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4 8 3D PRINTSHOP BIONIC EYE SEES THE FUTURE A bionic eye is now on the horizon due to the work of innovative research- ers at the University of Minnesota who fully 3D printed an array of light re- ceptors on a hemispherical surface. Michael McAlpine, associate professor of mechanical engineering, says the team started with a hemispherical glass dome to show how they could over- come the challenge of printing elec- tronics on a curved surface. Using their custom-built 3D printer, they started with a base ink of silver particles. The dispensed ink stayed in place and dried uniformly instead of running down the curved surface. The researchers then used semiconducting polymer mate- rials to print photodiodes that convert light into electricity. McAlpine and his team are known for integrating 3D printing, electronics, and biology on a single platform. They received international attention a few years ago for printing a bionic ear. Since then, they have 3D printed lifelike artifi- cial organs for surgical practice as well as cells and scaffolds that could help people living with spinal cord injuries regain some function. McAlpine says the next steps are to create a prototype with additional light receptors that are even more efficient. twin-cities.umn.edu . LASER-BASED AM LEADER FINDS A HOME AT UTEP Aconity3D, a 3D printer manu- facturer based in Germany, will es- tablish its North American base of op- erations at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), under a new agreement announced by the two organizations this summer. The company develops laser-based 3D printers for making complex metal parts used in airplanes, automobiles, medical implants, and more. utep.edu. PITT POWERED UP BY DOE FUNDING A research collaboration led by the University of Pittsburgh’s Swan- son School of Engineering received $750,000 in DOE funding for their cost- shared R&D initiative to develop inno- vative technologies that enhance fossil energy power systems. The proposal, “Integrated Computational Materials and Mechanical Modeling for Additive Manufacturing of Alloys with Graded Structure Used in Fossil Fuel Power Plants,” was awarded to Wei Xiong, as- sistant professor, and Albert To, associ- ate professor in Swanson’s mechanical engineering and materials science de- partment. Their collaborator is Michael Klecka of United Technologies Research Center (UTRC), East Hartford, Conn. Teams fromUTEP and Aconity3D at the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation at UTEP. Courtesy of UTEP Communications. For the first time, researchers 3D printed an image-sensing array on a hemispherical surface. Courtesy of University of Minnesota/McAlpine Group. Wei Xiong (left) and Albert To in Pitt’s ANSYS Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory. The team will focus on using addi- tive manufacturing to construct graded alloys for advanced ultra-supercritical power plants—produced with a shorter lead time and lower costs than tradi- tional methods. Using integrated com- putational materials engineering, the team at Pitt will develop a new mod- eling framework for wire-arc additive manufacturing at UTRC. The framework integrates both materials modeling and mechanical simulation to design and manufacture superior 3D-printed alloy components for these power plants. engineering.pitt.edu. A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8