3D printing | Nicole DiGiose

High school class creates prosthetic hand for 9-year-old girl

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Nicole DiGiose

A high school class at Boylan High School, IL is using a 3D printer to create a prosthetic hand for Kylie Wicker, a 9-year-old from nearby Roscoe, IL, who has been upset about other children staring at her underdeveloped left hand.

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Kylie Wicker. Image via ABC.

Kylie’s parents, Jeromy and Sharon Wicker have considered getting their daughter a prosthetic hand before, but their insurance would only cover 80% of the cost for a single prosthetic. Since it’s so expensive, the Wickers were planning to wait until Kylie was older and had stopped growing to buy the prosthetic. But once Jeromy came across a video online of a father who made a 3D-printed hand for his son with a condition similar to Kylie’s, everything changed. Read More

High school students put an end to watery ketchup with a 3D-printed cap

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Nicole DiGiose

Two teenagers solve an old problem with a new ketchup cap

As you stand above your burger with that squeezable ketchup bottle, you quickly become disappointed with the unpleasant watery liquid that shoots out before the actual condiment itself. Luckily, two high school students put their heads together to design the 3D-printed ketchup-dispensing invention we’ve all been waiting for.

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Thompson and Richards’ 3D-printed ketchup bottle solution. Image via geek.com.

Teenagers Jonathan Thompson and Tyler Richards of Missouri created a bottle replacement cap that forces the ketchup away from the top and into a small tube at its center, which the ketchup then squeezes out of. Read More

3D printer saves three-legged kitten

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

Small 3D printer company gives three-legged kitten a second chance

By now we’ve heard of human body parts such as ears, bones, and even kidneys being 3D-printed, but how about a cat leg? Though cat owner Jenn Ruliffson wasn’t exactly sure how her kitten Sasha was injured, she knew something was up, as the kitten began dragging both of her back legs.

Sasha, the injured kitten whose leg will be replaced with a 3D-printed prosthetic. Image via bizjournals.com.

Ruliffson took Sasha to the nearby Jacksonville Humane Society for surgery in Jacksonville, FL, and according to a local newspaper, Sasha’s injury was so bad that her back right paw actually fell off. Read More

Five 3D-Printed Objects That Will Blow Your Mind

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

With a 3D printer and some imagination, you can create just about anything

Though 3D printers are still too expensive to make their way across the globe into our homes next to our tablets and flat-screen TVs, the few lucky early adopters who got their hands on them have created extraordinary three-dimensional objects. While 3D-printed clothing and toys are impressive, below are some mind-blowing creations that prove 3D-printers are totally worth it.

3D-printed self-assembling robot

The future is coming, and it’s coming fast. By now, we’ve already heard about robots that can assemble themselves, but a 3D-printed robot that can do the same is ridiculously impressive. The innocent-looking inchworm robot pictured below was created by researchers from Harvard and MIT, and it has no problem assembling itself to inch about. The only human intervention was attaching the robot’s motor and battery. The next step will be a more complicated robot that builds itself and walks away, and it will come pre-assembled with a battery and motor. All we have to do now is wait for the day when robots become smart enough to print themselves out.

MIT and Harvard’s 3D-printed inchworm robot can assemble itself. Image via inhabitat.com.