How 3D Printing Brings Artists and Scientists Together
Students and professionals from all fields synergize and collaborate at a revolutionary 3D printing center in the heart of Jerusalem.
Imagine adding 3D printed heels to feel a few inches taller. Think about the possibility to 3D print medication in a way that allows the shape to control how fast the medicine is released into the body. These are two of many innovations taking place at the Center for Functional and 3D Printing.
Their Story
It all started in Professor Shlomo Magdassi’s office at the Casali Center’s Institute of Chemistry. Magdassi is well-known for his expertise in the chemistry of inkjet printing. He formed a research group focused around his work in inkjet inks, Nanoscience, and Nanotechnology. Michael Layani, a PhD student at the Hebrew University at the time, joined the team. Together they worked in the INKJET printing lab and about 10 years ago they started to switch from 2D printing to 3D printing. Word spread throughout Jerusalem that they had a 3D printing lab and professors, entrepreneurs, physics professors, and startups came to their lab asking to use their equipment.
Michael and Magdassi saw this as a great opportunity to be a useful resource to Jerusalem’s forward-thinking community. They raised the idea to the dean at the Hebrew University to scale-up the size and capacity for their 3D printing lab. Michael became the manager of the center, and thanks to Yissum, a technology transfer company that commercializes Hebrew University’s research, the Military of Defense, and the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA) by their side, they were able to open up shop in 2016.
Here are a few printers that make up the 3D Printing Center:
Aerosol Jet Printer
Polyjet Multi Material Printer — Objet260 Connex3
The layout of the 3D Printing Center
The lab grew so successful that they brought two more people onto the team, an engineer and a teaching assistant. These team members assist anyone seeking advice or guidance on how to use the 3D printers for their personal ventures.
The Center’s Core Practices
Since the beginning, they have been a part of the nanocenter, where Intel works on microchips and nanometer microscopes are developed. After they received enough funding to bring on the engineer and teaching assistant to their team, they were able to flourish. They have acquired more 3D printers and opened their lab to a wide-array of disciplines from the predicted engineering students at Azrieli College, to the nearby chemistry and biology students at the Hebrew University, and even the artistic creatives at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design.
With the help of the JDA as a platform for connections, the 3D printing center supports all of Jerusalem’s relevant disciplines.
Here are a couple of multidisciplinary projects that have taken place over the past few years:
Bezalel Academy student, Ganit Goldstein, had the idea to use 3D printing to design and make lace. She created an algorithm for the design she wanted, then partnered with Magdassi’s Lab to help with the material development, and the 3D printing center to print the actual design. This type of design is revolutionary because of the material’s high resistance to heat, as well as how little time it took to create.
At the Hebrew University, they have developed countless 3D innovations. Their collaborations with the Casali Institute of Chemistry allows their innovations to tackle medicine, food-tech, electronics, solar technology, and everything in between.
Electronics
They are on the forefront of developing 4D printing, which gives 3D objects the ability to move over time. It is useful for things like dynamic jewelry, electric circuits with shape memory, CNT and magnetic printing for soft robotics, and hybrid ceramic-organic 3D printing, which can stand high temperatures and sustains transparency. Recently, they developed responsive hydrogels for drug-delivery systems. The structures change shape after they enter the body, and they predict that this innovation will lead to personalized drug delivery.
Hydrogels
On a futuristic note, the 3D center is currently developing materials and methods for 3D printing on Mars. They are using indigenous materials, and have already begun to develop materials to 3D print.
Why it works so well
The center is purely driven by the desire to innovate and educate. This is why they have been able to be so successful. Healthy incentives lead to organic and remarkable change. The center’s attitude revolves around ideas like: Experimentation is healthy, failure is good, the goal is not profit, but improvement. The center continues to lead the world in science innovation, and they constantly improve applications and innovations at the Hebrew University.
They have strong backing from the Jerusalem Development Authority to serve as a connection to the many disciplines in Jerusalem that find this 3D printing center valuable. Starting in 2017, they put on a spectacular annual event in November which gives them a chance to display their 3D printers’ endless possibilities. Last year, and this year, they had over 500 attendees, with a handful of interdisciplinary speakers. They had speakers like Dr. Reitzel from BMW to talk about Additive Manufacturing in the automotive area and Maya Ben David from Bezalel’s Industrial Design track to discuss the relationship between ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’. The crossover between disciplines created a synergistic environment on November 7th.
Hebrew University’s Center for Functional and 3D Printing is one of Jerusalem’s many (3D-printed) gems. Their unique mission to innovate for the sake of learning inspires many. The world’s educational centers have a great deal to learn from such a remarkable movement such as this one.
