3D Printing for Social Good | TechChange | The Institute for Technology and Social Change

It may be difficult to see the relevance of 3D Printing beyond maker labs, but its potential to help in international development, and especially humanitarian response should be explored further.

In 2013 alone, there were more than 334 natural disasters around the world resulting in more 100,000 deaths. While the numbers decreased in 2014, in 2015 we are already seeing the devastating effect of the earthquake in Nepal. Not only do natural disasters claim lives, they also disrupt the supply chain, making it difficult for those affected to access basic goods and services. While it may not be applicable in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, 3D printing can help with recovery from a disaster by filling the gap in the supply chain.

3D printing is changing what you can produce and where you can produce it, making it a solution that could meet the needs of people after a humanitarian crisis.
Here is why:

Low cost
3D printers are no longer out of our reach. As they are becoming more sophisticated and affordable and many patents are expiring, there are now a wide range of consumer 3D printers available for purchase. Field Ready launched a pilot in Haiti where they test-manufactured a variety of umbilical clamps, enough to supply a local clinic for a month. Along with that, they also printed a prosthetic hand, items to repair and improve the printers, butterfly needle holders, screwdrivers, pipe clamps, and bottles. Being able to 3D print medical equipment on site can save costs in purchasing and transporting them from outside, allowing the funds to be used for other important resources that need to be delivered.

Portable
Not only can 3D printers manufacture basic supplies at a low cost, they are also portable so they can be easily transported anywhere there is a need. Many supplies and materials are delivered to disaster affected areas from off-site, creating wait time and possibilities of the supplies getting damaged in transit. It can be a great relief to know that you can print basic necessities like medical tools, or materials to construct a shelter on-site before more permanent supplies are delivered to you.

Immediate correction
Communication can be difficult during a crisis, and sometimes relief delivery of supplies may not fit the requirements of the needs. In this case, it takes more time and money to correct the situation. With a 3D printer, you can immediately change the design of the product you are imagining and test print multiple versions in a short time until you end up with your desired final product.

While the solutions may sound exciting, we have to be mindful of the fact that disaster-stricken places may not have resources needed to run 3D printers. Electricity, human capital, and availability of raw materials are just a few potential barriers. So, organizations like Field Ready are exploring solar powered 3D printers and have already tested a basic curriculum to teach locals how to design items and use the printers. While there is more to learn on what is possible with 3D printing, the possibilities it offers for humanitarian response are endless.

We will be exploring topics like this and other ways 3D printing is being used for social good, as well as hear from experts who are already using 3D printers in this context and can see its potential for society, in our upcoming course on 3D Printing for Social Good.

There is still time to apply, so I hope you can join us!

By Samita Thapa and Sara Pitcairn

The possibilities for 3D printing are endless. While this may scare some of us, the potential for innovation is exactly what excites us here at TechChange! Imagine being able to quickly manufacture reconstruction materials for disaster response, 3D print homes in refugee camps, or 3D print a human heart to save a life.

But this cutting-edge innovation can also seem difficult to wrap your head around. How does it work? How do you begin? Here is an example of how an idea can become a product through 3D printing:

Dr. Boris Paskhover at the Yale School of Medicine saw a need for a portable transnasal laryngoscope with image and video capture capabilities. A transnasal laryngoscope is a handheld medical device that allows Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) physicians to examine a patient’s voice box and diagnose and treat ENT disorders (such as cancer of the throat or thyroid). But the equipment that captures images and videos from a laryngoscope, an endoscopic tower, is expensive and difficult to transport, making it infeasible for use outside of a hospital setting.

Imagine
Dr. Paskhover imagined an easier way to visualize the results of a laryngoscope examination. By using his Phone camera and an app called Luma to produce higher quality video and pictures, he could see the results anywhere. To start with, he created a makeshift attachment to secure a laryngoscope to his iPhone case. But ideally, he imagined a more robust solution for his work in rural settings outside the U.S.

Dr. Paskhover’s make-shift attachment for his iPhone 4 case

Design
He worked with Sara Pitcairn, TechChange’s Co-Director of Instructional Design, during her senior year at Yale University to bring his idea to life. Through an iterative, human-centered design process, Sara modeled, prototyped and 3D printed an iPhone case with an interface aligning the eyepiece of a laryngoscope with an iPhone camera. The iphone case allowed Dr. Paskhover to capture high-quality photos and videos of his exams with patients without the need for an endoscopic tower.

Designing and testing the 3D printed iPhone case

3D Print

See the 3D printed iPhone case in action:

This is one of many examples of how 3D printing is helping fill gaps that exist in healthcare. There are countless applications in other fields, and especially in disaster response and international development.

Do you have other examples of how 3D printing is being used in your communities? Share them with us in the comments section or tweet at us @TechChange

If you are are interested in learning more about the potential 3D printing offers in your field, join Sara in our upcoming course on 3D Printing for Social Good. We will look at applications of 3D printing in a variety of contexts, along with the challenges and opportunities as the field continues to advance. After the four weeks of the course, you will have a solid understanding of 3D printing so that you can see its potential for your field of practice. We will look at case studies and examples of where 3D printing is being used today and will help you find a maker community, as well as connect you with experts using 3D printing for social good.

The course begins on May 4, we hope you can join us!

As a Star Trek fan, I found the most amazing technology on the TV show to be not the ship cruising faster than the speed of light or even the life-saving tricorder: it was the replicator…or actually the “Holodeck”. These machines allowed the futuristic Starfleet crew to conjure up a real item, on command, be it Earl Grey tea or a prototype warp engine. They were able to go from idea to physical object in mere moments, with only their imaginations as the limiting factor.

Holodeck in Star Trek

Photo credit: Memory Alpha

3D printing is the closest invention to the Holodeck that we have today. The 3D printing industry has become a bit of a darling to futurologists, venture capitalists, and magic-bullet seekers aplenty—and for good reason. According to a report by the research company, Canalys, the industry is going to grow by 500% over the next five years, becoming a $16.2 billion industry by 2018. Given this estimate, it’s no wonder that 3D printing is being seen as disrupting the manufacturing industry and heralding a new industrial revolution.

A 3D printer at the TechChange Office

And despite the hype, they might be right. There are several ways that 3D printing can change and improve lives. Here’s why 3D printing will change the world as we know it:

1. 3D printing is advancing STEM education.

I put this one first because I believe it really is the biggest and cannot be overemphasized. Education, and specifically STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), will be the single greatest beneficiary of 3D printing technologies and investment. These low-cost, simple, and fast 3D printers offer something that remarkably few technologies do: integration and application of school subjects in an engaging way. Students, in an effort to simply make things, are teaching themselves design, programming, prototyping, iteration, and production—all without realizing it. A school in Pasadena recently acquired a 3D printer and has already experienced the collaborative and creative problem-solving it allows among teachers and students. Teachers will tell you that getting students to solve challenges and learn the skills along the way is infinitely more effective than simply working through textbook chapters in a detached and uninspired routine.

Pasadena school students 3D printing in their classrooms

Photo credit: Southern California Public Radio

2. 3D printing adds an entirely new dimension to repairs and customization.

Repairing items with 3D printing isn’t simply about cheaply replacing a broken wall hook (though it can do that too). For much of the world, a hardware store within 200 miles is a luxury. I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Madagascar, and the repair and tinkering abilities of my Malagasy friends was jaw-dropping. They would build lanterns out of tomato paste cans, and once use a cigarette filter on the gas line of his car to get us home. 3D printers can level-up the capacity of these folks the world over, and in ways that we can barely anticipate.

A time lapse video of a 3D printer at TechChange’s office

3. Healthcare and prosthetics got a new sub-field.
The most obvious application in 3D printing has so far been in the field of medicine, biomedical devices, and specifically prosthetics. In the world of artificial limbs for example, 3D printers are absolutely fantastic not because they completely upend traditional prosthetics, but because they benefit from it and supplement it in really powerful ways. Whole hands, arms, casts, and splints can be customized to fit individuals and their unique conditions. This area addresses probably more than any other sector, the “why” of 3D printing.

3D printed prosthetics for children during e-NABLE’s visit to TechChange

4. 3D printing is making the manufacturing industry more competitive than ever.

With the help of 3D printing, small-scale, adaptable, and distributed manufacturing will be competitive. Really competitive. It’s not going to happen tomorrow, but it’s moving in that direction. When you start adding up the landscape infrastructure where there is greater build quality, flexibility with a greater number of materials and sizes (Shanghai WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Co, is already 3D printing houses), and all at lower costs—a model emerges that competes directly with current industries at current wages for a large number of applications. It’s altogether possible that the phone you buy in the future will come built custom for you from a machine down the block; and probably also delivered via drone (which in turn would probably also be 3D printed).

Although we are still in the early days of 3D printing, there is still so much to learn, and new printers, materials, and ideas are coming into focus everyday. This is why the timing is so critical and the opportunity so golden to be a visionary and imagine all that we can accomplish through 3D printing.

What would you request in your own Holodeck/3D printer that could solve the world’s challenges? Let us know in the comments and/or tweet us @TechChange.

Interested in learning how 3D printing can promote social good? Enroll now in this online course.