AMPEL Update - April
This blog entry will be short and sweet. I would like to discuss more improvements at the Additive Manufacturing Prototyping and Experimentation Laboratory.
Resin Printing
Since the beginning, proficiency in the various methods of additive manufacturing has been a clear goal. To date, operations have been entirely focused on maximizing the potential of deposition modeling and this has been very fruitful in the output of both data and physical objects. Now, almost a year after the founding of AMPEL, I have taken the metaphorical leap into another form of 3D printing. This method is stereolithography (SLA) and is a method which functions entirely different than fused deposition modeling (FDM). A quick overview of the differences:
In FDM printing, a semi-liquid thermoplastic is extruded through a heated nozzle and deposited in patterned layers. As one layer hardens and forms, another is deposited atop it. This method is heavily dependent upon robotic machinery which it is capable of motion in three directions across a cartesian coordinate system (X,Y,Z).
In SLA printing, a metal build plate is dipped into a vat of photosensitive liquid resin. From underneath the vat, a UV laser (mine running at a 405 nanometer wavelength) shines in a pattern at the build plate, hardening a layer of the resin into a solid form. The build plate is elevated by a small amount (in my case, 0.01mm) and another pattern of UV light shines across the build plate, solidifying another layer onto the previous. In this fashion, layer after layer is hardened and a solid model is extracted from the vat.
The methodology varies greatly between the two methods. In SLA, there is less focus on robotics and machine language and more of a focus on the materials science and light science. Thankfully, most of the elements of design transfer across the gap and minimal updates must be introduced into DFAM (design for additive manufacturing).
More details on my journey into SLA printing can be found in the work log, and I’m sure that I will broadcast interesting projects onto the Youtube channel.
Further Projects
As my journey progresses not just through additive manufacturing but through product development in general, some remarkable projects have sprung up. Through all of these my general goal remains the acquisition and refinement of data and skills, so that they might be applied to more efficiently solve future problems.
MDRS Equipment
Through a personal connection I have been invited to contribute a certain amount of equipment and expertise to a team embarking on an expedition to the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. In essence, this 6 person team will spend two weeks in a simulated hostile environment akin to the surface of Mars, during which they will make excursions into the environment to run tests and gather data.
Where I come in is the provision of video equipment and production expertise. Though this contribution was at first supposed to be considered an act of Grant Coultrup Productions (my media label), further development has altered the needs and involved the technology at AMPEL.
First, a request for 3D scanning technology has been fielded and equipment is in development. This will allow the team to digitally scan an item (a small “Martian” rock, for example) and upload the file to the cloud for examination and reproduction. Details of this development can be found in the work log, as the process requires large amounts of data. I am very excited to work on this project as it is the first step in my wide goal of creating a seamless method of digital reconstruction.
Second is my own incorporation of custom manufactured components for use in video production. Mostly centered around amplifying the GoPro system, these pieces will be specially designed and 3D printed by AMPEL.
Finally, a pet project of my own will be sent along to enhance operations. A custom housing has been designed and is in manufacture which will assist in both scanning and video operations. This housing will feature an LCD screen paired to Raspberry Pi Zero and will provide real time imagery with control of GoPro and digital scanning technology. Also included in the housing are necessary components such as battery pack, network device, and user interface pieces (mouse and keyboard). Again, details can be found in the work log.
I am very excited to be a part of this project and look forward to more work developing technology for space. After all, it is part of the AMPEL Vision to move manufacturing off-world and into the zero-gravity environment of space.
Physical Space
If you have been following my journey, then you know that a problem which has plagued me through the last two quarters is that of space. As my studio apartment is bursting with 3D printers and other additive technology, I have searched in vain for a location which will host my lab and, ideally, media production. Recently, though, I have had a change of heart. What follows will be a discussion how how to pivot AMPEL to operate in maker centric environments. The
Currently I participate in a network of makers as we develop products and I participate in 3D printing them. This network is only expanding, to the point where I foresee myself bringing in a design coordinator to assist me with their organization while I keep my efforts focused on other needs (this is discussed in the last entry, Exponential). In short, I am confident in my organization’s ability to meet any design requirements without a physical space.
Manufacturing is a tricky one, though. If I am to expand operations much further I will need space, a fleet of printers, and an assistant or two with the the understanding of their upkeep. Though I believe physical space will be critical to building the community, a recent visit to a nearby 3D printing lab has contributed to the perspective shift. Upon my visit to Purple Porcupine, I was impressed and humbled by their dedicated additive manufacturing workspace. The team was knowledgeable and professional and seemed to understand with great depth the processes and requirements to each of the techniques employed, and I walked away very confident in the production of any designs which I forwarded for manufacture. Though prototyping and small projects can still be done by me in-house, production at scale will be sent to them.
With both design and manufacturing being handled by other vendors, it seems that, in reality, all I will need is a relatively small physical space in which to manage this system and create prototypes with a small team. This should allow me to focus more physical space on media production, which I believe to be of great importance in the 21st century.
Protective Equipment
What must be acknowledged is the critical time in which we are alive and a couple of key trends which have been driving my design work. First, the COVID pandemic has spurred a worldwide rise in self-awareness and fright over transmitted diseases. As a result, and regardless of the variety of theories why, the wearing of a facial covering is now considered a necessity through most levels of society. The second trend is that of integrated wearables, such as the FitBit, Apple smart watch, or Oura ring. Our world is one increasingly covered in an “electric skin” which gathers data and deepens feedback loops.
Designing wearable technology integrated to the internet of things is not just a project of mine, it’s almost an obsession. Importantly, the powers of 3D printing allow these designs to be easily customized to the individual and prototyped/manufactured at an incredibly cost-efficient rate. Current projects in this area include a) face mask/helmet with built in air filter, camera and LIDAR, HUD, and microphone/speaker; b) custom-fit gauntlet with attachment rail for various components; and c) back/chest exo-skeleton with robotic “third-arm” to hold/mount accessories.
As I design these items, I must note the potential for weaponization which comes intrinsic with any technological improvement. Yes, this project is undertaken in full awareness that these designs are potential for sale as instruments of warfare. No, I do not particularly like this potential but to shy away from their production would leave the projects unfinished in my own mind and that is a burden I cannot withstand right now. Perhaps there is a part of me which likes to think that they would be used for “peacekeeping”, but that same part of me understands that the term is often just a word used to justify violence in the name of utilitarianism.
A note about Vision
While updates to AMPEL vision are typically post-dated into the original entry, I would like to take a moment here to share recent thoughts. I do not believe that the original vison has deviated from its principles, these being the investment in a) a data-fueled revolution, b) an exponential technology, c) integration of equipment and products to the internet of things, and d) the incredible potential which additive manufacturing will realize off-planet. These continue to be core tenets of my research and prototyping. The trends which I list below are more key determinants based on research/conversation and will guide direction:
Democratization of manufacturing. Often ridiculed is my notion that within 15 years it is not inconceivable to imagine a 3D printer in most American homes. This vision comes after research of the rise and fall of Sears, Wal-Mart, and now Amazon, each of which shortened supply lines and made products more and more accessible. The next logical step is for widespread, customized manufacturing. This is what 3D printing looks like. Note that two factors will hasten the arrival of this vision: a) the development of more easily-operable machines and 2) the education of a nation. Few millennials or “boomers” could handle this piece of machinery in their home, but the younger generations have a much stronger sense of spatial conceptualization (critical mindset for designers) and a better understanding of communication in computer language. Investment in these two factors will inevitably move manufacturing into the home.
The extra-terrestrial expansion of humanity will bring more opportunities for additive technology than foreseeably any other sector. This is due to the removal of one key limiting force on the process: gravity. Freed from this constraint, the two limiting factors will then become material and energy, both of which are problems which can be solved with relative ease. The point here is that a well-equipped, design-centric additive manufacturing organization will be capable of the construction of vast, monolithic extra-terrestrial structures and that this construction will be done off-planet in the glorious zero-gravity realm of space. This is the vision; this is the challenge.
Conclusion
I never suspected when I formed AMPEL that the research would take me to where I am today, nor uncover the mysteries which I have solved. There is still so much work to be done, and each project opens the door for a dozen others. I am overwhelmed but continue nonetheless. I rely on the information unearthed by the toiling of previous great minds! I wield the power of the internet as I use this collective brain to solve problems and create! In few instances am I able to claim credit for the ideas which I implement: I merely act on the research of others as their tool. The journey has only begun and I cannot wait to proceed down this path and have others join me on the way.
