Jung Kim, Professor at the School of Mechanical Aerospace and Systems Engineering: Division of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST
“I, as a scientist, make something out of nothing. For me, 3D printing technology, which turns the ideas hatched in my brain into 3D reality and thus speed up my researches, is an epoch-making invention,” said Jung Kim, Professor at the School of Mechanical Aerospace & Systems Engineering: Division of Mechanical Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
. The KAIST Biorobotics Lab is where the best and brightest of South Korea are engrossed in researches. Asked about the usefulness of 3D printing, Professor Kim gave such an answer to Korea IT Times reporter.
At the KAIST Biorobotics Lab, located in the Mechanical Engineering System Office at KAIST in Daejon, Professor Kim and other researchers were conducting researches on applying biosignal-turned data to a robotic interface in order to make a robot that emulates or simulates human beings. Though the scope of Professor Kim’s researches was wide, it can be divided largely into biosignal-based auxiliary devices and supporters for patients; surgical instruments and robotic devices employing electromyography (EMG) sensors; and sensor-equipped diagnostic tips.
KAIST Meets with STRATASYS’s 3D Printing Technology
There has been a big change in the KAIST Biorobotics Lab’s research work. The introduction of a 3D printer led to a plunge in the average period of research and to great improvements in the agreement between ideas and prototypes and research results. Research processes are generally comprised of four stages: idea sketches, CAD (computer-aided design) drawings, the creation of a rough prototype and the creation of a final prototype. Building a rough prototype used to take at least three to four weeks. However, since the purchase of a 3D printer, the period of this process has been dramatically reduced to less than 10 hours.
The prototype produced by 3D printer is high-precision device that detects minute changes in human motion
“In the pre-3D printing days, we had to find a contractor so as to outsource the job of building a prototype after an experimental setup was decided. Most of our prototypes are high-precision devices (e.g. acceleration sensors that detect minute changes in motion), we usually waited at least two to three weeks before we received what we commissioned out. Thus, the period of each research project was somewhat drawn out. And when CAD drawings were not as precise as expected, we did not move on to the next round i.e. the creation of a prototype,” said Professor Kim.
“However, since the introduction of a Stratasys 3D printer to out lab, we have wasted no time between the stage of CAD drawings and the creation of a prototype. Once an experiential setup is decided, the process of CAD drawings ensues. Then, we simply call it a day and head home after feeding the CAD drawings into the 3D printer. Next morning, we get down to business in earnest with the 3D-printed prototype. Such remarkable changes allow us to delve into a wider range of experimental setups in a shorter period of time and to swiftly make adjustments to our research projects upon detection of any flaws. 3D printing not only shortens the period of research but also jacks up the accuracy of our researches,” added Professor Kim.
“Compared to other 3D printers in use in other research labs, the Dimension 3D printer by Stratasys is superior in accuracy and offers a wider range of applicable materials. The preexisting 3D printers were capable of printing out rough prototypes while the Dimension 3D printer by Stratasys can build well-refined prototypes of marketable quality. In my opinion, the prototypes fresh out of the Stratasys Dimension 3D printer in out lab can be put on the market as finished goods,” he continued.
“We are currently working on a wearable auxiliary device designed to deal with essential hand tremors. The data value of biosignals sent from muscles in motion is calculated and fed into the device. This device will be put to good use in actual medicine practice. Thus, we need an extremely high-precision 3D printer to flesh out our experimental setup. If it had not been for a Stratasys Dimension 3D printer, we wouldn’t be able to get our hands on such a high-precision prototype now,” Professor Kim said.
3D Printing, the New Technology that Takes Bioengineering to New Heights
The Stratasys Dimension 3D printer installed at the KAIST Biorobotics Lab is usually tasked with building market-ready prototypes of robotic exoskeletons (arms, legs, etc.), lab tools (which are actually used in researches) and sensor-equipped diagnostic tips, etc.
Since the materials of cancer detection tools and MRI scanners, which detect the existence of cancerous tumors based on the value of what is emitted back by the patient’s cancer-suspicious regions (CSRs), are very important, the multi-material Dimension 3D printer by Stratasys comes in very handy.
“The prototypes we make with the help of the Stratasys Dimension 3D printer is not simply plastic models for window-dressing but biorobotic products, which turn humans’ minute biosignals into data and apply them to robotic interfaces. In other words, the more often the changes in data value are reflected in the process of prototyping based on an experimental setup, the better the perfection of a final prototype is. In that sense, the achievements we made in the nine years before our purchase of a 3D printer pales greatly in comparison with the past year’s achievements we made with a 3D printer at hand. Thus, I would like to recommend potential 3D printer buyers to go for the Stratasys Dimension 3D,” said Professor Kim, wrapping up his interview with The Korea IT Times.