1 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,920 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, a production of Kaleidoscope 2 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 2: Guess what Will? What's that Mango? 4 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: So I was reading about three D printing this week 5 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: and I realized I've been thinking of it as a 6 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: new technology when really it's been around for nearly half 7 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: a century. 8 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:36,199 Speaker 2: Oh wow, I actually had no idea I went back 9 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 2: that far. Yeah. 10 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: So, the Japanese researcher Hideo Kodoma submitted the world's first 11 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 1: patent for a three D printer in nineteen eighty one, 12 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: and two years later, American inventor Chuck Hall created the 13 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: first working prototype. And before you ask, yes, we do 14 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: know what the first object you prayed was. It was 15 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: a little plastic eyewash cup. You know, I don't know 16 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: what I was expecting you to say, but that definitely 17 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: was not it. And what even is an eye wash cup? 18 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: It is a tiny cup with a curved rim to 19 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: fit around an eyeball, so if you get a piece 20 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: of dust in your eye, you can fill the cup 21 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: with water and flush it out. 22 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:12,680 Speaker 2: Like, was this a recurring problem for Hull? 23 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: Yeah? His eyes were notoriously dirty dirty. 24 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 2: Yeah. 25 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: No, I'm actually not sure why he chose an eye 26 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: wash cup, And I know it sounds like a random 27 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: thing to make as the first three D printed object, 28 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:25,839 Speaker 1: but to be fair, that would probably be the case no. 29 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 2: Matter what he picked. 30 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 3: You know, it's still impressive that he was three D 31 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 3: printing over forty years ago. Like, I feel like I 32 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 3: only heard about. 33 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 2: This in the last I don't know, at least within 34 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 2: the last decade, right. 35 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:38,399 Speaker 1: Yeah, So it took a lot of years of fine 36 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: tuning to make three D printers affordable and simple enough 37 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,960 Speaker 1: for the consumer market. But now that we have, it's 38 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: easy to see what guys like Codoma and Hall knew 39 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: the whole time, which is that three D printing is 40 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: truly revolutionary. It's transforming almost anything you can think of, 41 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: from construction to food prep to aerospace engineering. And of 42 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: course there's an incredible creative community that's developed around it too. 43 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:02,400 Speaker 1: And the reason we're thinking about all of this is 44 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: that one of our listeners asked us to do an 45 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,639 Speaker 1: episode about three D printing, and we love an intriguing request, 46 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,639 Speaker 1: and we really wanted to know how people make things 47 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: out of thin air or thin plastics. 48 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 2: So let's dive in. 49 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 3: Hey, their podcast listeners welcome to part time genius. I'm 50 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 3: Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good 51 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 3: friend Mangeshot Ticketer and on the other side of the 52 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 3: soundproof glass printing out the same sheet of paper for 53 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 3: what must be the hundredth time now, not exaggerating. He 54 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 3: just keeps printing. That's our friends and producer Dylan Fagan. 55 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 3: He just keeps loading and reloading the same sheet. He's 56 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 3: wasting a fortune on ink. But do you know what's 57 00:02:58,600 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 3: going on with this mango? 58 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,799 Speaker 1: Yeah, he said he felt left out about not having 59 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: a three D printer, so he's using a two D 60 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: printer to print out a picture of a three D printer. 61 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 2: Got it. 62 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: I guess the idea is if he prints it on 63 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: the same page enough times, eventually the ink would build 64 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: up and the picture will be three dimensional. 65 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:17,359 Speaker 2: You know, that's an interesting idea. 66 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 3: I'm not sure that'll work, but you've got to admire 67 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 3: this guy's ingenuity always. And weirdly enough, that is basically 68 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 3: how a three D printer works. Like following instructions from 69 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 3: a digital file, the printer gradually builds an object by 70 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 3: adding one layer of material on top of another on 71 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 3: top of another, and the problem here is that you 72 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 3: need to use something a bit sturdier than liquid ink, 73 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 3: and most. 74 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: People make three D printed objects out of plastic, right. 75 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, but plastic is really just the tip of the iceberg. 76 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 3: So industrial three D printers can handle all kinds of 77 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 3: multiple materials, including ceramic, wood, fiber, paper, glass, even edible proteins. 78 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: Actually, oh, that's right, edible proteins. So will When was 79 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: the first time you heard about three D printers? 80 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 3: You know, I feel like this probably goes back to 81 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 3: the days when we were working a little bit more 82 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 3: closely with the house Stuff Works team. 83 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 2: Even thinking back to. 84 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 3: You know, Marshall Brain who founded so many years ago, 85 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 3: and remembering him talking about this, it might have been 86 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:16,279 Speaker 3: a little more than a decade ago. It was probably 87 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 3: like fourteen fifteen years ago. 88 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 2: How about you. 89 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think about the same. 90 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 2: I remember. 91 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: Around twenty thirteen or twenty fourteen. The first time I 92 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,799 Speaker 1: heard something interesting with three D printers was before this party. 93 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: They had all these attendees send in photos and then 94 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: as a party favor, they were handed a three D 95 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: printed pez dispenser of their own face. 96 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 2: Oh no, cool. I remember thinking that was just really 97 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:40,839 Speaker 2: weird and fun. 98 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: At the time. But the thing that really blew me 99 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:45,279 Speaker 1: away was when they started talking about those three D 100 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: printed foods like pizzas and cookies, Like if you could 101 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:51,919 Speaker 1: print a meal at home, that just seems so futuristic 102 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:52,159 Speaker 1: to me. 103 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 2: Yeah. 104 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,840 Speaker 3: The London pop up you're talking about was called food Inc. 105 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 3: And even though it was only open for three days 106 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 3: back in twenty sixteen, it made an impression because it 107 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:05,160 Speaker 3: was many people's introduction to the idea of printable meals. Now, 108 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 3: in the years since, lots of other companies have tinkered 109 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 3: with similar concepts, including a finished research center that's developing 110 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 3: vending machines that print snacks huh. And this Israeli food 111 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 3: tech company called Stakeholder Foods that's specializing in three D 112 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 3: printed meat, which sounds so weird. 113 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 2: How do you print meat? 114 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 3: It's you know, you can load just about anything into 115 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 3: a three D printing syringe if it's a smooth consistency. 116 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,160 Speaker 3: So Research as a Columbia did it with chicken puree 117 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 3: and ran it through a system that cooked it while 118 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,559 Speaker 3: it was printing. But in the case of Stakeholder Foods, 119 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 3: the three D printed meat is actually plant based. They 120 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 3: make three D printed whitefish filets and steak using a 121 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 3: mixture of water, soy and pea protein, also oil and 122 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 3: a few other ingredients in there. And so these faux 123 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 3: meats have different textures, so the outside gets crisp when 124 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 3: you cook it, and the steaks even come with lines 125 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:00,919 Speaker 3: of three D printed fat. 126 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: That sounds so bizarre, but I guess it's fine as 127 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 1: long as it tastes good, right, So. 128 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 3: The bad news about that. There was a Wired journalist 129 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 3: named Matt Reynolds and he did this taste test last 130 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 3: year and he described the Stakeholder meats as being quote 131 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 3: technically food, but ad they quote had all the joy 132 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:21,479 Speaker 3: of licking a catering catalog. So you know, delicious food 133 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 3: might be an area where three D printing still has 134 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 3: a long way to go. 135 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: So you know, you mentioned that London restaurant and how 136 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: it was many people's first introduction to three D printed foods, 137 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: but Gabe tipped me off that Star Trek had a 138 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: machine called the Replicator that could produce anything on demand, 139 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: so basically a three D printer, and the crew mostly 140 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: used it to make food and drinks, which is pretty cool, 141 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: But I guess, as you were describing, we're not quite 142 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: there yet no. 143 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 3: But I am glad you brought up the connection between 144 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,760 Speaker 3: three D printing and science fiction, because this idea has 145 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 3: been a recurring theme in sci fi stories for some 146 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 3: time now, and some actually predate Charles Hol's Big Brain 147 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 3: break through in the early eighties. In fact, the earliest 148 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 3: known reference to three D printing was in a short 149 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 3: story by American novelist Murray Leinster. It was called Things 150 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 3: Passed By. It was published in nineteen forty five, about 151 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 3: four decades before hle printed his Eye wash Cup, and 152 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 3: it describes a machine that uses plastic to create three 153 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 3: dimensional objects from two dimensional drawings. 154 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: And I'm sure he described printing an eye wash cup. 155 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 2: I kind of wish. 156 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 3: But now in this story, the tech is used to 157 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 3: build spaceships, and the process is incredibly similar to how 158 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 3: three D printers would eventually work. So Linser describes the 159 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 3: liquid plastic flowing through a hose connected to this moving 160 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 3: arm that gradually deposits blobs of plastic in shapes determined 161 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 3: by the drawing. Now, he likened it to an insect 162 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 3: spinning a cocoon, which I kind of actually love that description, and. 163 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: It's kind of accurate, right, Like, so Obviously this stuff 164 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: is rooted in sci fi. But walk me through some 165 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: of the real world applications of three D printing, Like 166 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: why were so many people excited about it? 167 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 3: The since people are so enamored with three D printing 168 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 3: is because of its ability to help us prototype. Take 169 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 3: jewelry for instance, Like, Historically, it's been a very time 170 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 3: consuming process. So after coming up with an idea for 171 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 3: a piece of jewelry, the designer had to hand carve 172 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 3: a model from clay kind of sculpt out the details there. 173 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 3: Then they'd use that model to create a mold, and 174 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 3: then finally pour molten metal into the mold to create 175 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 3: this finished piece. That could take days or weeks or 176 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 3: even longer depending on how sophisticated it was. But now 177 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:33,719 Speaker 3: jewelers can actually design new pieces digitally using CAD software 178 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 3: and three D print them as wax or like a 179 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 3: resin model, and then they can go from design to 180 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 3: prototype or even a finished product in just a few hours. 181 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:44,959 Speaker 3: These days, about ninety percent of all jewelry sold in 182 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,079 Speaker 3: the US has been made with some degree of three 183 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:47,600 Speaker 3: D printing. 184 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: So what definitely do you mean by some degree? 185 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 3: Well, in addition to prototyping, designers can skip the mold 186 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 3: making stage and just print metal jewelry directly. This has 187 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,559 Speaker 3: done through a process called laser centering, which also kind 188 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:01,319 Speaker 3: of sounds like something they'd have in Star Trek. 189 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, star Trek, the next generation of jewelers, I'm not sure. 190 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, well, let me tell you what centering actually is. 191 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 3: So you spread this thin layer of metal powder on 192 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 3: a bed and then a laser fuses it together. Then 193 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 3: you spread a thin layer of powder on top of that, 194 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 3: and then laser it again, building layer by layer, and 195 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 3: after each sweep of the laser you add a fresh 196 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 3: layer of powder on top, and it keeps building until 197 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:26,679 Speaker 3: the object's finished. 198 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: That's obviously incredible. But are we just using this for 199 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: jewelry or are there other applications? 200 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 2: No, it's just jewelry. 201 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,680 Speaker 3: People have not figured out anything but jewelry now. Definitely 202 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,319 Speaker 3: other applications, like all kinds of industries are using laser centering. 203 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:44,960 Speaker 3: For example, car manufacturers use it to prototype hardware. It's 204 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 3: even used for some finished products like aerospace components, medical hardware, electronics, 205 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 3: like it's pretty long list. 206 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: Well, speaking of medical hardware, one thing that blew me 207 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,080 Speaker 1: away is that almost every hearing aid on the market 208 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:58,679 Speaker 1: these days is three D printed. 209 00:09:58,760 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 2: Oh wow. 210 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, people use have a hard time finding hearing aids 211 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 1: that match the contours of their ear canals, and that's 212 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 1: because hearing aids only came in a few standard sizes, 213 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: so if one of them didn't fit, you just had 214 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 1: to make do with something that was too loose or 215 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 1: too snug. But now with three D printing, audiologists can 216 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,559 Speaker 1: take a digital scan of a patient's ear and create 217 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 1: a perfectly customized hearing aid just for them. And you 218 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: can find these advances all over the medical field, like 219 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,880 Speaker 1: whether it's with three D printed surgical tools, implants, or 220 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: even artificial limbs. 221 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,199 Speaker 2: That is really so cool. We've come a long way 222 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 2: from that one little eye wash cup. 223 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: And I think the coolest fact about this technology is 224 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,080 Speaker 1: that it's not just limited to stuff like making a 225 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: custom phone case or improving an industrial production process. It's 226 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: actually improving and saving lives every day in ways that 227 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: most of us don't even realize. 228 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 3: Indeed, and you know, we have some really fascinating examples 229 00:10:52,600 --> 00:11:09,559 Speaker 3: of that coming up. But first, let's take a quick break. 230 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:12,360 Speaker 3: You're listening to part Time Genius and we're talking about 231 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 3: the world of three D printing. All right, mego, so 232 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 3: tell me more about how this technology is actually saving 233 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 3: lives these days. 234 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not just saving any lives, it's saving turtle lives. 235 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,199 Speaker 2: Okay, I'm intrigued, tell me more so. 236 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: Back in twenty sixteen, a group of animal rescuers in 237 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: Brazil came across a tortoise that had lost eighty five 238 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: percent of its shell in a brush fire. The tortoise, 239 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,560 Speaker 1: which the team named Freddy, didn't have a high chance 240 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:39,439 Speaker 1: of survival without a shell, so after treating the little 241 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: guy for his burns, they decided to build him a 242 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: new one. First, they built a three D model of 243 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: a shell based on pictures of Freddy and other tortoises. 244 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: Then they printed out in four interlocking pieces, and the 245 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 1: all white plastic shell was assembled in gluten place around 246 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: Freddy's body, and as a final touch, the team hand 247 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:59,840 Speaker 1: painted it to make sure it looked like his old shell. 248 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:04,960 Speaker 3: That's heartwarming and pretty amazing science. Yeah yeah, I love 249 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:08,080 Speaker 3: the story. And it's not just Freddy. Other turtles have 250 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:11,080 Speaker 3: been saved with three D printing as well. For example, 251 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 3: in places like Arizona and Florida, hundreds of turtles a 252 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 3: year are injured by cars and left with broken shells, 253 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:19,720 Speaker 3: and a turtle with a hole in its shell is 254 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 3: highly vulnerable to infection and even spinal damage. In the past, 255 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,400 Speaker 3: custom prosthesis for this type of injury could cost hundreds 256 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 3: of dollars or more. But now it's actually possible to 257 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:33,840 Speaker 3: scan the broken pieces of a turtle shell, create a 258 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 3: three D model, and print out new ones for as 259 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:39,840 Speaker 3: little as I don't know, like twenty bucks, oh wow. 260 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 3: And similar techniques have been used to restore bird bills, 261 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:47,520 Speaker 3: reattach alligator tails, and replace the missing limbs of cats, dogs, 262 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 3: and other species including humans. 263 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 2: It really is pretty incredible. 264 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 3: And actually, you know, you talked about how three D 265 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:55,960 Speaker 3: printing has brought the cost of animal prosthesis down, and 266 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 3: that's actually also true for humans. So high end bionic 267 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 3: arms canst upwards of one hundred thousand dollars, which means 268 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:05,960 Speaker 3: that less than one percent of the adult amputee population 269 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 3: can actually afford to buy one. 270 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 1: I can't even imagine. But is that because the components 271 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 1: are so expensive or why is not? 272 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 3: I mean, that's part of it, But the other issue 273 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,520 Speaker 3: is that the production process is just super complicated like, 274 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 3: different components get made in separate factories by different companies, 275 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 3: then yet another company assembles them. So all these manufacturing 276 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 3: costs and markups get factored into that final price. But 277 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 3: three D printing can streamline this process by cutting out 278 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 3: the middleman. Now a company can scan print and as 279 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 3: symbol a bionic arm with a single facility. 280 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,559 Speaker 1: And so how much cheaper does that actually become? 281 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 3: You know, there's some variables here, like the size and 282 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 3: complexity of the arm, and of course what kind of 283 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 3: insurance you have. But if you look at the two 284 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 3: leading companies in the field, you've got Unlimited Tomorrow and 285 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 3: Open Bionics. Their prosthetic arms cost five to ten times 286 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 3: less than a traditional manufactured one. And this is especially 287 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 3: important when you consider the difficulty for young amputees because 288 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 3: kids outgrow these prosthesis and you know, they need bigger 289 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 3: ones as they get older. 290 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:07,760 Speaker 1: You know, I never actually thought about that, Like I 291 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 1: feel like I get stressed out watching how fast my 292 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,480 Speaker 1: kids outgrow their shoes. Yeah, you can't even imagine for amputees. 293 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 3: No, it's very true, and the lower cost isn't actually 294 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 3: the only advantage here, because when all the components are 295 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 3: three D printed. There's also more opportunity for customization. For instance, 296 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 3: open i Biotics calls their limb the Hero Arm, and 297 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 3: it has all these cool magnetic panels that you can 298 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 3: pop off and on. They come in different colors and textures. 299 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 3: You can coordinate them with your outfits. They even make 300 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,880 Speaker 3: these panel sets based on licensed characters, so you can 301 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 3: trick out your arm to look like like Iron Man's 302 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 3: Gauntlet or Adroid from Star Wars. 303 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 2: Like, there's so many cool possibilities. 304 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: I'm sure that is great for kids, but I bet 305 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: there are plenty of adults who would also love a superhero, 306 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 1: are right. 307 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 3: I mean it's so cool you get to cosplay at 308 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 3: work and nobody can complain because like, that's just. 309 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 2: Your arm, you know. 310 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 3: And I know that decorating your arm might sound frivolous, 311 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 3: but I actually found this quote from one of open 312 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 3: Bionics founders, Samantha Pain, and she pointed out that having 313 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,640 Speaker 3: a prosthetic limb that purposefully looks artificial is kind of 314 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 3: subversive and fun. So, as she puts it, quote, a 315 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 3: generation ago, as a society, we valued conformity. Everyone wanted 316 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 3: to look the same, and that's why you saw a 317 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 3: lot of prosthetic arms that tried to blend in that 318 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 3: tried to look human, but as engineers, we couldn't quite 319 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 3: get the look right. So it's really cool that as 320 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 3: time moved on, we began to celebrate individualism and self expression. 321 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, that feels really liberating. Of course, while getting creative 322 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,640 Speaker 1: seems smart for three D printing for your prosthetic arms, 323 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 1: when it comes to three D printing internal organs, it 324 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: helps to get as close to the real deal as possible. 325 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:45,320 Speaker 1: And that's why bioinc is so important, because while your 326 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: body might not accept a bladder made of artificial material 327 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,920 Speaker 1: like plastic or carbon fiber, if you print one using bioinc, 328 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: the chances are it'll get along just fine with your interiors. 329 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 2: So what is bioinc. 330 00:15:57,280 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: It is basically a mixture of a special kind of 331 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: eletin and the cultured cells needed to create living tissue. 332 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 1: And this gets a little technical here, but let's say 333 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,960 Speaker 1: someone's missing an ear and their doctor wants to print 334 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,800 Speaker 1: a functional replacement, which is a thing they can actually do. 335 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 1: The first step is to harvest stem cells from the patient. 336 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:19,280 Speaker 1: These are undifferentiated cells, meaning they don't have a specific 337 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 1: purpose yet, and they can turn into other types of 338 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 1: cells like tissue or bone. You can kind of think 339 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: of them like a blank template of the human body. 340 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: So the doctors would manipulate the genes in these stem 341 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: cells so they develop into cells that do have a 342 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: specific purpose. In this case, that would be functions related 343 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: to hearing and balance. Then you mix them with gelatin 344 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 1: and some other high end biomaterials to create something called 345 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 1: bioinc and you load that into a three D printer 346 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: and voila instant ear. And the best part is, since 347 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:51,240 Speaker 1: it's made from the patient's own cells, the odds of 348 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: the body rejecting it are much much lower compared to 349 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 1: a donor transplant. This actually might blow your mind, but 350 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: the first three D printed organ was transplanted into human 351 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 1: way back in nineteen ninety nine, which is the same 352 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: year a few other important things happened like SpongeBob SquarePants 353 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 1: debuted and Napster launched. 354 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 2: So three equally important advanced mess. 355 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: But that's also the year that scientists at the wake 356 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:20,240 Speaker 1: Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine created a new bladder using 357 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,199 Speaker 1: cells from a patient, and they successfully implanted it in 358 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: the same person without any complications. The procedure has actually 359 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:30,440 Speaker 1: been repeated about a dozen times since then, and all 360 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 1: of those three D printed bladders, even the ones from 361 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,879 Speaker 1: a couple decades back, are still fully functioning today. Wow. 362 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 3: You know, I'm thinking, as you're talking about this, about 363 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 3: all the people waiting on transplant lists for organs, So 364 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:44,480 Speaker 3: can we do this for any organ. 365 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,640 Speaker 1: So as the technology stands, it's easiest to bioprint flat 366 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:53,120 Speaker 1: or hollow organs. So you think about bladders, things like skin, ears, 367 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:57,159 Speaker 1: wind pipes, right, these are things that have been successfully 368 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:01,000 Speaker 1: transplanted already, but anything more complex and that is still 369 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: off the table. So scientists have made some headway in 370 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 1: recent years by printing small scale, functional replicas of hearts, kidneys, 371 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 1: even brains, and the hope is that in the next 372 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:13,119 Speaker 1: few decades they'll be able to make them full size. 373 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:16,239 Speaker 3: You know, maybe I think we've proven conclusively that three 374 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,640 Speaker 3: D printing can can really help humans and animals, especially 375 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 3: tortoises with the story you were telling there, And that's 376 00:18:22,119 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 3: all great, But like any technology, it's a tool that 377 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 3: can also do harm unfortunately, So we probably should take 378 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 3: a moment to recognize what may be the darkest side 379 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 3: of three D printing, and that is ghost guns. 380 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 1: So I know this is the thing that people have 381 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: been worried about, that you can make three D printed 382 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 1: guns that can actually fire real bullets. But why exactly 383 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:43,159 Speaker 1: are they called ghost guns. 384 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 2: It's actually because they. 385 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 3: Don't have serial numbers like all real guns do, and 386 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 3: this makes them virtually untraceable. So the first three D 387 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,360 Speaker 3: printed gun was created in twenty thirteen by a Texas 388 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 3: firearms activist named Cody Wilson. Now, it wasn't exactly the 389 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:59,439 Speaker 3: same as a real gun. It only fired one bullet 390 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 3: at a time, and it was prone to breaking, but 391 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:04,760 Speaker 3: Wilson released his design as an open source project that 392 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:08,119 Speaker 3: anyone could download or modify, and over the next few years, 393 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 3: he and others kept tinkering. They figured out how to 394 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,639 Speaker 3: make fully functional guns from three D printed kits and 395 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:17,119 Speaker 3: some basic metal parts, and some of these homemade guns 396 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 3: were used in actual crimes. So, as you can imagine, 397 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,199 Speaker 3: this became a concern for law enforcement and for public 398 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,959 Speaker 3: health and safety groups gun control activists. Now, obviously there 399 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,960 Speaker 3: are strict rules that govern gun manufacturing in the US, 400 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 3: from licensing to requiring those serial numbers. We also have 401 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 3: laws that prohibit people convicted of felonies from owning guns, 402 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:39,439 Speaker 3: and three D printing sort of bypasses all of that. 403 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,919 Speaker 3: So what can governments actually do about this? Well, in 404 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 3: the past few years, several states have passed laws regulating 405 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:49,000 Speaker 3: three D printed guns, specifically requiring them to have traceable 406 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,639 Speaker 3: serial numbers, so that's a step and just as pass bringing. 407 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 3: The Supreme Court upheld a twenty twenty two rule that 408 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 3: requires serial numbers and background checks for certain three D 409 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 3: printed gun kits now, but that decision focused narrowly on 410 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:05,640 Speaker 3: some administrative details, so companies that make these kits could 411 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 3: potentially get around it, and Cody Wilson has actually asked 412 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,880 Speaker 3: the Texas Court for an injunction that would prevent enforcement 413 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 3: of that twenty twenty two rules. So it's really not 414 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:15,880 Speaker 3: clear how all this is going to shake out. 415 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:17,760 Speaker 1: That feels a little depressing. 416 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,119 Speaker 3: Actually, all right, well that may be the case, But 417 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 3: after the break, I'm going to make it up to 418 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:23,880 Speaker 3: you by telling you how three D printing could help 419 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 3: solve the housing crisis that I'm intoe. 420 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: Welcome back to Part Time Genius. If you're enjoying the show, 421 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 1: please be sure to subscribe and leave us a nice rating. 422 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:50,680 Speaker 2: And review. It absolutely makes our day. 423 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 1: And if you have a question you'd like us to 424 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,880 Speaker 1: answer or topic you'd like us to explore, you can 425 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,480 Speaker 1: email us at high Geniuses at gmail dot com or 426 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,000 Speaker 1: call our brand new hotline, which we have a link 427 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:04,240 Speaker 1: to in our show notes. 428 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:05,960 Speaker 3: That's right, and as you mentioned at the top of 429 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 3: the show, the idea for today's episode came from one 430 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,920 Speaker 3: of our listeners who goes by the handle Aurora Borealis, 431 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 3: and I love this comment so much I want to 432 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,280 Speaker 3: read it in its entirety. It says, quote Will and Mango, 433 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,600 Speaker 3: please do one on three D printing. You can three 434 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,520 Speaker 3: D print anything from chocolate to houses. It's true, you 435 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:24,520 Speaker 3: can use concrete. 436 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:25,320 Speaker 2: Google it. 437 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:25,879 Speaker 1: Yeah. 438 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:28,160 Speaker 2: I like that this had google it because they assume 439 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 2: we wouldn't believe them, and then we google it. 440 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 3: So our listeners never lie and we trust you guys completely, 441 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,199 Speaker 3: but we also fact check. So yes, I did google it, 442 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:41,239 Speaker 3: and it turns out that Aurora was absolutely right. There 443 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,719 Speaker 3: are companies out there that specialize in three D printing 444 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 3: full scale houses, and their material of choice is indeed concrete. Now, 445 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 3: this begin in Europe in twenty eighteen, and there are 446 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:53,280 Speaker 3: now companies in the US and Mexico that are using 447 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 3: the process for major development projects. 448 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 1: And to be clear, we're not talking about three D 449 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,199 Speaker 1: printing cinderblocks and stacking them into a house, right right, 450 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:02,200 Speaker 1: Like this is actually printing out all the walls of 451 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 1: a house layer by layer. 452 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 2: That is exactly right. 453 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,680 Speaker 3: Like you set up an enormous eleven foot tall robotic 454 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 3: printer on a build site and you input a three 455 00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:12,720 Speaker 3: D model of the floor plan, and then the printer's 456 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 3: mobile nozzle goes to work squeezing out rounded lines of 457 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 3: concrete one on top of the other. And it's kind 458 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,160 Speaker 3: of like this giant soft served concrete machine. That's fascinating 459 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 3: and tasty. So I love that it is fully automated. 460 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 3: Do you need humans to work machines? You do need humans, 461 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,359 Speaker 3: but not as many as you might find on a 462 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,280 Speaker 3: normal construction site. You really only need two or three 463 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,160 Speaker 3: people to oversee the build of this, and the whole 464 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:39,840 Speaker 3: system can be controlled by a tablet or a smartphone. 465 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 2: That is so cool. 466 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 3: And since the printer does most of the actual physical labor, 467 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 3: the system can operate around the clock. 468 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 2: So to compare, it. 469 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 3: Can take two to six months to build a like 470 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:51,960 Speaker 3: a fifteen hundred square foot home the old fashioned way, 471 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,720 Speaker 3: but you can three D print the same size house 472 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 3: in two weeks. Now, if you're willing to go smaller, 473 00:22:57,800 --> 00:22:59,879 Speaker 3: you can print a five hundred square foot house and 474 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 3: less than twenty four hours. 475 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,119 Speaker 1: That is bonkers, and they really print every part of 476 00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 1: the house. 477 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 3: Typically, the only parts of a three D printed house 478 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,800 Speaker 3: that aren't three D printed are the floor, the roof, 479 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,000 Speaker 3: and the finishing things like you know, doors and windows. 480 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,880 Speaker 3: But all of the exterior and interior walls are one 481 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,520 Speaker 3: hundred percent printed concrete. And it's easy to tell too, 482 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 3: because you can see the different layers there. So some 483 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,520 Speaker 3: people say it makes the walls look like wide whale 484 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,199 Speaker 3: corduroy or like the bristles on a toothbrush. 485 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:29,280 Speaker 1: I feel like that could take some getting used to, 486 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 1: Like I imagine it's a pain to hang things in 487 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:33,600 Speaker 1: a house like that, Like you've got to drill through 488 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: solid concrete just to put up I don't know, paintings 489 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:37,560 Speaker 1: or a curtain run. You know. 490 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 3: I thought the same thing, but I actually read an 491 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 3: interview with someone who owns a three D printed house 492 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 3: and they said that the concrete is actually easier for 493 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:46,760 Speaker 3: hanging things because you don't have to worry about running 494 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,399 Speaker 3: into studs all the time. And another cool thing is 495 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,919 Speaker 3: that the printer can account for things like electrical and 496 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:55,640 Speaker 3: plumbing outlets, so it'll automatically build those gaps into the walls, 497 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:57,960 Speaker 3: which means no one has to cut through the concrete 498 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 3: to build them later. Plus, because the concrete is highly 499 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,640 Speaker 3: energy efficient, three D homeowners tend to have lower utility bills, 500 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 3: plus less street noise, and best of all, it is fire, 501 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 3: wind and insect resistant. So for someone who lives in 502 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:15,400 Speaker 3: an area prone to wildfires or hurricanes or plagues of locusts, 503 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 3: like whatever it may be, these three D printed concrete 504 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:19,520 Speaker 3: houses could actually be a lifesaver. 505 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: That's pretty incredible. And I'm guessing they're a lot cheaper 506 00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:25,080 Speaker 1: than normal house too, right, Well, you. 507 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:27,679 Speaker 3: Would think so, but no, not really, at least not 508 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:29,919 Speaker 3: yet so at the time of the recording. The world's 509 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:34,840 Speaker 3: largest three D printed housing development is woolf Ranch in Georgetown, Texas. Now, 510 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:37,399 Speaker 3: the homes there come in two and three bedroom models 511 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 3: and they started just under four hundred thousand dollars, which 512 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:44,840 Speaker 3: is comparable to a similar size regular home in the area. 513 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,159 Speaker 3: Now that said, the three D printed real estate market 514 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:50,720 Speaker 3: is just emerging. As it scales up and becomes more efficient, 515 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:53,240 Speaker 3: those prices could come down, or you'd expect them to 516 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:55,440 Speaker 3: come down. And I really hope that's the case, because 517 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 3: three D printed homes could go such a long way 518 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,040 Speaker 3: toward alleviating the worldwide housing short. 519 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:02,119 Speaker 1: You know, this whole time you were talking about three 520 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,360 Speaker 1: D printed concrete houses, I've been thinking about our old pal, 521 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 1: Thomas Edison and how he would build houses by pouring 522 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:11,080 Speaker 1: concrete into a giant house sized mole. 523 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 3: And he was just pouring the walls of the house 524 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:15,679 Speaker 3: or was it more elaborate than that? 525 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:20,399 Speaker 1: Definitely more elaborate. According to Edison's nineteen seventeen patent, all 526 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:25,960 Speaker 1: of the building's parts included the sides, roofs, partitions, bathtubs, floors, 527 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,000 Speaker 1: et cetera. It would be quote formed of an integral 528 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:32,560 Speaker 1: mass of a cement mixture. In theory, the molds could 529 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: be used over and over again, and Edison hoped the 530 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,959 Speaker 1: technique would build low income housing in crowded cities. If 531 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:40,520 Speaker 1: you look online, you can actually find some of these 532 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:43,320 Speaker 1: houses and they're actually beautiful, like the moldings and things 533 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: like that. The only problem was that it wasn't exactly practical. 534 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:50,680 Speaker 1: His molds were enormous and composed of more than two 535 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 1: thousand pieces, which of course made them super expensive to assemble. Now, 536 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:57,640 Speaker 1: Edison had a hard time convincing builders to make that 537 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,520 Speaker 1: initial investment, and even though he offered up the building 538 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:03,520 Speaker 1: plans for free, the only concrete houses to ever use 539 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: his method were part of a small test batch made 540 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:07,000 Speaker 1: by his own company. 541 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, I bet he'd be glad to know that we 542 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,520 Speaker 3: finally found this work around with three D printing, and 543 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:14,200 Speaker 3: that his idea is now reality more than a century later. 544 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:15,240 Speaker 2: You know, it's funny. 545 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,240 Speaker 3: Three D printing has been the kind of the wave 546 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 3: of the future for the past eighty years, going all 547 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:21,119 Speaker 3: the way back to the story I mentioned from the 548 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,560 Speaker 3: nineteen forties, but now here we are actually catching up 549 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,360 Speaker 3: to it in the present. It's pretty exciting. 550 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,679 Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely. Well, before we sign off, let's do a 551 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:38,600 Speaker 1: little fact off. Three D printing has made its mark 552 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:43,119 Speaker 1: on restaurants, operating rooms, factories, construction sites, and also on 553 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,399 Speaker 1: fashion runways. It turns out designers love the tech for 554 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 1: its ability to create complex organic structures and intricate patterns 555 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: with ease, and the result has been this slew of 556 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:57,400 Speaker 1: visually striking, wearable art pieces inspired by everything from sacred 557 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:01,520 Speaker 1: geometry to the iridescent feathers of hummingbird. There's even been 558 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: crossover with the movie industry, where three D printing has 559 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,280 Speaker 1: been used to create props and costumes, for example, the 560 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,920 Speaker 1: elaborate headpiece worn by Angela Bassett's Queen in the Black 561 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:14,320 Speaker 1: Panther movies with three D printed and if hote couture 562 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 1: isn't your thing and you're not a Hollywood star, do 563 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,840 Speaker 1: not wear you can still wear pree D printed gear. 564 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 1: Some designers have started using it to make everyday wearables 565 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:28,640 Speaker 1: like handbags, glasses, frames, and even sneakers. Right, well, here's 566 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 1: a fun one I've found. So the Smithsonian website has 567 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 1: an online three D digitization portal where you can download 568 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,639 Speaker 1: free print ready three D models of about one hundred 569 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 1: different artifacts that are in their collection. Users can print 570 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 1: the models themselves or simply upload the files of their 571 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: choice to one of the many on demand printing services 572 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 1: out there, such as shape ways or craft Cloud. And 573 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:51,520 Speaker 1: that means you can print out things like a t 574 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:55,680 Speaker 1: rex skull, a Native American cat sculpture, Amelia Earhart's flight 575 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 1: suit and not one, but two life mask of Abraham Link. 576 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:01,639 Speaker 2: That's amazing. You can't have just one. 577 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:05,720 Speaker 3: The artifacts make great decorations, gifts, learning aids, and the 578 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,360 Speaker 3: program supports the Smithsonian's mission to increase access to their 579 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 3: collection for those who can't visit in person. 580 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 2: That is incredible. 581 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:15,600 Speaker 1: Okay, so I brought up Thomas Edison earlier, so it's 582 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:18,440 Speaker 1: only fair that I give equal time to Albert Einstein, 583 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,200 Speaker 1: which is a rule on our show. And thankfully there 584 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:25,280 Speaker 1: is a really cool point of overlap between Einstein and 585 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 1: three D printing, which is that you can now print 586 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:31,119 Speaker 1: free three D replicas of the toy blocks he played 587 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: with as a child. The printing kit is available on 588 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,200 Speaker 1: a site called Open Einstein, and it was made through 589 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:41,320 Speaker 1: a partnership between the Lego Foundation, Unilever, Ikea, and National Geographic, 590 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:45,960 Speaker 1: which is a wonderful and surprising collective of companies. Anyway, 591 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: the kit provides models for thirty six building blocks of 592 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,200 Speaker 1: different sizes and shapes, all of which were scanned directly 593 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 1: from the set of wooden blocks that Einstein used when 594 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 1: he was a kid. The original blocks were made by 595 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:02,360 Speaker 1: this German company, anchor Stein Baluchistan and These must have 596 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,920 Speaker 1: been popular because they were actually used by a whole 597 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:08,719 Speaker 1: group of budding geniuses. Frank Lloyd Wright had them as 598 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,320 Speaker 1: a kid, and Buckminster Fuller also had a set of 599 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,600 Speaker 1: his own. So results may vary with your own kids, 600 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:16,560 Speaker 1: but you know, if you're trying to raise a genius, 601 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 1: it might be worth a shot, all right. 602 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 3: So we've covered a bunch of things that three D 603 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 3: printers can make, but one thing that's still beyond their means, 604 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:26,040 Speaker 3: at least for now, is other three D printers. It 605 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 3: kind of reminds me of when you were a kid 606 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 3: and people are like, if you had one wish and 607 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 3: you can't. 608 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 2: Wish for lots more wishes, you know what I mean. 609 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:34,840 Speaker 3: So it would be a neat little trick because even 610 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,000 Speaker 3: though the cost of three D printers has come down 611 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,920 Speaker 3: in the last decade, they are still quite pricey. But 612 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 3: if new three D printers could be assembled using low 613 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 3: cost printed materials, the technology would become accessible to just 614 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 3: about everyone. The problem is there are over one hundred 615 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 3: different components in each device, and while many of them 616 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,960 Speaker 3: are simple enough to be reproduced by a single plastic 617 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:57,040 Speaker 3: printing unit, other parts. 618 00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:59,120 Speaker 2: Aren't printable at all. You think about things. 619 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:03,040 Speaker 3: Like motors bearing circuit boards, but that hasn't stopped makers 620 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:05,920 Speaker 3: from trying so. The most famous example is the long 621 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,880 Speaker 3: running project called rep Rap, and they spent over a 622 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:12,320 Speaker 3: decade trying to develop the world's first self replicating three 623 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 3: D printer. They went through multiple itterations, made a lot 624 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,640 Speaker 3: of headway, but the most recent build was still only 625 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,800 Speaker 3: able to produce about seventy percent of the parts. Now 626 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:24,320 Speaker 3: the project has been installed for a few years now, 627 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:26,840 Speaker 3: but with three D printers getting more and more capable 628 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,480 Speaker 3: by the day, the dream of having one in every 629 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 3: home could eventually come true. 630 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 1: I love the idea of a three D printed three 631 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:35,840 Speaker 1: D printer in every three D printed home. 632 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,560 Speaker 2: Right exactly. That's the dream. 633 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:42,280 Speaker 1: I cannot possibly top that dream. So will you deserve 634 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:43,760 Speaker 1: this trophy for this week? 635 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:44,840 Speaker 2: And I'm going to hand it to you. 636 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:48,960 Speaker 3: Look at that, Dylan made a three D printed little 637 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:49,560 Speaker 3: trophy here. 638 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:50,480 Speaker 2: You didn't have to do that. 639 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,800 Speaker 1: Oh it, dun's the best. It's actually an eyewash coop 640 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:58,760 Speaker 1: of us. That is it for today's show, but we 641 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 1: will be back next week week with another brand new episode. 642 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 1: In the meantime, you can hang out with us on 643 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:06,480 Speaker 1: Instagram and Blue Sky. Those links are in the show 644 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:09,320 Speaker 1: description and call us on our new hotline. We are 645 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 1: waiting to hear from you, but from Dylan, Mary, Gabe, 646 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:28,760 Speaker 1: Will and myself. Thank you so much for listening. Part 647 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:32,400 Speaker 1: Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This 648 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:36,320 Speaker 1: show is hosted by Will Pearson and Me Mongaish Heatikler, 649 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 1: and research by our good pal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's 650 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: episode was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan 651 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,719 Speaker 1: with support from Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced 652 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 1: for iHeart by Katrina Norvell and Ali Perry, with social 653 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:55,719 Speaker 1: media support from Sasha Gay trustee Dara Potts and Viney Shorey. 654 00:31:56,400 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the Ihear 655 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,520 Speaker 1: Art Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 656 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:04,440 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.