Engineering Updates – 3D Printing, Part Cooling, Firmware and More!

re:3D was on the move last year – literally. But the crew has settled into the new Austin facility with a continued passion for tackling the challenges of additive manufacturing. New faces have joined the Engineering and R&D Teams, and they have all been making impressive progress during the sometimes messy results of a relocation. This is a long-overdue look at some of their recent work.

The Gigabot FFF (Filament) 3D Printing Platform

Early last year there was a company-wide exploration of how and why ‘filament grinding’ was affecting our customers. Follow-up work has focused on cooling methods – both for the extruder mechanism and for part cooling. Improvements in cooling the extruder heat break reduces filament softening (i.e., “heat creep”) in low-temperature materials such as PLA which is a contributing factor to grinding and ultimately print failure. Other thermo-mechanical properties of the extruder are being evaluated as well, with the goal of better thermal management of the filament for more reliable extrusion. Upgrades to part cooling are also being tested. For many thermoplastics, the goal is to extrude above a certain temperature and let the polymer bond to the previously deposited layer (if there is one), and then solidify to maintain the desired geometry as the nozzle travels onward. The rate at which the plastic hardens affects how fast the nozzle can travel without compromising the quality of the print. Often, by appropriately cooling the extruded plastic with forced air, the plastic still bonds, but the geometry is rapidly set and the nozzle can travel faster – ultimately completing the print more quickly. Rapid setting of the polymer also allows for improved performance when printing bridges or overhangs.

With a new approach to thermal management, small, square axial fans are still used to cool the extruder heat sinks, but radial blower fans are used to provide higher-velocity air at the nozzle tip for part cooling (Figure 1, left and center). With this approach, unsupported overhangs of up to 70° are achieved before scoring “poor” using standard overhang print tests. Print speed can also be dramatically increased. The cooling upgrade allowed a standard 3DBenchy model [1] to be printed in 32 minutes with good quality (Figure 1, right) – down from 70 minutes.

New Gigabot extruder cooling design render
Gigabot extruder
Black 3D printed Benchy
Figure 1: New Gigabot extruder cooling design under test (a-B); 32-minute 3DBenchy printed using upgraded cooling (c).

The Engineering Team is also responding to the re:3D user community’s request for a conversion kit to use 1.75mm filament on their Gigabot printers. The new dual-extruder design has been extensively tested on multiple materials internally and will be sent to external beta testers soon.

The GigabotX FGF (Pellet) 3D Printing Platform

Product development on the GigabotX (GBX) in recent months has been focused on a mount for a bed sensor to incorporate bed mesh compensation software correction, along with an implementation of part cooling for the GBX extruder. Bed mesh compensation will be performed with the same eddy current sensor now under beta test on the Gigabot filament machines, but the design challenge is to create a mechanically stiff mount at the end of the long extruder system. As part of this mount, cooling fans and ducting are being incorporated to provide forced-air part cooling. The reasons for part cooling are described above, but with the larger bead sizes on the GBX, the thermal mass of the extrusion is generally larger, and the need for part cooling is even more critical – especially for bridging and overhangs. It can also promote easier breakaway of support material from the print.

With the part cooling design now under test (Figure 2), PLA is bridging over 40mm with minimal drooping (Figure 3, left) and able to create acceptable bridges and spans over 100mm (Figure 3, right). Overhangs are also improved, and support structures more easily break away by hand, leaving clean parting surfaces.

Experimental mount for bed sensor on GBX extruder
GBX part cooling fans
Figure 2: Experimental mount for a bed sensor on the GBX extruder shown in green (a); GBX part cooling fans attached to the back of the extruder cover (b).
3D printing 60mm unsupported bridging part cooling on GBX
3D printing poor bridging example
3D printing good bridging example
Figure 3: 60mm bridging with part cooling on a GBX (a); poor bridging and spanning without part cooling (b); good bridging and spanning over 100mm with part cooling (c).

At the other end of the extruder, improvements are underway to improve the reliability and consistency of material throughput. The extruder motor is connected to the extrusion screw through a jaw coupler, which uses a polymer spider interface between two hubs. If overheated or over-torqued, this spider can become deformed, potentially affecting extruder performance. This style of couple also allows for undesirable axial motion of the extruder screw. A new disc coupler is being tested with good results (Figure 4).

GBX disk coupling
Figure 4: New GBX disc coupling under evaluation.

Throughput problems can also be caused when the feedstock (pellets or flake) bridges within the input to the extruder. This material bridging (buildup, jamming, etc) introduces inconsistencies to the flow of material into the extruder which results in underextrusion.

This is more pronounced when using feedstock with irregular morphology and low apparent density (e.g. granulated water bottles), which do not pack tightly or flow well into the extruder under gravity alone.

To address this, over 40 versions of a “crammer” that actively feeds material into the extruder have been tested over the years, with the current version called the “beta” crammer (Figure 5). This crammer successfully reduced inconsistencies in the extrusion rate, successfully printing rPET flake at the same rate as rPET pellet. While the crammer showed great potential for printing with irregular flake, unfortunately material bridging still happened upstream from the crammer (at the hopper-hose and hose-barb connections). To take full advantage of the crammer’s abilities, it is important to design a system to reliably resolve material bridging in the feed tube.

Figure 5: Current ‘beta’ crammer design.

The most important recent design change to the crammer has been to the feedstock hose clamping mechanism. The tubing was originally connected using a metal hose barb and a worm gear hose clamp, similar to garden hoses. Because the hose barb fits inside the hose, the diameter of the feed path decreases at the interface, creating a stepped region that is very prone to material buildup. To address this issue, the hose barb has been replaced with two printed parts that secure the hose from the outside using screws (Figure 6). The new hose clamp design has been tested for well over 100 hours, and showed zero cases of material bridging with all pellets and most flake feedstocks. The flakes that still showed some trouble, including granulated plastic ID cards and shredded water bottles, had particularly irregular morphology due to its original thin thickness.

hose clamp design render
Figure 6. CAD image of new hose clamp design.

For feedstocks with more extreme morphologies, multiple solutions have been considered, including fluidized beds and vibration motors.

The fluidized bed system designed by Dr. Christopher Pannier’s team at the University of Michigan-Dearborn [1] sends compressed air upstream from the feed throat (Figures 7 and 8). With the right combination of air pressure and flow rate, it is possible to create an environment where solid particles behave like a fluid – a “fluidized bed”. Under this condition, flakes can flow freely through the path without building up on top of each other. Dr. Pannier’s team has tested this system to identify appropriate combinations of air pressure, air flow rate, and duty cycle that produce ideal fluidized bed conditions. However, as of today, only one material of controlled sizes (granulated rPLA, sifted 2~3mm) has been tested. To replicate similar results and identify combinations of parameters for other materials and feedstock morphologies, extensive testing is required.

Figure 7: Fluidized bed system implemented on a GBX. (Image credit: Pannier, 2023)
Figure 8. Fluidized bed system configuration. (Image credit: Pannier, 2023)

Another option to reduce bridging is simply attaching one or more motors to the feed tube, generating vibrations or impact to remove buildups. There have been previous investigations into this solution at re:3D between 2021 and 2022, but the team faced issues including vibration-induced fatigue failures in wires and the printed feed throat. Eventually, this idea was abandoned as the team started to focus on the development of the crammer, which increased the throughput of the machine considerably. The vibration motor system helped with the consistency in extrusion rate by breaking up material buildup, but had little to no effect on the extrusion throughput. The vibration motor system could potentially be a great partner for the current crammer system, as they complement each other and address separate issues. The vibration motor system is not only a simple and cheap implementation, but also does not require major modifications to existing parts.

In a recent re-investigation of the vibration motor system, the motor was mounted directly onto the hose – independent from the extruder body or the crammer – such that the vibrations do not affect other systems negatively. Because constant operation of the motor may cause overheating and also accelerate vibration-induced fatigue, the motor was operated with a duty cycle using custom G-code or external python scripts. Quick testing showed promise, as even short bursts successfully broke up any material buildup along the hose. While no quantitative tests were conducted, the effect of vibrations were easily visible through the transparent feed tubing and also on the printed parts that lacked telltale signs of bridging-induced underextrusion (Figure 9). For the vibration motor system to be implemented, it will require a more robust mount design that reduces the noise (currently 50-60 dB) and secures the motor while sustaining vibrations over an extended period of printing time.

vibration motor on a GBX
recycled polycarbonate 3D printed moai
Figure 9: Vibration motor attached to GBX feedtube (a); recycled polycarbonate prints without and with vibration motor activated (b).

For now, a few minor tweaks to the ‘beta’ crammer have resulted in reliable and consistent extrusion performance for most feedstock materials and morphologies. But it’s good to have experience with additional options should the need for additional bridging mitigation arise.

Software Improvements

The software team at re:3D is incredible. Their most recent work to improve customer experience with the Gigabot and GigabotX printers includes bed mesh compensation, the new Klipper stack V0.5.0, improved print recovery, and a new web application: Helm.

Mesh Compensation Enhancements

Reliable printing requires reliable, high-quality first-layers. One key factor to a successful first layer is proper bed leveling, or more properly, bed tramming. Manually leveling the large print beds on the Gigabot and GigabotX printers might take a bit of practice, but the system does remain stable – until heat is applied. When materials (especially metals) heat up, they tend to expand. Depending on the mechanical constraints on the object, its shape will change. In the case of a flat metal plate with fixed constraints as shown in Figure 10, heating a print bed can cause bowling or warping at these elevated temperatures. No matter how much you try to “level” the bed, the print nozzle will not remain a constant distance from the bed surface without active correction.

Figure 10: Depiction of thermally-induced deflection of a mechanically constrained bedplate.

Enter “mesh compensation”. In this method, a map, or mesh, of the now-warped bed is measured with a sensor. This heightmap (Figure 11) can then be used in a mathematical algorithm to correct for changes in distance between the nozzle tip and the bed surface, and the firmware will automatically adjust the z-axis height to maintain the appropriate “height”, leading to improved first-layer adhesion, consistency and overall quality.

Figure 11: Bed heightmap generated from the eddy current sensor and bed mesh compensation software.

The team has been working hard to perfect mesh compensation to ensure it’s ready for release. An eddy current scanner was selected for its high precision, performance, and rapid data collection. Despite the clear benefits, the scanner’s reliability was a concern for users. Disconnections during a print would trigger an error and cause the print to fail, as the scanner is recognized as a main control unit (MCU), and Klipper naturally shuts down when an MCU is unresponsive or disconnected. During initial beta testing, about 33% of machines experienced these disconnections, which was consistent with in-house testing.

The software team conducted thorough investigations with the manufacturer and explored how Klipper handles MCUs – ultimately deciding to implement a feature in Klipper to declare and allow non-critical MCUs. This change prevents print stoppage if a disconnection occurs, as the scanner is not essential during an ongoing print. After this adjustment there were significant improvements in testing. This enhancement ensures that mesh compensation is not only accurate but also reliable, laying the groundwork for its upcoming release.

Klipper Stack V0.5.0

The release of Klipper stack V0.5.0 was delayed in 2024 due to the move but is now available to download from re:3D’s Github repository. This update introduces fine-tuning for machine parameters, new features, and fixes for existing issues. Currently, the process involves building the operating system, configuring dependencies, and settings, and then creating a copy of the entire OS, which is compressed into an image file for SD card deployment. This method is slow and cumbersome, requiring a near-perfect system state before imaging.

While the Klipper configurations are stored in a GitHub repository, allowing remote updates for machine configurations, system component updates are not possible remotely. V0.5.0 extends the ability to modify certain components, but system-wide modifications remain out of reach. The best approach may be a shift to variant creation of the distribution that grants total control over the OS and its dependencies. This would enable nightly builds and allow every system component to be modified remotely.

Improved Print Recovery

There has also been a lot of work improving the print recovery workflow. The current recovery tool, while useful, requires manual efforts and often results in noticeable layer artifacts. The new method, which is native to the Klipper stack, is fully autonomous and more accurate. It monitors a print in progress, constantly recording the current position of the G-code file by byte. If a stoppage occurs due to an error or other causes, the file is automatically copied and parsed to the exact last G-code line, while preserving the start G-code. This ensures that the print resumes exactly where it left off without creating a layer artifact. This new print recovery feature will significantly reduce the need for manual intervention, making the printing process smoother and more reliable.

The only caveat is that this method doesn’t cover power interruptions. To recover from a power outage, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) would be required to send a signal to the printer’s Raspberry Pi, triggering a script when a power failure is detected.

Introducing Helm: A New Web Application for Printer Fleet Management

Managing multiple printers in the factory was becoming a challenge, so re:3D’s lead software engineer developed a simple script to query devices on the network and find connected printers. This script has now evolved into a full-fledged web application for printer fleet management, aptly named Helm. Helm offers many features to enhance monitoring and synchronous communication across the network.

Helm is similar to Mainsail in that it uses the Moonraker API to communicate with Klipper, but it automatically detects Klipper printers on the network and displays detailed, dynamic information on a single page (Figure 12).

Figure 12: Helm dashboard.

Here are some of Helm’s key features:

  • Server hosted on the local network for multiple clients
  • Automatic network scanning to connect to printers
  • Status monitoring
  • Display of hostname, IP address, and firmware version
  • Dynamic monitoring of status, state messages, temperatures, and command responses
  • Multi-printer selection for command execution
  • File upload/deletion
  • Start/stop prints
  • List G-code files on a particular machine
  • List commands
  • Send G-code commands
  • Set temperatures
  • Cooldown heaters
  • Firmware restart
  • Emergency stop

Helm is still a work in progress, but it’s an open-source project and open to contributions. You can try the application yourself, report problems, contribute, or follow progress here: Helm on GitHub. Helm is designed to simplify printer management and will continue to evolve with input from the community, ensuring it meets the needs of users managing multiple printers.

R&D Programs

re:3D is proud to have a robust R&D program, sponsored in part through industry and government awards and contracts. Each of these could consume its own blog post (and perhaps someday will, disclosure rules permitting). For now, here’s a brief summary of recent and ongoing programs re:3D is engaged with through the Department of Defense, NASA, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

re:3D Gigalabs (PRSRT, DOD, NSF)

One of the visions of re:3D’s founders was to provide a means of production to people in need, who could fabricate parts from local and salvaged materials. The Gigalab is a huge step towards fulfilling that vision. Within a modified 20-ft shipping container, the Gigalab Mobile Recycling Facility can contain all of the equipment required to break down waste plastics to use as feedstock for printing functional items with a GigabotX printer. Multiple variants of Gigalabs have now been fielded at four locations: the Engine-4 coworking lab in Bayamón, Puerto Rico; an Army Corp of Engineers facility at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico; the Austin Habitat for Humanity ReStore location in Austin, Texas (Figure 13).

re:3D Gigalab at Engine 4 Puerto Rico
interior of re:3D Gigalab at Engine 4 Puerto Rico
re:3D Gigalab at Fort Leonard Wood
re:3D Gigalab with wind turbine at Cannon Air Force Base
Figure 13: Gigalab at Engine-4 in Bayamón, PR (a-b); Fort Leonard Wood Gigalabs (c); Gigalabs with wind turbine power at Cannon Air Force Base (d).

You can learn more about re:3D’s Gigalab at Engine-4 in Puerto Rico in an earlier re:3D blog post here: October 2023. Last year’s highlights from the US Army and US Air Force Gigalab projects included logistics challenges, travel to Los Angeles to install a custom energy-management system and fabricating (and flying) small drones printed from recycled drones (Figure 14).

Crane installing wind turbine on re:3D Gigalab
re3D installation of a custom energy management system for the US Army Gigalabs
3D printed drone part
Drone with 3D printed parts
Figure 14: Installation of a wind turbine on a USAF Gigalab at re:3D’s Carmine, Texas interim test site (a); installation of a custom energy management system for the US Army Gigalabs at Wenzlau Engineering in California (b); iterations of printed “drones from drones” at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico (c-d).

ReCreateIt (NSF)

ReCreateIt is a multinational collaboration led by re:3D to transform waste plastic into valuable products with 3D printing and community-led design. The Gigalab located at the Austin Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a part of this program, which is funded through the National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator. In order to maximize the value of “trash-to-treasure” in converting waste thermoplastics collected at the ReStore into printed goods of value, re:3D now employs a polymer scientist dedicated to this project who will investigate and optimize the processing and printing parameters to best recycle plastics via material extrusion additive manufacturing (3D printing).

Recent success in 3D printing with recycled polypropylene (PP) is evidence of the benefit of having a polymer scientist on staff. PP is the second most widely produced plastic in the world, and is commonly used for consumer items, including storage bins, which are available in large numbers for recycling at the ReStore (Figure 15(left)). However, PP is commercially recycled at a rate of less than 5% – partly due to industrial processing and economic challenges. Additionally, as with all members of the polyolefin family of polymers, it is notoriously difficult to use as a feedstock in 3D printing, even in a neat or virgin state, let alone as recycled granulate. But the perseverance and dedication of the ReCreateIt team is paying off as evidenced by the printed vase in Figure 15(right), along with many other great successes.

ReCreatIt team sorting plastics for 3D printing
3D printing vase from recycled material
Figure 15: Members of re:3D’s ReCreateIt team sorting plastics at the Austin Habitat for Humanity ReStore (a); decorative vase printed from polypropylene laundry baskets and storage totes (b).

Low-SWaP Waste-to-Print System (NASA)

Remember the Gigalab – a converted 20-ft shipping container with the equipment to granulate plastics and print objects of use? Now imagine a similar system the size of a dorm refrigerator that uses half the power of a common space heater and is designed to work in space. This is the objective of a research contract re:3D was awarded through NASA for the Artemis Gateway program. The GigabotX has been repackaged into a low size, weight, and power (SWaP) version and integrated with a custom granulator (Figure 16(left). The system is intended to recycle packing foams which are necessary to protect payloads during liftoff, but are largely unnecessary once in space – or on the lunar or Martian surface. These foams can then be recycled for repair parts, construction materials or other items which would otherwise need to be delivered separately (at significant cost). The system isn’t ready for flight testing yet, but interim hardware demonstrations have already been performed for NASA on-site at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

re:3D Low SWaP 3D printer and granulator system
tetrahedral dowel connector 3D printed from shipping foam
Figure 16: Low-SWaP printer and granulator system (a); tetrahedral dowel connectors printed from shipping foam (b).

“Bigger, Better, Faster” FGF (US Army)

Building on the success of one of re:3D’s R&D contract with the US Army to demonstrate printing from waste in a Gigalab, sequential funding was secured to print bigger, better and faster – using a wider range of recycled materials as feedstock. This will still be a cartesian FGF printer built on an extrusion frame, but larger in footprint than re:3D’s TerabotX (Figure 17). The extrusions are larger and stiffer, and the design is more easily scalable in the length axis to accommodate future development goals. The bed will be stationary with better access from the front and back to aid print monitoring and removal. For motion control, stepper motors are being replaced with servo motors for improved speed and torque performance, and linear screws are replacing belt drives for translation. The standard ArchiMajor control board will still be used, but a custom breakout board has been designed in-house to provide servo motor control, and the Klipper GUI interface is getting an upgrade to better reflect the operation of an FGF printer.

Figure 17: FGF R&D printer lower frame for the US Army. Hardware Engineer for scale.

re:3D is very pleased to collaborate with Dr. David Kazmer and his team at the University of Massachusetts Lowell to design, fabricate and optimize a new extruder with a novel screw for this project. The extruder length won’t change much from the existing GBX design, but the screw’s diameter will double and provide a very significant increase in throughput. Additional support is coming from the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC). They will be leading the effort to develop recycled biocompounds – that is, feedstock materials produced from recycled polymers and wood or paper waste. This is an exciting R&D project with many possibilities for cross-development into re:3D’s portfolio of standard printers and other collaborative opportunities.

Additively Manufactured Thermal Protection Systems (NASA)

When a spacecraft enters a planet’s atmosphere, friction generates extreme heat which can damage the craft and payload (human crew or otherwise). Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) are materials designed to insulate and dissipate that heat energy – often through charring and re-radiation. Under an R&D contract with NASA / Johnson Space Center, re:3D is developing a pilot manufacturing system to print TPS materials directly onto spacecraft heatshields and other structures. Dr. Brett Compton and Dr. Damiano Bacerella (University of Tennessee – Knoxville) are developing and testing a phenolic-based foam, which when cured at elevated temperatures forms a ceramic-like TPS structure (Figure 18(a)). re:3D, in turn, is designing and building a printer to deposit the foam onto a large, non-planar aluminum dish. This requires a 5-axis printer with advanced controls (Figure 18(b-c)). re:3D is collaborating with Siemens/CATCH on the industrial motion control system, and with Addiguru for deposition monitoring.

Besides the unique opportunity to work on #supercoolNASAstuff, this project is giving re:3D additional experience with new industrial control systems, 5-axis tool-path planning and printing thermoset materials. Thermosets differ from thermoplastics in that they start out in some fluid form and require heat to harden (rather than just melting and recooling, as do thermoplastics). This gained experience with thermosets will allow re:3D to provide new opportunities to work with customers on a wider range of material extrusion projects. The deposition monitoring system being spearheaded by Addiguru may also be modified for future inclusion in re:3D’s commercial products. Finally, this provided the R&D team a reason to purchase a large truck oven (Figure 18(d)) for curing the TPS foam after it is deposited onto the aluminum dish. It might also be for a dual-use on Pizza Fridays.

re:3D High Energy testing of TPS foam
re:3D AMTPS 3D printer frame
re:3D ViscoTec deposition head on multi axis mount
re:3D Blue M truck oven
Figure 18: High-energy testing of TPS foam (a); AMTPS printer frame (b); ViscoTec deposition head on multi-axis mount (c); Blue-M truck oven (d).

Water Bottle Granulation (DOE)

Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, re:3D is partnering with Oak Ridge’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) to develop a low-cost and accessible granulator that can break down water bottles into appropriate flake (Figure 19(left)), even if they are still full of water. Collaborators at ORNL/MDF are also investigating the best ways to separate the different polymer components of the granulated water bottles (Figure 19(center, right)) so they don’t have to be pre-processed to remove the lids, safety rings and labels – often done manually in small-scale operations. Phase II of the project was approved in 2024.

re:3D plastic granulator for 3D printing
granulated water bottle into PET flake for 3D printing
granulated PP and PE water bottle lid and label into flake for 3D printing
Figure 19: Plastics granulator with modified controls to safely process wet water bottles (a); separated water bottle flake: PET bottle portion (b) and PP/PE lid and label portion (c).

This was a long post. But there was a lot to cover from last year, and it’s been awhile since an engineering update was posted to the blog. Thanks for sticking with it, and stay tuned for more (frequent) updates.

As always… Happy Printing!

References

[1] 3DBenchy.com
[2] Al Nabhani, D.; Kassab, A.; Habbal, O.; Mohanty, P.; Ayoub, G.; Pannier, C. Benchmarking the Tensile Properties of Polylactic Acid (PLA) Recycled Through Fused Granule Fabrication Additive Manufacturing. In Proceedings of the Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium, Austin, TX, USA, 14–16 August 2023. https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/50919

Patrick Ferrell

Senior Engineer

Engineering Update – April 2024

It’s been a while since we’ve shared the progress being made by re:3D’s engineering team – June 2023, to be precise. But with the move of our headquarters from Houston to Austin (Texas) underway, it seems like a good time to take stock of where we are and where we’re going in the figurative sense as well.

The Gigabot FFF (Filament) Platform

Filament grinding diagram

re:3D took an intense look at reports of “filament grinding” submitted by our Gigabot user community, taking input from all the spheres within our company. It turns out that “filament grinding” means different things to different people, so our first step was to agree on a common lexicon and definition. We landed on a concise problem statement: “Customers experience poor extrusion performance due to the extruder gear removing material from the filament, “ which captures multiple causes and failure modes or symptoms. The engineering team evaluated, modeled and tested printer components all along the filament path – beginning at the spindle holding the filament spool down to the exit of the extruder nozzle. While recognizing that every user can encounter unique challenges and edge cases, this exercise ranked potential root causes and recommended optimizations in printer slicing parameters and specific improvements in the extruder manufacturing process. We expect these internal improvements and updated slicer profiles to improve overall reliability and print quality.

GB Bed Mesh Sensor 2
GB Bed Mesh sensor
GB Bed Mesh

During check-ins with our customers, we also receive a lot of interest in “automatic bed leveling” – another phrase that can have multiple meanings. We have incorporated an inductive sensor into the Gigabot’s extruder assembly and integrated the necessary software to allow the sensor to quickly map variations in the print bed surface and compensate the z-axis in real time to maintain a uniform nozzle-to-bed distance. This “bed mesh compensation” approach can yield exceptional first-layer results, even on a warped or non-trammed print bed. Our software team is working with the sensor manufacturer to improve the interface and provide a quality user-experience within the Klipper environment. After we finish mesh compensation development on our R&D and internal production printers, we’ll invite the user community to apply to beta test this new feature.

1.75mm filament and bearing cover
1.75mm FDU image
1.75mm Heat Break

Our user community has also expressed a desire for a 1.75mm diameter filament option for re:3D’s Gigabot printers (where our extruders are designed for 2.85mm diameter filament.) In response, we have designed and are testing a conversion assembly to accommodate the smaller filament. The design has been tested for over 300 hours using a variety of filament materials – including flexible filament. It will soon be released as a kit which can be installed by users in the field.

The GigabotX FGF Platform

Crammer on top of a concrete surface

Specific to re:3D’s FGF platforms, the engineering team has focused on improving the performance and reliability of the extruder assembly. The standard ⅝” compression screw has remained unchanged, but the active feeding mechanism (i.e., the ‘crammer’) is getting a full overhaul. Feedstock with poor flowability such as coarse or lightweight plastic regrind and some TPU/TPE resin pellets can have difficulty flowing from the hopper to the extruder via gravity. The crammer provides an auxiliary auger to force these materials into the extruder body. The new design allows for higher and more uniform throughput, and increases reliability by using a stainless steel auger and machined components. Photos and design details, as well as a link to apply to be a beta-tester, are posted here on our User Forum.

GBX 2 Autoload option
GBX 2 Flake loaded by autoload option

In conjunction with the new crammer design, we have been testing an “autoloading” system to supply feedstock from a floor-mounted hopper rather than our normal top-mounted hopper. This system uses compressed air to drive an eductor which pulls and pushes the feedstock into the printer’s extruder via flexible tubing. A detection unit is mounted at the extruder which detects when the feedstock needs replenishing and triggers the compressed air to transport additional flake or pellets. The autoloader is currently being tested on a TerabotX which will be delivered in one of our Gigalab projects. It can operate as a stand-alone system or interface with the Archimajor control board and Klipper firmware to automatically pause printing if a feedstock delivery error is detected.

Coupler spinning

Other efforts underway include designing a more robust coupling mechanism between the extruder motor and the extrusion screw, installing a fourth heating zone to better control the nozzle/die temperature, and a deep-dive investigation into part-cooling for the GigabotX.

Software/Firmware

We are pleased to announce the upcoming release of Klipper Stack v0.5.0. This update represents a significant commitment to enhancing backend operations and ensuring our technology aligns with the latest developments within the Klipper community. Our focus on these upgrades positions us well for the introduction of innovative features in the future.

In pursuit of refining the user experience, we have streamlined the machinery setup process, enabling more rapid and efficient configurations. Enhancements include the introduction of prompt menus for various commands and adjustments to the location and visibility of the emergency stop button to reduce the risk of accidental activation. Furthermore, we have addressed and fixed specific issues such as the omission of certain characters and the disappearance of the virtual keyboard on touch-screen devices after each keystroke, ensuring a smoother and more reliable interaction.

This version also introduces a suite of new features and configuration adjustments. Highlights include the introduction of the ‘exclude objects’ module, which offers the flexibility to remove specific models from multi-model prints directly from the gcode mid-print. The ‘gcode arcs’ module expands movement options beyond the basic G1 move, incorporating G2 and G3 moves for enhanced precision. Furthermore, we have eliminated the homing sequence prior to resuming prints, addressing the issue of potential layer shifts on models.

These enhancements and fixes are part of our ongoing commitment to providing a robust and user-friendly platform, setting a solid foundation for future developments. The update is scheduled to release within a month.

Internal Processes

Internally, the engineering team is implementing processes reflecting re:3D’s ethos of being responsive and transparent to our community. Our engineering change and design processes are maturing to better engage internal and external stakeholders from the beginning of problem identification and requirements definition through operational release and ongoing support. These changes will help focus our resources on those efforts which will have the greatest impact on customer success and map the work against product roadmaps which have been developed to guide the engineering team over the next 12-18 months and beyond. And as an open-source hardware company and proponents of open science, we will be increasing our efforts to share as much of our learnings with the additive community as possible. This includes making our material testing protocols more robust and aligned with industry best practices and hosting an international, monthly FGF Users Group virtual meetup open to anyone interested in printing with pellets or flake.

And More…

Other activities have included improving the printers’ electrical systems and enclosure design. The team also continues to optimize printer software profiles and investigate additional slicing programs available for filament and pellet printing. Finally, additional variants of re:3D’s Gigalab will be presently fielded for evaluations – demonstrating that it is possible to turn waste plastic into usable parts at the point of need through additive manufacturing.

Look for release schedules and more details on all of these engineering initiatives in the coming months. We’ll be sharing via our mailing list, through blog posts and on the re:3D Community Forum. 

Stay tuned, and Happy Printing!

Patrick Ferrell

Senior Engineer

Gigabot Engineering Updates – April 2022

Hi Gigabot family! It’s been a few months since we posted an engineering update, but re:3D’s engineers have been far from idle. We’ve made some further improvements to the new Metal Body Extruders and created an entirely new hot end to keep pushing the Gigabot to produce better and better results and improve your user experience. See below for details on what has changed. Current Gigabot®, Gigabot® X, Exabot® and Terabot® owners can order these as replacement parts that are upgradable from previous versions.

New Parts

Gigabot® 3+, Terabot®, Exabot®

  • 20 Series Hot Ends – Replacing the Mondo Hot End, the re:3D 20 Series Hot End was created by our engineers and machinists to increase the max flow rate of polymer deposition. With a greater flow rate, parts can print faster, reducing production time and cost. The 20 Series Hot End achieves this with a 20mm long heater block wrapped in Nomex® insulation. It comes standard with an A2 hardened steel nozzle for printing with abrasive materials like carbon-filled polymers. You can select either 0.4mm or 0.8mm nozzle size for your application.
  • 20 Series Fan Mounts – Fan mounts specific for the new 20 Series Hot End, these direct airflow to your prints for cooling.
  • Terabot only: Bed Frame Stands – an accessory for Terabot to aid in resetting the bed leveling.
20 Series Hot End for 0.8mm Nozzles and Terabot 4
20 Series Hot End for 0.8mm Nozzles and Terabot 4
20 Series Fan Mount
20 Series Fan Mount
Terabot Bed Frame Stand
Terabot Bed Frame Stand

Fit and Strength Part Adjustments

The below parts have had geometry changes or other additions to make them stronger or fit more precisely.

Gigabot® 3+, Terabot®, Exabot®

  • Metal Body Extruders- transitioned the new Metal Body Extruders from an aluminum frame and plastic inset to a complete aluminum piece. 
  • Light Strip Cover – redesigned to fit new LED light strip with on/off switch 

Gigabot® X

  • Gigabot X Extruder Cover – fit and tolerance adjustments. more secure mounting
  • Motor Spacer – added wire management clips for all connections to the extruder
  • End Rail Caps – covering the ends of the aluminum extrusion on the X cross rail.
GB4 Metal Body Extruder
GB4 Metal Body Extruder
a long skinny black cover for a led light strip
LED Light Cover
GBX Motor Spacer
GBX Motor Spacer
GBX Extruder Covers
GBX Extruder Covers

Firmware

Gigabot® X 4.2.4.2 Reg

This release is GBX 4.2.4 with some bug fixes discovered after the release of GBX 4.2.4. The fixes are:

  • Updating the GBX Regular build volume in the X, Y, and Z dimensions
  • Updating the GBX XLT build volume in the X, Y, and Z dimensions
  • Adjusting the minimum temperature for the heat sink fan from 18C to 60C

Check out additional update on our Forum. Want to chat with an engineer to share feedback on your Gigabot & re:3D design priorities? Email info@re3d.org.

Happy Printing!

~Your Gigabot Engineering Team

Gigabot Engineering Updates – September 2021

An aluminum dual extrusion extruder for a 3d printer

re:3D engineers have spent the last few months making some exciting changes to our product lines. re:3D 3D printers are shipping with some great new enhancements. Current Gigabot®, Gigabot® X, Exabot® and Terabot® owners can order these as replacement parts that are upgradable from previous versions.

New Parts

Gigabot® 3+, Terabot®, Exabot®

  • Metal Body Extruder – 2 pieces, left and right. The metal body extruder replaces the unibody extruder on re:3D filament-based, dual extrusion 3d printers. High-strength aluminum housing and tensioner arm for a long-lasting, industrial extruder.
  • Terabot Magnetic Catch – Magnetic latch for Terabot enclosure doors
a 3d printer extruder made from polycarbonate
Former Unibody Extruder
a etal dual extrusion extruder for a 3d printer
New Metal Body Extruder
A magnetic latch
New Terabot Magnetic Catch

Fit and Strength Part Adjustments

The below parts have had geometry changes or other additions to make them stronger or fit more precisely.

Gigabot® 3+, Terabot®, Exabot®

  • Filament Detection Covers – Improved fit for easier removal
  • LED Light Cover – Redesigned to fit new led strip, plus improved durability when used in enclosures 
  • GB3+ X Axis Cable Carrier Support – Strengthened for greater durability
  • GB3+ XY Upright – Revised to fit larger wiring, better print quality and durability of interface with cable carrier
  • Mondo Hot End Fan Mounts (Left & Right) – Revised fan placement for better part cooling
a long skinny black cover for a led light strip
LED Light Cover
A C shaped support
GB3+ X Carrier Support
The Top Portion of the XY Upright
GB3+ XY Upright top detail view
A plastic mount for holding two cooling fans
Mondo Hot End Fan Mount

Check out additional update on our Forum. Want to chat with an engineer to share feedback on your Gigabot & re:3D design priorities? Email info@re3d.org.

Happy Printing!

~Your Gigabot Engineering Team

Gigabot Engineering Updates – February 2021

CoverQ1

2021 is going to be an exciting year for re:3D, and we have multiple product releases in the works for you. First, however, we want to update you on upgrades to our current offerings as well as highlight some new products now available from re:3D. As of January 1, 2021, re:3D 3D printers will ship with some great new enhancements. Current Gigabot®, Gigabot® X, and Terabot®, owners can order these as replacement parts that are upgradable from previous versions.

New Products

Exabot®, with an enormous build volume of 30in x 30in x 72in is now available for purchase.

Exabot-GB-scale

Support Removal Tool Kit - Get the Tools the Pros Use

an array of tools including gloves, mallet, scraper, and cutters used to remove support material from 3D prints.

New Parts

Gigabot® X

  • Extruder Cover – covers and protects extruder area of GBX
  • Hopper Gantry – puts the hopper on a mobile gantry system which improves pellet flow 
  • For additional details on GBX Updates, see our Forum Post
the hopper gantry and extruder cover. New parts for Gigabot X
GigabotX 2 Hopper Gantry without Bellows

Fit and Strength Part Adjustments

The below parts have had geometry changes or other additions to make them stronger or fit more precisely.

Gigabot® X

  • [11384] Thrust Bearing Plate – Improved fit with extruder body 
  • Extruder Body – Improved material feeding
  • Feed Throat – Improved material feeding
  • Feed Tube – Revised for compatibility with new gantry
  • Hopper – Revised for compatibility with new gantry
  • Motor Spacer – Revised for compatibility with new extruder cover
Gigabot X Feed Throat
Gigabot X Feed Throat
Gigabot X Thrust Bearing Plate
Gigabot X Thrust Bearing Plate

Terabot®

  • Viki Enclosure – Improved wire routing to electrical box

Firmware

Gigabot® X

  • Adjusted Change Pellet Routine extrusion speed and resolved bug
  • Fixed build chamber dimensions for XL and XLT sizes
  • Updated preheat temperature options
  • Added capability for ditto printing with a motorized auger as a second extruder
  • Firmware installation instructions are available in our Knowledge Base

Check out additional update on our Forum. Want to chat with an engineer to share feedback on your Gigabot & re:3D design priorities? Email info@re3d.org.

Happy Printing!

~Your Gigabot Engineering Team

Meet Terabot

Since the release of Gigabot in 2013, we’ve continued to push the build envelope: first Gigabot XL, then the XLT. Now there’s a new machine to add to the portfolio, one that dwarfs its predecessors: Terabot.

Terabot is the latest addition to our fleet of large-format, industrial, fused filament fabrication printers.

Terabot was conceived out of a customer’s desire to go bigger than what we offered at the time – much bigger. As more and more customers asked about build volumes up to 1m cubed, we decided it might be time to make this solution a regular offering in the re:3D lineup.

With a build platform of 915x915x1000mm, Terabot boasts 8,372,250 cubic centimeters of volume – over 20 times more than its closest relative (the Gigabot XLT, which stands at 590x760x900mm).

The size jump was done with those customers who had outgrown Gigabot’s build volume in mind: the people who found themselves needing to break extra large prints into multiple sections and attach them post-printing. As Head of Engineering Matthew Fiedler puts it, “Face it, we don’t want to gluing or bonding together all of our small 3D prints. We really need a machine that can print the full piece at one time.” Terabot allows for the printing of massive parts without the need for any messy post-processing with glue or bondo.

As Terabot was modeled off the existing Gigabot platform, all the functionality our current customers already enjoy is built into this machine. With such a jump in size, however, our engineers made some critical design changes to allow it to run smoothly and reliably on massive prints.

The main new features on Terabot are as follows:

  • Linear guides on the X, Y, and Z axes
  • NEMA 23 X and Y stepper motors with closed loop control
  • Cast aluminum build plate with rigid nine point bed leveling

The reasons for these changes are several fold. The linear rails – compared with the v-groove wheels of the standard Gigabot – provide high rigidity, accurate and smooth motion on this extra large machine, coupled with a minimal need for maintenance. We sized up the NEMA 17 motors of the Gigabot 3+ to NEMA 23 on Terabot, to take advantage of their higher current and added power for the size of this build platform. They are also a closed loop system, meaning that the printer always knows the position of the print head. Lastly, the thick ½” blanchard ground cast aluminum build plate features a nine point bed leveling system for more precise leveling control on the increased surface area.

There are other slight changes to the machine to add to its performance, including new leveling casters and a beefier, 20-inch, 14 gauge solid steel electrical box which houses a higher 500 watt power supply as well as new closed-loop drivers for the motors. Situated above the electrical box on the rear of the machine are the main power disconnect, and the same Viki control panel as is used on Gigabot. There are also all the same features you may recognize from Gigabot, like dual extrusion and ditto printing, out-of-filament detection, and a heated bed. As with Gigabot, the aluminum frame of the machine is machined in-house to tolerances of less than .005 inches, and the ½ inch-thick aluminum bed plate is precision blanchard ground to within .003-.005 inches. All the moving cables of the machine are routed through the same cable carriers seen on Gigabot and are rated for over one million cycles of flexing. 

Every Terabot comes standard with a passively heated build chamber – equipped with removable, polycarbonate panels with magnetic closures and large access doors in the front – which can reach an internal temperature of 60ºC to enable the printing of high-temperature thermoplastics. The machine prints with the same 2.85mm filament as Gigabot, with an extrusion temperature up to 320ºC. Terabot is equipped with a high flow Mondo hot end with a 0.4mm nozzle, but also has the ability to print with 0.25mm and 0.8mm, all at a full speed of 60mm/s.

At $34,400, Terabot is an industrial machine that sits comfortably below the average industrial 3D printer price point. From our inception, we have strived for an intersection of cost and scale that opens the door to industries that have a need for the technology but maybe not the budget. Terabot enables huge printing at a cost that is affordable enough to add several machines to the factory floor. The Terabot community includes customers in manufacturing, art, aerospace, and design who have multiple Terabots in their production workflow, and we work to keep our prices at a level that enables just this.

We built this machine for the people like you whose eyes have been opened to the power of large-scale 3D printing and are ready for more. As we have done since 2013, we will continue to push the envelope so that you can continue to dream big and print huge.

You can purchase your Terabot on the re:3D store here, or email our sales team at sales@re3d.org to get more information.

Morgan Hamel

Blog Post Author

Gigabot Engineering Updates – October 2020

re:3D’s Research and Development team never stands still, and while we’re developing the next generation of your Gigabot® and Gigabot® X 3D Printers, we’re continually looking for ways to refine the current iteration’s user experience, precision, and quality. As of October 1, 2020, all new Gigabot® 3+, Terabot and Gigabot® X 3D printers ship with the below enhancements. Current Gigabot® owners can order these as replacement parts that are fully compatible with previous versions.

New 3D Printed Parts

All Models

  • [12007] Fan Filter Base, [12008] Fan Filter Attachment,  [12074] Filter – Prevents buildup of dust in electrical box 
Fan Filter Attachment
New Fan Filter Attachment
New Fan Filter Base
New Fan Filter Base
Fan Filter Installed on Electrical Box
Installed Fan Filter

Gigabot® X

  • [12077] GBX Feed Tube Mount – Reduces slack in feed tube for better feedstock flow
New Feed Tube Mount
New Feed Tube Mount
Installed Feed Tube Mount
Installed Feed Tube Mount

Fit and Strength Part Adjustments

The below parts have had geometry changes or other additions to make them stronger or fit more precisely.

Gigabot® X and Gigabot® 3+

  • [11158] Gigabox Magnet Bracket 4 – Revised for better fit with linear rails
  • [11352] GBX Motor Driver Enclosure & [11354] GBX Motor Driver Enclosure Lid – Revised fit for easier assembly
  • [11336] GBX Feed Throat & [11986] GBX feed Throat Stopper – Improved pellet flow
  • [11484] GBX Hopper & [11529] GBX Hopper Lid – Improved seal and durability
Revised Magnet Bracket 4 Render
Revised Magnet Bracket 4 Render
Revised Magnet Bracket 4 Printed
Revised Magnet Bracket 4 Printed
Old Motor Driver Enclosure
Old Motor Driver Enclosure
New Motor Driver Enclosure
New Motor Driver Enclosure
Feed Throat and Stopper
Revised GBX Feed Throat and Stopper
Revised GBX Hopper & Lid
Revised GBX Hopper & Lid

Check out additional update on our Forum. Want to chat with an engineer to share feedback on your Gigabot & re:3D design priorities? Email info@re3d.org.

Happy Printing!

~Your Gigabot Engineering Team

Gigabot X Supported by the National Science Foundation

You may already be familiar with Gigabot X, our 3D pellet printer. A ton of work hours, research, and testing have gone into this machine, and we wanted to call out one of the reasons this has been possible: the National Science Foundation.

Our Gigabot X work is supported by America’s Seed Fund, a $200 million per year NSF program that awards research and development grants to small businesses and startups, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact.

The NSF awarded us an SBIR Phase II to fund our research into 3D printing with reclaimed plastic using direct drive pellet extrusion on Gigabot X. This work quite literally wouldn’t have been possible without them.

Additional information about real-world applications of this project can be seen on our website here: https://re3d.org/gbx-puerto-rico/

Morgan Hamel

Blog Post Author

Inside NASA’s Pandemic Response Campaigns

The following is a repost of an article written by Mike DiCicco which can originally be seen on NASA’s site here.

In mid-March, as much of the country shut down in response to the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus (COVID-19), a team of engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California got to work.

Doctors nearby needed ventilators, so the team set out to design an inexpensive version that wouldn’t use any of the same parts as traditional ventilators, so as not to compete for supplies.

Patrick Degrosse, engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, shows the guts of the ventilator that a team of NASA engineers designed in just over five weeks. The machine uses none of the parts used in traditional ventilators, so as not to compete for supply lines. Credits: NASA

Unsure where to begin and knowing that whatever they came up with would need rapid approval, they reached out to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Leon Alkalai, head of strategic partnerships for JPL, connected with the regulator’s assistant director in charge of respiratory devices. “I said, ‘We have no idea what we’re doing, but we have a great team and we’re enthusiastic and we need help,’” Alkalai recalled, “and he said, ‘We’re in.’”

The FDA official noted that ventilator design is essentially “a physics and fluidic problem,” Alkalai said. That was when he knew the team would succeed. “When the problem is translated to physics, we know what to do.”

Across NASA, other centers also found ways to refocus their skills and technologies to address the pandemic. As rates of infection and hospitalization again tick upward in many states, several of the solutions NASA field centers came up with in the spring now teeter on the verge of widespread application.

At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, home of the Human Health and Performance Center, the Technology Transfer Office combed through more than 2,000 technologies and software programs created in the last decade, looking for anything that might be useful in confronting the health crisis. The center submitted a portfolio of 34 open source technologies to the United Nations and is also helping a handful of groups update and manufacture a simple, human-powered ventilator originally designed for the space program.

Meanwhile, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, joined a local public-private task force with a hospital and college, a neighboring city, and two spaceflight companies and ended up patenting an improvement to an oxygen helmet for COVID-19 patients.

And when NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland heard that a familiar company was working to update a device for sterilizing medical equipment and spaces, the center jumped in to help.

In all these cases, NASA and its partners found that, with a little guidance, aerospace engineers also make pretty good medical engineers.

If It Helps Save One Life

For JPL, quick turnaround of a viable emergency ventilator meant reaching out to many partners, said Alkalai, who initiated and managed all these relationships. These included two local hospitals, several federal agencies, the University of California Los Angeles, and medical device giant Medtronic.

After just 37 days of working around the clock, they had a prototype, called Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally, or VITAL for short. “There were issues of exhaustion, but we were on a mission,” Alkalai said.

Almost as quickly, the FDA granted the device a ventilator emergency use authorization. The next trick was to get it out into the world. This required a new approach to licensing.

“Normally, we’re happy if just one company comes to us saying they’re interested in a license,” said Daniel Broderick, manager of JPL’s Technology Transfer Office. In this case, the response was much bigger. Over 300 companies registered on the JPL website to learn more about the ventilator, and more than 100 applied for a license. Now the challenge was to determine who was capable of producing the machine. “We’ve never seen this much licensing demand for a technology,” Broderick said.

One of those applicants was Pro-Dex Inc., a design and manufacturing company in Irvine, California. Working with NASA on the ventilator was an opportunity to learn new things, grow the company, and “be part of the solution,” said Pro-Dex CEO Rick Van Kirk.

In late June, the company was working on sourcing parts, determining distribution channels, and laying out the assembly line. And NASA is still supporting the effort, having put together documentation, 3D renderings, and videos to assist licensees, including a video about the assembly process. “They did a great job of teeing it up for everybody,” said Van Kirk.

Pro-Dex was one of 29 companies granted licenses, including seven other U.S. businesses.

“If half of them end up delivering the devices, that would be amazing,” said Alkalai. “We would be just thrilled if at least one unit makes it into a hospital and helps save a life.”

Other teams at JPL have designed protective respirator masks and a necklace that vibrates when wearers start to touch their faces. The masks and necklace can be 3D printed, and the design files and instructions are available for open source licensing on GitHub.

About 30 entities have licensed the low-cost Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally, or VITAL, that NASA engineers designed and patented. Licenses are free of charge. Credits: NASA

Human-Powered Solutions

Engineers at Johnson are offering a simpler ventilator solution, primarily for use in developing countries. As the pandemic unfolded, engineers who had developed a ventilator for use on the Orion spacecraft started updating it. The device is similar to human-powered ventilator bags used in ambulances, but those are squeezed by hand, which becomes tiring quickly. Johnson’s ventilator is powered by larger muscle groups in the arms or even legs. It can be used to keep a patient alive for hours, perhaps while waiting for a bed to open up, said Kris Romig, technology transfer officer at Johnson.

“The technical team came to us and said, ‘We think this could help, and we don’t know how to get it out into the world,” he said. The center is now offering the ventilator as an open source technology.

It didn’t take long for Matthew Fiedler and the other founders of 3D printing company re:3D, all former Johnson employees, to hear about the ventilator, which the company is helping to refine.

A team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston designed a 3D-printable ventilator that can be powered with both hands for use in the Orion capsule. The center has repurposed it for use on COVID-19 patients and is working with companies around the world to get it out to hospitals. Only a few parts, such as the accordion-like bellows, can’t be 3D printed. Credits: re:3D

The Johnson team had computer-aided design files for the ventilator parts but had never manufactured them. “They sent us the file, and we printed it,” Fiedler said. “We’re helping them bring the product to life and figure out how to make it better.”

Once the design is finalized, re:3D, whose manufacturing facility is close by Johnson in Houston, could start producing ventilators, working with federal and international organizations to get them into the hands of those who need them, he said.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI), whose global technical headquarters is in St. Louis, is also working to get Johnson’s manual ventilator out into developing countries. “We deliver beer to places you wouldn’t believe all over the world,” said Lucas Steinle, global director of industrial digital transformation at ABI, noting the company could use that infrastructure to help deliver the ventilators almost anywhere.

The engineering group of ABI’s subsidiary in South America, known as Ambev, is working with Johnson engineers to finalize a prototype, which it plans to bring to the United Nations to see how the company can partner with other groups to get it into manufacturing and distribution. Steinle added that ABI has the facilities to manufacture it through 3D printing if need be.

Meanwhile, Leviathan Space Industries is building partnerships to introduce the human-powered ventilator in Ecuador. The company has been working to build a private spaceport in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil, which was ravaged by one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the virus.

“Due to its ease of use and how cheap it is, this can definitely help provide emergency relief when hospitals have overflow capacity,” said Robert Aillon, founder of Leviathan.

The Pompano Beach, Florida-based company has partnered with the University of Kentucky for help with testing and FDA approval and is working with Ecuadorian company Pica Plasticos Industriales on manufacturing. And Leviathan is working with the Ecuadorian school Universidad Espiritu Santo to help with that country’s regulatory approval process, Aillon said.

Back at Johnson, the center’s simultaneous effort to dig up any technology that might help – whether or not it’s patented – has led the Technology Transfer Office to consider making it possible for the public to search broad categories of unpatented technology. “These can be useful without a license, just open source,” Romig said.

A Second-Generation Sterilizer

While others work on ways to mitigate the effects of the virus, the company Emergency Products and Research (EP+R) is working with Glenn engineers to destroy it.

The Kent, Ohio-based company’s AMBUstat fogger system creates an aerosol of water, peracetic acid, and hydrogen peroxide to eliminate all pathogens in the air or on surfaces. It was originally developed after consultation with a Glenn research engineer in 2015 and was intended for use in ambulances.

“We were working on a new design that would let us deal with the limitations of the original,” said Jason Thompson, who handles business development for EP+R and drove the original device’s creation. The company wanted it to better address airborne contaminants, treat different-sized spaces more efficiently, and be more cost-effective.

With help from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, the company Emergency Products and Research (EP+R) improved its AMBUstat sterilant. Jason Thompson of EP+R tests a new system that lets the AMBUstat G2 device quickly sterilize small spaces, like the inside of a police car. Credits: Emergency Products and Research

When Glenn heard about the new work, the center wanted to help again, so it put an aerosol science and instrumentation specialist on the case, and JPL was tapped for additional consulting. The resulting device, known as the AMBUstat G2, creates smaller aerosol droplets to better attack airborne viruses. Improved flow control and the ability to control the process from outside of the targeted space allow it to treat spaces faster and more effectively. In a pilot project with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the company found it could disinfect 10 to 12 police cars in the time the original fogger treated just one.

Following about a month and a half of cooperation, Glenn is testing the new device, after which it will go to a proving ground for testing against the novel coronavirus.

With the sterilant already approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, Thompson said, the company is ready to move into production of the AMBUstat G2 as soon as testing is complete.

Meanwhile, the Glenn researcher who helped refine the original AMBUstat teamed up with researchers from University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland to develop another device that uses atomic oxygen to decontaminate N95 facemasks for reuse. Initial results indicate effectiveness; however, more testing is needed to confirm the effect of multiple decontamination cycles on the integrity of the masks.

Over at Armstrong, the Technology Transfer Office was hard at work pursuing FDA approval and a company to build an improved oxygen-supplying device the center’s engineers came up with.

The positive-pressure oxygen helmet resulted from a task force that included Armstrong, spaceflight company Virgin Galactic and its sister The Spaceship Company, the city of Lancaster, Antelope Valley Hospital, and Antelope Valley College, bringing together resources, medical professionals, and engineers.

“Completely Outside of Our Comfort Zone”

Engineer at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, Mike Buttigieg (left) led a team that came up with a low-cost oxygen helmet for COVID-19 patients. The design includes a magnetically sealed port, which the center has licensed out. Here, Dr. Daniel Khodabakhsh of Antelope Valley Hospital tries one on. The hospital was part of a task force that helped with the effort. Credits: NASA

Oxygen helmet manufacturers have been unable to meet the surge in demand in response to COVID-19, which often deprives patients of oxygen. A team led by Armstrong engineer Mike Buttigieg was charged with developing a low-cost, easily made assisted breathing helmet that could withstand pressures that off-the-shelf units weren’t designed for, without impacting the supply chain. Through conversations with the team’s lead doctor, Buttigieg had the idea to install a magnetic port, allowing access to the wearer’s face. “Having a helmet on without face access makes it hard to check vitals or take a drink of water,” said Samantha Hull, licensing manager and outreach coordinator at Armstrong.

The task force produced hundreds of the modified helmets for use at local hospitals, but Armstrong wanted to get them produced at greater scale. Final FDA approval also required a commercial manufacturer, meaning NASA had to find a company to license the technology without regulatory approval, said Benjamin Tomlinson, technology transfer officer at Armstrong.

In early July, the brand-new company Medify Products LLC signed a nonexclusive license to use the magnetic access port in oxygen helmets.

Tom Ryder, president and CEO of Genesis Plastics Welding, started Medify Products after he saw video of oxygen helmets being used in Italian hospitals early in the crisis. Genesis, his original company, had been producing similar helmets for more than 25 years.

“This is a product that utilizes all of our expertise,” he said. “We want to put that talent to use in fighting the virus.”

Ryder said Medify, located in Fortville, Indiana, will likely incorporate Armstrong’s magnetic port into more than one helmet design. A major advantage of working with NASA, he said, is that Armstrong is working with its contacts to get prototypes into formal testing and working with the FDA to secure emergency authorization for the helmets.

Much of this is new territory for Armstrong, which specializes in aeronautical research. “Medical applications are completely outside of our comfort zone,” said Tomlinson, noting that his team is figuring out how to navigate the approval process.

“This is something you can produce without a lot of expense, and it can save lives,” said Tomlinson. “Its elegance and simplicity is the beauty of it.”

Ryder said he wouldn’t previously have associated NASA with projects like this. “How they’re working with businesses like mine, a small business, gives me hope for the country.”

To learn more about NASA’s response to coronavirus, visit: https://medeng.jpl.nasa.gov/covid-19/

Mike DiCicco

Article Author

GBX Case Study: Coffee Picking Baskets in Puerto Rico

With the development of our Gigabot X pellet printer came our engineers’ need to trial it in different applications and settings. We settled on Sandra Farms – the coffee farm at the center of our latest story about chocolate cigar molds – as a case study to determine the practicality of using recycled plastic to create real-world, functional objects.

“Good coffee is picked by hand.” Israel Gonzalez is a second-generation coffee farmer who started Sandra Farms in the early 90’s. He explains that coffee pickers around the world are historically underpaid, typically placed at the bottom of the coffee farming ladder.

Sandra Farms is trying to break this mold.

“The main focus here is trying to use Sandra Farms as a model. We want to support an agricultural, agrarian way of life in Puerto Rico.” Domenico Celli came to the farm as part of a graduate school project with a focus on implementing sustainability practices, and several years later finds himself still working with them and more attached to their mission of specialty agriculture. “The people that we have in mind are the farm workers and families and communities here in some of the most rural and remote areas of Puerto Rico that have traditionally been dependent on agriculture as their main source of income, and culturally, their way of life.”

Sandra Farms is trying to set an example for other farms, paying their pickers two to three times the average in Puerto Rico. Says Celli, “That is because above all, we are committed to making this a viable way of life for these people and their families.”

The basket opportunity

In working with Gonzalez and Celli on their chocolate cigar mold concept, a potential case study opportunity for Gigabot X presented itself.

“Most agricultural workers in Puerto Rico traditionally are the forgotten people here, and that’s reinforced through what they use to pick coffee with,” explains Celli, “which is mostly just fertilizer bags, or really uncomfortable, five-gallon buckets that are not at all made for coffee picking.”

“The five-gallon plastic bucket…” Gonzalez shows one off that has been strung with a simple rope handle. “It’s functional, it works, cheap – but not ideal, not ergonomic.”

Our local team in Puerto Rico took the opportunity to investigate 3D printed solutions that could provide a superior substitute for the farm’s pickers, with the ultimate goal of using Gigabot X to print a design using recycled plastic.

The choice of an application in Puerto Rico was no accident. Gigabot X has the ability to print from pelletized plastic as well as recycled plastic regrind; our team saw immense potential for a machine that could create a closed-loop system on an island, using waste as input material to create functional objects that may be expensive to import.

“Unfortunately, our recycling systems here in Puerto Rico are very outdated, not very efficient, and in reality, not much – if anything at all – is recycled,” says Celli. “A much better alternative would be able to actually have a way to repurpose and use that waste, and know that it’s going to some sort of practical application.”

The design process

Our San Juan-based designer Alessandra Montaño began the process with a CAD sketch. “The design process was very interactive,” she recounts.

Over the course of the project, she visited the farm four times, working with Gonzalez in person and talking directly with workers trialing the design in the fields. “I did one prototype, sent it to them, they made some changes like widening the design, changing the height of the basket…”

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re:3D Mechanical Engineer Helen Little describes the trial and error process of testing, and the balance of modifying the basket design for the specific application while understanding the unique nature of a pellet printer. “We wanted to focus on quick production and cheaper cost-per-unit, so we chose to use a larger nozzle,” Little explains. “But there are many issues that come with that: a lot of oozing, lower quality prints…So we had to do a lot of optimization of print settings to get a higher-quality print.”

Little decided to experiment with printing in vase mode, which involves extruding in a continuous stream rather than a lot of stopping points where the nozzle has the opportunity to ooze plastic. “For that, we had to actually redesign the part itself so that the perimeter was only one layer thick,” she says.

Together, Little and Montaño incorporated user feedback from Sandra Farms into incremental tweaks to the design and new prototypes. They increased the basket depth to allow for a larger haul to be carried at one time, refined the shape to better hug the wearer’s waist, and added a brim to which a picker could attach shoulder straps.

“The way that a part is designed and printed has a huge effect on how long it takes to print, how much material it is, and at the end of the day, the bottom line for the cost,” explains Little. “I think it’s really important to get these real-world case studies and get that user feedback so that we can assess how viable of a solution this is for them and how much we can help improve over the current solution they’re using, using Gigabot X, 3D printing, and recycled materials.”

By the culmination of the testing process there had been twelve iterations of the basket, with the final design clocking in at around three and a half hours of print time.

Putting it to the test in the field

The crescent moon design on which they settled curves around the front of the waist, with a wide profile so a picker’s hands don’t have to travel far to drop in coffee cherries. It’s manageable enough to strap over one’s shoulders and carry through the field, yet sturdy enough to haul over fifteen pounds of coffee.

“We had wondered whether they could take the beating on the job, at the farm. ‘Can the bottom hold?’” Gonzalez initially pondered. “Yeah, they do,” he smiles. “Very well.”

Explains Celli, “The way that we designed them with re:3D was so that the opening would be wide so that a picker going through the field on uneven terrain is able to quickly pick coffee and kind of dump it into the bucket without it falling.”

He recounts the difficulties that came with the old-school fertilizer sack picking method. “It’s hard to keep it open with one hand, put coffee into it in the other, and then be efficient in a day where you’re trying to optimize how quickly you can get through the fields.” Seasonal coffee pickers, Celli explains, are paid by the pound. A vessel that allows for faster picking and movement through a field – not to mention fewer coffee cherries dropped – equals more money in a picker’s pocket. 

The comfort of having the basket contour to the hip is an obvious added bonus, Celli continues, allowing workers to pick more comfortably and later into the day.

There were more unforeseen positives of the custom basket design which Gonzalez and Celli didn’t fully comprehend before embarking on the project with re:3D.

“The reaction of such joy and excitement from the coffee pickers seeing these baskets that were actually made for them and thoughtfully designed to be comfortable for them was amazing to see,” recounts Celli.

The impact on the pickers’ morale was an unexpected and uplifting side effect of the project for both Celli and Gonzalez. They seemed unaccustomed and touched to be the focus of a project with a specific goal of creating a product to make their job easier and more comfortable.

The joy in the fields was visibly apparent, with pickers jockeying to get a chance with the new baskets: a promising sign for both the basket project and Sandra Farms’ own internal case study of running a sustainable, ethical farm prioritizing workers’ livelihoods.

In the meantime, both Gigabot X research and Sandra Farms’ exploration into sustainability continues. 

This project was made possible thanks to the support of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust and the National Science Foundation, who helped fund our research into Gigabot X.

Morgan Hamel

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