Orlando, FL (PRWE May 30, 2008 -- An expert in nanomanufacturing says that researchers are developing molecular-sized machines that in our lifetimes will allow humans to live without a fresh intake of oxygen for as much as four hours.

That means that underwater swimmers will need no special equipment to stay down for hours on end and that heart attack victims will be able to leisurely make their way to a hospital to receive treatment.

This is not science fiction, according to Boris Fritz, an aerospace engineer, who outlined the potential uses of these so-called "respirocytes" during his remarks at RAPID 2008, a conference and exhibition sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME).

Fritz believes that respirocytes - which function as artificial red blood cells capable of transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body - could replace 10% of actual human blood cells to provide the extra four hours of intake-free, life-sustaining oxygen.

A video interview with Fritz is available now on the Low-Volume Manufacturers Association site at www.l-vma.org.

Fritz is a senior engineer technical specialist in the Materials & Processes Laboratory at Northrop Grumman Corp. He is also founder and a past chairman of SME's Nanomanufacturing Technical Group.

When the technology for respirocytes is ready, the nanomachines are likely to be "printed" using the type of additive fabrication systems currently deployed to produce non-mold prototypes and low-volume direct digital manufactured parts.

Fritz told RAPID 2008 and L-VMA that he also is excited about the ability to use additive fabrication systems to produce programmable material - sometimes called utility fog or foglets - that can change shape, feel and bond based upon a user's needs.

As Fritz explained, in the future - perhaps as soon as 20 years hence -- billions of volumetric pixels (voxals) will be simply manufactured and programmed to conform to users' needs: a bed that can be used at night that then reforms itself to be a desk or kitchen table during the day.

Likewise, Fritz envisions a more distant future in which programmable material is used to build homes that can be 'remodeled' at will and holodeck-like rooms where the interiors can reshape themselves to match almost any desired scenery - including to-the-touch accurate human models.

"This isn't virtual reality," Fritz notes. "It is more like real, reality, because it is made of foglets," he says.

Dean Rotbart, founder and director of L-VMA, says that Fritz highlights the fact that the additive fabrication industry - which most people think of as dealing with industrial prototypes and parts - is on the cutting edge of 21st Century technological advances. "Talk about undiscovered potential, the additive fabrication industry has the potential to make the Internet look so 'yesterday'," Rotbart says. "Investors, entrepreneurs and journalists who want to see tomorrow today should be talking to RAPID industry leaders such as Boris Fritz," he adds.

The Low-Volume Manufacturers Association is a volunteer organization dedicated to showcasing the benefits of rapid-prototyping, rapid-manufacturing and other emerging additive fabrication technologies. Membership in the group is free and open to all bona fide additive fabrication companies.

By Dean Rotbart
Director
Low-Volume Manufacturers Association


The additive fabrication industry has a great story to tell the world and yet is one of the worst storytellers imaginable.  News release after news release issued by members of this industry read as if they were written by engineers -- which they probably were.

But while engineers can design systems and parts that wow the imagination -- i.e. 'build a better mousetrap' -- the world will not beat a path to our doors unless we do a better job of telling our story.

Writing news releases is an art -- not a science.  So my guidelines herein are intended as just that -- guides.  In general, the most important insights that RAPID owners and executives can take away from this lesson are these.

1. Write a Grabbing Headline for Your News Release, Even if that Means Leaving Your Company's Name/Product Out of the Headline.
   
   
2. In the first paragraph or two, get immediately to the 'so what' of your announcement -- leaving the details (who, what, when, where) for further down.  If readers don't know the import of your announcement upfront, they likely won't bother reading deep into your news release to discover it.
   
   
3. Write as if you are telling a story to your neighbor or a member of your church.  Your audience needs to be enticed.

If you'd like to see specifically what I mean, let's take a look at a news release I issued this week highlighting the speech given by Northrup Grumman's Boris Fritz at RAPID 2008.  To view it, click here.

MINNEAPOLIS-- Stratasys on March 11, 2008 announced the availability of ABS-M30i, a new biocompatible material for use with its FDM 400mc^™ prototyping and production system. The announcement was made in conjunction with the MEDTEC Show in Stuttgart, where Stratasys is exhibiting at the alphacam stand, number 1838, in Halle 6.

Stratasys expects common prototyping and production applications to include surgical instruments, food processing and packaging systems, and pharmaceutical handling, processing, and packaging applications. ABS-M30i is FDA compatible and meets ISO 10993 standards. The material may be sterilized using either the gamma radiation or ethylene oxide (EtO) method.

In addition to being biocompatible, ABS-M30i offers substantial improvements over standard Stratasys ABS across a number of mechanical properties, including tensile strength, impact strength, and flexural strength. ABS-M30i mechanical properties for strength are up to 67 percent stronger than standard Stratasys ABS, and bonding strength between layers is more than doubled, greatly expanding capabilities for functional testing or manufacturing production parts.

“ABS-M30i opens up a variety of direct digital manufacturing possibilities for medical device and food and pharmaceutical companies interested in developing sterile, biocompatible parts in-house,”says Stratasys FDM product manager Patrick Robb. “It gives users flexibility in choosing the best material to meet their needs. And it adds to a growing line of materials for FDM additive fabrication, including ABS, ABS-M30, ABSi, PC, PC-ABS, PC-ISO, and PPSF.”

Build speeds using ABS-M30i on the Stratasys FDM 400mc are 29 percent faster, on average, than the same part built in ABS on a Stratasys FDM Titan, Vantage SE or Vantage S system. ABS-M30i also uses the new SR20 soluble support technology, enabling automated support-material removal. In addition, ABS-M30i parts can be built with 0.005, 0.007, 0.010, and 0.013 inch slices. It is initially available in “natural” off-white color.

Stratasys Inc., Minneapolis, manufactures additive fabrication machines for prototyping and direct digital manufacturing. It also offers prototype and part manufacturing services. Stratasys products are used in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, education, electronic, and consumer product industries. On the Web: www.stratasys.com