Did You Know: 3D Printers Talk / Demo This Sat

Photo Credit: gepl.org

3D-printing: it’s cool, it’s revolutionary and you can see a demonstration of how it works this Sat at 2p in the Nyack Library. But truth be told, it’s not even new: stereolithography, which used UV lasers to solidify photopolymer that created 3D parts layer by layer, was invented by Chuck Hull in 1984.
In 1985, Fried Vancraen made his own non-computer Fumbling Deposition Modeling (FDM) models and five years later he founded Materialise, one of the first 3D printing companies. 3D printers work very much like ink jet printers do. An ink jet printer puts a single layer of ink on top of the page to get the project done, while a 3D printer adds new layers on top of each layer until the object is completed. In the past, 3D printing was used to prototype products for manufacturing, but now is increasingly being used to create finished products. 3D printing typically lowers production costs and is more green for manufacturers since it eliminates leftover scrap material.
There is no limit to the applications that 3D printing can be used for. Many different types of materials can be used including titanium, wood, ceramics, resin, steel, silver and gold. Props for movies can be created and re-created. In the Bond movie, Skyfall, three 1:3 scale models of Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 were used for destruction during filming. In the health sector, 3D printers are used alongside CAT scanners to produce a model of a patient’s tumor in their body so surgeons could get a better idea how to remove it. In Belgium, a 3D printed titanium jawbone was implanted into an 83 year old woman. Nothing to wear? Custom designed 3D printed shoes, hats, and clothes can be made.
If you’re interested in learning more about 3D printing and seeing one in action firsthand, Dr. Duncan Bell, retired head of Biomedical Engineering for Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals, will give you an Introduction to 3D Printing on Saturday, April 2 at 2p at the Nyack Library. He will be present examples from his ten years of experience in designing physical models for pharmaceutical research, theatrical set design, and prototyping of inventions.  In a few minutes, he will take the audience through the complete process of taking an idea from concept to completed model using one of his personal 3D printers. Registration is required.
‘Women in Art’ presented by Sue Altman, Wed at 7p
Women have been creating art since prehistoric times, but most women artists are unknown and unappreciated, even the ones that were very successful during their lifetimes. This lecture, in celebration of Women’s History Month, will acquaint you with artists such as Sofanisba Anguissola, famous during the Renaissance, Rachel Ruysch, Dutch flower painter and Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun, court painter to Marie Antoinette, who is also honored currently with a retrospective at The Met. More well-known female artists such as O’Keefe, Cassatt, and Nevelson will also be discussed. The times have changed, in part because of the 1970s feminist movement to bring attention to these neglected artists. Registration is required.

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Did You Know comes to you each Monday on NyackNewAndViews, sponsored by the Nyack Library.