Product Development at Spectra3D
We at Spectra3D are excited to embark on a new adventure as an organization of creative individuals who love 3D printing! Our 3D printing and production services are recognized for high-quality 3D printed creations.
Animals Saved by 3D Printing
With robotic hands, custom-printed splints, and medicine that can be printed to specific doses, the news is full of ways that 3D printing can help humans live healthier, more productive lives. But, if you look close enough, there are also some really amazing examples of how 3D printing has also been helping some adorable members of the animal kingdom. Here are a few of our favorite stories about animals saved by 3D printing. 1. A pelican’s new beak. When a pelican began acting strangely at the Dalian Forest Zoo, staff members soon realized that the bird’s beak was damaged. Because a beak is vital to both food gathering and determining a pelican’s social status, a beak is crucial to a pelican’s survival. After two attempts at repairing the beak through other methods, zoo workers decided that they would try to use a 3D printer to make the necessary repairs. Because it appeared that there was already some new growth, doctors determined that it wasn’t necessary to print the entire beak. The final product is a 3D printed extension that screws into the pelican’s original beak, allowing the pelican to feed normally once more. 2. A turtle’s new home. A turtle’s shell protects them in a number of ways, including from bacteria and infection. In some cases, poor nutrition can lead to a bone disease which can cause the shell to wear away. When that happens, a turtle can be left painfully exposed. This is the fate that turtle Cleopatra was facing. Luckily, however, Cleopatra was taken in by Canyon Critters Rescue. Here, founder Nicola “Nico” Novelli determined that he...
Benefit from a 3D Printer at Home, no Experience Required
When we bring our 3D printers to an event, we always have a great time meeting new people and talking about the potential of 3D printing. While most people are really excited to see the printers in action, one of the observations we hear most often is, “it’s neat, but I don’t think that I have any use for it,” or “it doesn’t seem very practical.” While I can certainly understand why this is often a first reaction, here is why I truly believe that everybody can benefit from having a 3D printer at home For beginners When you skim through the hundreds of thousands of downloadable files available online, you will definitely see a bunch of knick-knacks and things that most homes just don’t need. But you will also find a whole lot of items that are extremely practical. Do you need new organizers for your drawers? How about a wrench for a project? Just download the files and hit print. Not only are these items fully customizable to your own unique space or project, but you also get to avoid a trip to the store. Some of those knick-knacks are actually really cool. There are some true artists at work on these sites who create beautiful vases that make fantastic centerpieces, one-of-a-kind pencil holders, Thor statues that your little ones are sure to love, and much more. When your kids are bored, you can print out a brand new board game, or open up one of the customizable files and let them have a great time tweaking their own ornament or action figure. If you are in...
Our 3D Printed Office – Network Cables
Our 3D Printed Office – Network Cables Chords and clutter At Spectra3D Systems, we have an office problem that we think many of you can relate to – cluttered network cables. For years, we have done what we could to organize them by bundling the chords and shoving them into corners, over doorways, and behind wall hangings. But eventually, we decided that it was time to conquer the clutter. So we turned to our 3D printer for help. . . We decided to design a contraption to neatly hold the chords tightly in place as they stretched across the ceiling. The system we devised utilized four different pieces. The first is a clip that is fitted to snap over the metal part of the ceiling between the tiles. The second piece includes individual slots for each of the cables to fit inside of. We printed three different sizes so that they would hold either two, four, or six cables at a time. The third piece then snaps over the top of the second piece to hold the cables in place. The fourth piece allows you to gently re-route the cables if you want them to switch directions. This works great for us because we have several cables originating from the same space before heading to different computers and printers throughout the room. We printed the pieces on our Stratasys uPrint SE Plus printer. Then we snapped the pieces into place Everything fit perfectly. The first piece snapped right into the ceiling and the slots for the wires had just enough space to allow us to pull the wires through...