Open-source 3D Printed Pipe Fittings Reduce Water Waste, New Study Argues

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• FuglyDuck@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  The researchers believe using a parametric-driven method for local, on-demand 3D printing of customized fittings will unlock more efficient water management.

  there’s a whole lot of buzzwords there. if the current system can’t be fixed becuse there’s no parts (pipe fitting, and pipes,) to replace the leaky bits, then how exactly do you expect them to source a 3 d printer and filament? More to the point… FDM prints themselves are prone to leaking, from a myriad of issues.

  I don’t think 3d printing the pipe fittings is the answer here.

  that said, it’s cool and fun all the same.

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• bizarrevr@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Was reading about this recently for the industry: A team of European researchers has come up with a game-changing 3D printing method that uses holography to make printing faster and more efficient. Their technique, called HoloVAM, is an upgrade to Tomographic Volumetric Additive Manufacturing (TVAM), but instead of regular light projections, it uses a 3D hologram. This tweak makes the process way more efficient, speeding up printing times to just a few seconds while improving accuracy.

  The team behind this breakthrough comes from Switzerland’s EPFL Laboratory of Applied Photonic Devices and the University of Southern Denmark’s Centre for Photonics Engineering. Their official research has been published in Nature Communications, showcasing how even complex 3D images - like the 3D image in their tests - can now be printed at incredible speeds.

  Also that the most 3D printed benchy thing was made open source recently too. Very powerful stuff if it’s in the hands of more people, and especially those who need it can put it to good use.

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• Sphks@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Thanks for the share. That’s interesting and I understand the niche needs for developping countries. Especially when you don’t have a strong control on what you get as pipes.

  What I find interesting is the way they choose to make it watertight : “100% infill was leveraged to ensure all components were watertight, while extrusion flow was increased by 5-15% to prevent layer gaps.”

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• kitnaht@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  If these weren’t made using the FDM process, they could be quite useful; but as-is the FDM process is weak along the Z axis, and these kinds of fittings aren’t going to withstand a lifetime of abuse – not only that, the kinds of plastics we’re printing with aren’t really regulated to any kind of degree, so depending on what kind of things are in the water, you could just be pumping large amounts of microplastics into your system by using something like this.

  It’s a great avenue for research, but we need more robust methods of printing for something like this.

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  • otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    What kind of polymers are you using? While the z-axis issue is certainly a concern, there are adjustments that can be made to a model and/or orientation of it that may mitigate various challenges by usecase, though withstanding “a lifetime of abuse” is unlikely even then. Lastly, if you’re concerned about microplastics’ volume entering your system, I’m betting you were raised to consider recycling as a consumer-focused solution to <insert any of myriad global issues>, like many of us. 🥲😅

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