Jade Boyd

Rice University

Trends in Manufacturing: Insights from 750 Leaders

Trends in Manufacturing: Insights from 750 Leaders

Despite manufacturers’ best forecasts, no one could have predicted what 2020 had in store. For many manufacturers, the destabilizing force of the pandemic exposed weaknesses along the value chain. It also highlighted opportunities to justify larger-scale.

Unlike most commercial SLS platforms, Rice University's OpenSLS allows researchers to work with their own powdered materials, including specialized biomaterials like polycaprolactone, or PCL, a common nontoxic polymer that was used to print these tissue-engineering scaffolds. Researcher Ian Kinstlinger developed a method for smoothing the surfaces (left) of newly printed scaffolds (right) using vaporized solvent.

Laser Cutter Hacked to Create Open-Source 3D Printer

It's 40 times cheaper, and can print intricate designs from powdered plastics and biomaterials.