#3dshow

Comments rolling in! See bottom of this post for 'declarations of support' :)

Over the past 3 years, the University of Melbourne has been experimenting with 3D printing as a technology which can help support researchers in making their ideas a reality (aka, “proof-of-concept” or "rapid prototyping"). We’ve worked with over 2500+ people in this 'community experiement':

we’ve put on the largest ‘3D Print Showcase’ in Australia (in its third year [1]);

we have run weekly drop in sessions to get you 3D printing for the first time within the hour;

we’ve trained you to do 3D scanning in everything from big buildings (photogammetry) to internal organs (PetCT/MRI);

we’ve put on two intensive summer schools to create the next generation of skilled digital blacksmiths!

we’ve talked on Radio, Television and in the Newspaper about how this technology can save money and increase the speed of invention;

we’ve trained school kids, teachers, undergraduates, graduates and everyone in between in 3D Digital Drawing (TinkerCAD, Inventor, 3D Slicer, etc.).

We are now asking you to help decide if we should carry on with this experiment, or more importantly which part of this experiment you see as being most valuable to you!?

Below you will find a link to a draft proposal we are putting before you the research and entrepreneurship community[2]. We are asking for those of you who are interested in 3D printing (using it in your studies, researcher or entrepreneurship) to 'sign your declaration of interest’, along with comments for how you think we can make 3D Printing work for you.

PROPOSAL FOR 3D PRINTING PLATFORM AT UNIMELB, (please read this link then leave your 'declaration of support’ below): http://go.unimelb.edu.au/6q9n

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If you wish to leave detailed comments on sections of the proposal please do so on this living draft (Note: your comments will be published openly): http://go.unimelb.edu.au/2n3n

Thanks for your consideration and continued participation in the research community at the University of Melbourne.

[1]= Please RSVP October 9th and 10th for the #3DShow 2015: 3D printed car race, Shark’s Tank, Latest 3D Printers and much more!

[2]= As the Research Community Manager for the University of Melbourne I’ve promised to always be as open and transparent as possible so as to assure inclusion for all researchers regardless of age and/or stage of their studies.

Written by David F. Flanders, Research Community Manager, University of Melbourne https://dfflanders.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/research-community-manager-university-of-melbourne/

Support from the Community:

Dr Shane Battye: "I've been using 3D printing for a year now to create prototype microscope and robotic parts - see www.pathobin.com. Anyone now has the ability to rapidly prototype concepts from the drawing board in an affordable way."

Paul Mignone: "Having achieved a 95% cost reduction in costs and lead times with my own research, I support 3D printing's potential to help researchers produce lower-cost research outputs in lower time frames."

Kae Sato-Goodsell: "I support the 3D printing programme at Melbourne University as it will give access to students and community to explore the possibility to research and try-out their ideas. The equipments is limited to most of the population due to the price and availability of support so it is greatly appreciated by the community. It is truly great that the programme is open to public, not just for the students but the people who teach them. It will be good to expand it to quick and quality scanning and small metal printing in the future – that will bring more opportunities to try-out great ideas."

Kerry Leonard Graduate Researcher: "3d printing clearly represents the most exciting new method of production and manufacture for our future. As an artist, the potential of attempting new artworks which in the past have suffered from the limitations of budget and traditional structure, I am now able to consider possibilities totally unrealistic before 3d printing."

Tommy Carron: "3D printing will bring value to the University and wider community by providing the tools and skills for research and industry. This is an exciting field that is moving from niche experimentation into the mainstream and will affect all our lives. The University of Melbourne is position to be the leading innovator and default choice for students and researchers who work with 3D scanning and printing."

Mr Bruce Ferabend: "3D printing allows for a quick fabrication of designs and prototypes. This is invaluable for showing others and testing concepts along with fabricating equipment."

From Charles La Trobe College "For the past few years, 3D printing has became a global phenomenon. From design to manufacturing has changed. 3D printing is cost-effective, environmentally friendly and easy to do. It is something important yet so simple. I'm a high school student. I love creating gadgets and assets. 3D printing has been a fantastic way of making my ideas into a prototype then a reality.

"It will provide a way to physically view items created in virtual reality"

"Potentially very useful for producing 3D models for education as well as parts for photographic gear for production of education material"

David Parris: ""Allows prototyping at reasonable cost. Is a disruptive technology that students and graduates should be fluent in."

"3D printing helped me with my courses, and is definitely going to help me in future studies!"

Freddy Navas: "I fully support 3D printing for research and entrepreneurship activities to develop rapid prototypes of ideas, making it possible to refine product development, and further refine concepts."

Dr Philipp Nauer: "As part of my research in soil microbiology I I investigate the complex internal structure of termite mounds, and develop innovative sampling equipment for soil gas. For me 3D printing is the ONLY way to get my parts manufactured at reasonable costs, as they are complex and low numbers. 3d-printing facilities at UoM would greatly increase development time and quality! In fact, every lab should have a 3d printer, just like a normal printer, to replace off-the-shelf parts and manufacture custom-designed parts for specific experiments!"

Dr Paul McMillan: "I am happy to provide my support to the proposal for a 3D printing platform at the University of Melbourne. It is essential that this capability is available to the staff & students at the university. In biological research, the visualisation of complex structures can be used as both a teaching and research tool. As manager of the Biological optical Microscopy Platform, I am also interested in custom building components (such as stage inserts or sample holders) for our microscopes."

Djordje Dikic, CEO of SwatchMate: "As a company built around product development, we would not exist if we didn't have access to the incredible 3D printing facilities of the University."

Dr. Stewart Ryan: "I strongly support this important initiative to increase access to practical 3D printing technology and training on the University of Melbourne campus. This will be of great benefit to both my research activities and clinical surgical service for my RHD students and pet owning clients."

Dr. Varsha Pilbrow: "I am using 3D printing to develop hand-held dental plaques for doing research in human evolution. The plaques help by providing standardization of research approaches and improving inter-observer repeatability. They add to the methodological rigour in palaeoanthropological research."

Jas Johnston: "3D printing has been an important part of architectural prototyping and model making allowing the creation of physical representations of complex geometries and algorithmic design processes. This technology is now reaching the point where 3d printing is being used to print full scale architectural elements and buildings. It is vital the Uni Melb maintain and advanced understanding and interrogation of this technology to be a part of the design revolution that technology like this enables."

Dinesh Kantheti: "It's the future of research that will democratise innovation. Will become integral to research"

Nathan Clisby: "3D printing is an extremely promising tool for mathematics and mathematical physics. For educational purposes, appropriate 3D models can make it much easier to communicate difficult mathematical concepts, while for research purposes a good 3D model can be a great aide in developing intuition."

Vikas Thondapu, MD: "3D printing technology heralds significant and potentially generational advances in the field of cardiology and implanted medical devices. Access to this powerful tool as a researcher will likely translate to clinical advances and improved patient care in the foreseeable future."

Rohan Workman (Carlton Connect): "3D printing is critical to early stage prototyping for entrepreneurs and the more activity the better. I'm keen to see this program fully supported."

Ioanna Ioannou: "3D printing could be very useful in surgical education. Trainees could be provided with a 3D printed models of body parts capturing various anatomies and pathologies. These models would be useful in teaching surgical approaches, or even practicing surgical procedures (depending on the availability of appropriate materials)"

Simon Young: "This is the future."

Maxine Lee: "3D printing is shifting the landscape for entrepreneurs who can now bring their ideas to life in a convenient and accessible fashion (from design to manufacturing). Startup founders can now also benefit from lower prototype and production costs." "

Michael Kuiper: "3D printing has been immensely valuable for visualization of molecules in the life science. It provides tangible models of protein complexes not easily explained in 2 dimensional media."

Gil Rind: "3D Printing is a valuable potential tool for combining engineering and medical research, allowing for better medical surgical planning for preclinical experimentation, prototyping of useful tools and cheap alternatives for many research projects, and enabling of proof of concepts before paying for certain tools or devices to be manufactured in higher quantities."

Linda Le: "Creativity opens up many opportunities"

Nick Pollard: "Innovation and involvement in 3D Printing at The University of Melbourne is very important for research projects in the various relevant faculties. It adds a whole new efficient method for prototyping and for even teaching concepts to students."

Cameron Nicol: "I have now entered the workforce now and in my first few months 3D printing has played a massive role in allowing me to rapid prototype design and test them before progressing to more common forms of manufacturing, and in the not to distant future I dare this final step may not even be necessary. The same advantages can be seen in research and entrepreneurship. In fact I used 3D printing extensively in my final year project."

Tara Elizabeth Cook: "I use 3d printing as part of my doctoral research in the Visuals Arts at the VCA&MCM. 3D printing is a wonderful tool for artists as well as a practice in itself within the Visual Arts. 3D printing is rapidly proliferating contemporary art globally and becoming a commonplace part of artistic production today. Having a 3D printing platform will assist the university in maintaining research excellence, innovation and relevance."