Feature
From a business perspective, neither the company nor the cus-
tomer has the time or resources to print multiple versions of a
bad file. Mirsky’s team is “often re-engineering people’s designs.
Which means going all the way back to the STL file and making
little changes to make it a functional prototype [or] they won’t
have the design technology so what we want to be doing is
interpreting that for them.” Mirsky adds, “part of [our job is] to be
able to define what their project is, explain to them the different
processes and the limitations of 3D printing, and qualify them
from a budget point of view.”
To provide the best possible solution for the client, it is important
to establish partnerships. For Wong and her team, in order to
deliver medical solutions globally, they are developing partnerships
with AutoDesk to access advanced design software, and con-
necting with 3D printer owners on 3D Hubs, who can print solutions
locally for patients or healthcare providers in different countries
and also produce medical devices using a range of materials.
Mirsky has cultivated partnerships to bridge the gap in 3DPhack-
tory’s services, “we don’t want to take the client to the point where
we can’t do something well, so then we’ll send them somewhere
else.” These partners can be utilized for any number of reasons
but one of the most prevalent is for overseas manufacturing. “We
prototype for [the customer] in advance so it saves time…Previ-
ously they’d have a product, they’d send some drawings, they’d
get a prototype back from China, they’d approve it and then that’s
generally at least an eight-week process” (Mirsky). Having
3DPhacktory in the production chain shortens that time.
Protect intellectual property
A final consideration is how a company protects their clients’
intellectual assets. A company should be careful about derivative
work. “We’re fiercely protective about non-disclosures…it’s a real
Five marvels of 3D printing
In just about every walk of life, 3D printing is redefining the
boundaries of creativity while expanding the frontiers of
what’s possible. Here’s but a glimpse of what caught our eye
in the past year. There are literally thousands more fascinating
stories to discover online. And be sure to check out our “3D
Printing” category at graphicartsmag.com.
3D-printed robots from living tissue
Students at the University of California Merced are building
Bio-Bots – tiny robots made from living tissue. They move
and they walk, but they don’t have electronic parts. What they
do have are muscles! Students culture cells within a hydrogel
so that they grow into rings of muscle. The muscle is then
attached to a 3D-printed ‘backbone’. The muscles are respon-
sive to blue light, which the students then shine on their
creations to get them to contract – in effect exercising them
@graphicarts
Pandora’s box with all the hacking that’s going on. If somebody
comes in and steals a product design, they have it” (Mirsky).
Similarly, Wong educates her team about not violating any exist-
ing intellectual property but “we focus on medical devices that
have been around for decades so intellectual property rights
have usually expired” (Wong).
It's a balancing act
3D printing has a number of considerations. It is a challenging
business to scale. Whether one is doing rapid prototyping or
providing design and production services, the staff need to under-
stand the software and equipment in order to supply an accurate
and economical solution to the client without sacrificing a design’s
aesthetic properties. Providing solutions means understanding
and protecting intellectual property and acknowledging the
company’s limitations.
The true value of the technology exists in finding and servicing
those gaps that no other process can fulfill while balancing the
cost of the equipment. For Wong, efficient applications of 3D
printing means asking, “how does 3D printing save more lives,
time, and money compared to existing solutions?” There is no
benefit to investing in a technology where another method could
do the same thing faster or cheaper. As Mirsky points out the
bottom line is, “ [it’s a balancing act.] You have to be able to figure
out how much capacity you have. Because the machines are
expensive, the material is expensive, and [time is limited]. You
have to be able to anticipate how much capital you put in, how
many printers [you are] getting, and how much business there is.”
Olivia Parker, B.Tech, MPC completed her Masters of Professional
Communication in 2014 to complement her Bachelor of Technology
(2013) from Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson.
She presently is the Innovation & Support Specialist at Taylor
Printing Group Inc. in Fredericton.
to build strength.
The contraction of
the muscles is
what drives their
movement. Stu-
dents are working
on creating heart
tissue derived from
stem cells that
could be used to
repair damaged
human hear ts.
They’re not quite Students at the University of California Merced are building Bio-Bots.
there yet, because they haven’t come up with an effective
way to integrate the contracting muscle patches with the
cardiovascular blood supply.
GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | November 2017 | 25