Stratasys Ltd., a manufacturer of 3D printers and materials for personal use, prototyping and production, today announced that the United Kingdom Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, has presented a Stratasys 3D printed diplomatic gift to the President of Israel, Mr. Shimon Peres, in recognition of pioneering research between the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Centre and the University of Nottingham.
Stunning 3D printed gift, printed using Stratasys’ Connex technology shows nano-sized plastic particles developed by scientists at the University of Nottingham
The reunion between political leaders Cameron and Peres announces the coming together of two nations in scientific collaboration. Scientists at the University of Nottingham have developed revolutionary nano-sized particles that can facilitate the growth of cells, while Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Centre has pioneered research into Parkinson’s disease for several years. Working closely together, scientists from these two academic establishments are now developing a technology that is designed to deliver these new cells into the brain to aid the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Extending the international collaboration into a diplomatic gift for Israel’s President Peres, British designer, Daniel Hilldrup, and UK service bureau, IPF, were invited by the British Council to 3D print a model using Stratasys’ Connex technology. Recognizing the scientific research between the nations, the highly complex model features black rubber-like nano-particles suspended in a clear transparent material – made possible with the unique Connex 3D printing technology able to combine these materials in a single printed part. In fact, uniquely, both base materials were mixed together to create 12 other material properties and greyscales to demonstrate the variation in nano particles.
“We’re extremely proud to represent 3D printing in such a prestigious occasion and to push our multi-material technology to its limits, mirroring the advanced scientific research being celebrated by these nations,” says Arita Mattsoff, Vice President Marketing, Stratasys. “What’s amazing about this gift in particular is that 14 different material combinations were printed in a single part. Not only does it feature black rubber-like parts inside a clear material, each nano-particle varies in hardness and gradient mimicking the individuality of particles in real-life.”
Gary Miller, Head of 3D Printing and Rapid Prototyping at IPF, continues: “Like a ship in a bottle, producing a material inside another is just not possible using traditional manufacturing methods. In fact, no other 3D printing technology can print this combination of materials with a clear transparent material and the black. The results were amazing, especially given the fact the whole piece was produced overnight.”
Hilldrup concludes: “For a long time in 3D printing, we were limited by the use of only one material at a time when producing a model. Objet Connex Multi-material 3D printing changed everything – it frees you up conceptually to manufacture things that you previously could not visualise. It’s really satisfying when you design something and when it’s actually produced, it is true to the initial vision.”