.
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Wearable Biosphere
Description of your idea:
I have designed a piece of art you can wear. The art piece is a hollow 3D object which can be printed in hard see-through plastic which would have a small terrarium garden inside. A terrarium is a tiny system of plants, microorganisms, algae and bacteria that keeps itself alive. It’s a system which just takes in light to sustain life within, just like our planet. It would be worn as a constant reminder of the delicate balance of our planet and the role of humans within the system of all living things. The design is inspired by natural elements, rock and coral.The print would be attached to a pin at the back allowing it to be worn as a piece of jewellery.
The dimensions are length 6 cm, width 6.5 cm, height 4.5 cm. A scaled-up version could be printed as a sculpture that could house larger plants and organisms.
This is an example of a terrarium.
This is what the finished 3D print will look like with the garden planted inside.
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Water Filter
Description of your idea:
My idea is a portable water filter cup which will give people in poverty clean water to drink. This cup would also work in situations like in Ireland where we have boil-water notices.
I got the idea for this design from a Goal visit in my school (Goal is a global charity who come to my school every year), I decided to make a design to help people who don’t have enough clean water to drink.
The design will incorporate five filters, each with a series of holes in it. Going down, these holes get smaller, taking the larger particles of dirt out. The filters are all punctured upwards so they can accumulate dirt and residue at the base of each filter plate.
There are ultra violet LEDs in the bottom of the cup to take out the harmful bacteria that the filters cannot remove.
The cup has the potential to stop diseases and save hundreds of lives.
There is a metal straw that goes through all the filters, with an opening 0.5cm from the bottom, to stop the sediment from being sucked up. Although it would be harmless it would be less than pleasant. The metal straw is available in many shops so it’s also sustainable.
The dimensions are: Height 14.5cm, Top width 9cm and Bottom width 6cm.
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Personalised Speakers
Description of your idea:
We are proposing to design and 3D print personalized speakers – not larger than 15 cm x 15cm x 15cm – where about 80% of the materials used would be either recycled materials or recyclable ones and only some of the electronics would need to be purchased. Using recycled or recyclable materials would help prevent the environment from further harm and depletion of natural resources. Giving electronics/batteries a second life would help reduce landfills and carbon footprint.
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Nima Gorji
About me:
I am a postdoctorate researcher in the I-Form manufacturing research center since 2018. my work focuses on the recyclability of the materials within the additive manufacturing process. We use various characterization methods to monitor the impact of laser heat and manufacturing environment on the powders and materials used in the 3D printer. The XPS surface analysis, XCT pore analysis (3D method) and other routine methods e.g. SEM and XRD are also used to determine the quality of recycled powders for reuse in the printer.
I am also a good singer and can sing of some italian opera or persian songs for you.
the 3D-painting project focuses on making blind people more into technology. vote for it 🙂
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Guitar Capo
Description of your idea:
A guitar capo is a spring-loaded device that clamps to the neck of the guitar and holds down all 6 strings at once that almost all guitarists own. I plan to improve old designs of guitar capos which use too much metal to make and therefore aren’t as sustainable as they could be.
My idea is to use generative design applied to 3D printing of a guitar capo. Generative design is a new design method that works out the least possible amount of material necessary for the part based on how big the forces are on the part and where they are applied. This allows designers to use the least amount of material which makes the part lighter and therefore more sustainable to make while still being strong enough for ordinary use. Generative designs have been really difficult to use in the past with older, more limited production methods and computing power, but are ideal for 3D printing.
Devices made using generative design often have a natural, skeleton-like appearance because this is the most material-efficient shape for the structure, as with the human skeleton. This appearance is because our skeletons have evolved over a long time to adapt to the forces in our environment and like this, generative design is used to solve a similar problem quickly for man-made parts like this guitar capo.
I have run a simulation for the upper jaw and here are some of the results:
This updated design allows for approximately a 76% reduction in both material and weight from the previous design of this part for the exact same strength, making it much more sustainable to produce.
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3D Painting
Description of your idea:
Tons of feedstock material is wasted during 3D printing process every day. Currently, there is no compelling technology for optimum recycling of these leftover materials because many applications require to use fresh feedstock only. However, I believe that recycled materials (e.g. plastic or polymers) could be used to promote equality and happiness among the society.
For instance, to produce art works where the freshness of the powder is not as important as it is in sectors like biomedical or aviation industry.
My uncle was blind and an art enthusiast but he couldn’t see and enjoy the beauty of portraits or landscapes and I was always describing the paintings to him. But now with 3D printing technology and using recyclable materials, we can produce engraved versions of flat portraits and paintings which the blind people can touch, imagine and feel the beauty themselves. This is what I call “3D-PAINTINGs”. 3D-PAINTING aims to provide graphic materials to the blind community, to enhance their self-confidence and self-learning beside enjoying the art which every person has a right to enjoy of. I aim to 3D print the paintings to serve the blind community in our society who want to enjoy art but cant see them. 3D paintings could be for cultural and art enjoyment at first but can also be a way to promote the education of impaired communities in future. According to the 2016 census, there are 54,810 people in Ireland who are blind or visually impaired and the number is rising. 3D-PAINTING converts 2D images to 3D printed art paintings which has length, width, depth and texture. The 3D-PAINTINGs do not need to be colored as it is printed for blind people.
When the blind person touches the 3D-PAINTING, the brain received the information from the skin as similar as it comes from the eyes which enables the blind to imagine the painting like it’s really seen. This allows them to sense it by their own and they get to enjoy it by themselves and that enhances their self-confidence and freedom as well as promotes equality. Empowering every individual of the people in Ireland, including the blind community would enhance their creativity to reach their full potential. At the same time, this technology promotes materials sustainability and reduces the waste to the environment which makes the 3D printing an environmental-friendly green technology.
In order to make the printed painting more understandable for the blind people, we will also print some Braille letters will small dots on every section of the paint. Braille is the language of the blind people which is shown by small dots. This makes the 3D-painting more readable for impaired persons