Recycling Towards 3D Printing Materials

Choquette, Cassidy; Enoch, Tobias; Walling, Nikesh; Saunders, Jacob

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Recycling Towards 3D Printing Materials

Public Deposited

In addition to written materials and diagrams, three-dimensional models are essential to medical education pedagogy. However, many of the materials and models used, such as detailed anatomical models and cadaverous dissections, are typically exorbitantly expensive or ethically contentious. The University of Namibia School of Medicine (UNAM) struggled with acquiring enough teaching materials for students due to supply limitations and funding constraints. One of UNAM’s facilities, the Forge3D Lab, attempts to circumvent some of these limitations by 3D printing models and teaching materials. The team interviewed faculty and students at UNAM about medical education and medical ethics and their intersection with 3D printing and technology. The team’s findings showed that there are numerous applications for 3D printing within the anatomy, dentistry, and occupational therapy departments at UNAM. Furthermore, the team provided several recommendations about where to direct the Forge3D Lab’s resources within UNAM. In addition to qualitative interviews, the team sourced and manufactured a filament production machine capable of converting waste plastic bottles into usable 3D printer filament. In all, the team completed the bulk of the mechanical assembly of this machine, with about 80% of the machine working. Programming and electrical engineering work will happen after the project's completion, as it can be done remotely. In all, the interviews informed the use cases of the reusable filament that the team hoped to produce, revealing ethical, logistical and resource limitations that go into creating educational tools for medical education.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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