Cathal Garvey is doing some truly amazing stuff with 3D printing. His Shapeways Shop Labs From Fabs showcases all his 3D printed lab equipment. Basically he wants to use fabbing technology such as Shapeways and Makerbot to make inexpensive lab equipment. He sells the printed objects on Shapeways and also makes the designs available for download on Thingverse for anyone with their own 3D printer.
I thought it was a great initiative but recently it turned amazing with the Dremelfuge. The Dremelfuge is a 3D printed attachment that turns a regular Dremel power tool into a lab centrifuge. Cathal’s great blog shows you a video of how it works as well as an explanation of the Dremelfuge.
This is a great example of how 3D printing could change industries. A test tube centrifuge is now $64 or $100 if you have to buy a Dremel.
I just love all the great ideas that are springing up from this still relatively new technology…. just wait until the day when you will be able to send a real finished product/concept direct from you to a recipient on the other end of the connection who has one of those new-fangled 3D-fax-printer thingys!!
The creativity of some people never ceases to amaze me. I don’t have a dremel or a need for a centrifuge, but I am still very impressed with this. And it shows how a little creativity and initiative can help solve any problem in your way.