A 3D-Print Brain is now in the market – it was innovated with free government library can now be downloaded, shared and edit files for use in 3D printers from a new government website. The site has files that can be used to create models of anything from a human brain to deadly viruses.
The website, launched by the National Institutes of Health, is called theNIH 3D Print Exchange, and contains a library of files that a 3D printers can read and print. The files all relate to health and science; the available files include models of a human femur bone, the West Nile virus and a white matter section of the brain.
Users can also share their own files, edit exiting ones or create files using a tool that can convert scientific data into ready-to-print 3D files.
"We created this website as kind of a way to have a YouTube-like experience, but instead of exchanging and sharing and commenting on and remixing videos, instead we are doing all of those same things with 3D-Print files," said Darrell Hurt, a researcher at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who helped build up the 3D Print Exchange.
A 3D printer generates three-dimensional objects from digital replicas by "printing" material one layer at a time.
The NIH already uses 3D printing for several purposes, including making special lab equipment and creating anatomy models that doctors can then use to plan medical procedures. Scientists who study very small things, like proteins, bacteria or viruses, can also enhance their understanding by creating 3D models.
"A researcher who's been using a computer model of this for 15 years learns something as soon as they put their hands on a real, tangible model," Hurtsaid in the video, referring to a 3D-printed representation of a protein.
All of the files on the site are free, and the site also features a tutorial for new users. The library is not intended only for professional scientists, but for everyone.
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