3-D PRINTING BY OBAMA

Why 3-D Printing Matters for "Made in U.S.A."

A rise in 3D printing technology won't mean a "Star Trek" replicator in every home to make whatever Americans desire. But the White House has bet big on the idea that 3D printing can revolutionize U.S. manufacturing from within the heart of the Midwest's "Rust Belt" once known for its shuttered steel mills.

President Barack Obama's proposed $1 billion bet on a manufacturing innovation network hinges upon places such as Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where the whirring sounds of 3D printers and laser cutters filled the engineering department's invention center on a late Friday afternoon. The university is one of many partners in the federally funded National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) — a $30 million pilot institute aimed at boosting 3D printing's use in U.S. manufacturing.

"The real value of 3D printing is to do something that's either not possible or not cost-effective to do with existing technology," said James McGuffin-Cawley, chairman of materials science & engineering at Case Western Reserve University and a member of the NAMII executive board.

3D printing represents the latest version of what industry experts call "additive manufacturing" — a way to turn practically any computer designs into real objects by building them up layer-by-layer using plastics, metals or other materials. The technology could end up affecting every major industry — aerospace, defense, medicine, transportation, food, fashion — and have an even bigger impact on U.S. manufacturing than the robot revolution.

"Even though the technology has been around for more than 20 years, Washington finally gets it," said Terry Wohlers, an independent analyst and leading expert on 3D printing who sits on NAMII's governance board.

Why 3D printing makes sense

Wohlers referred to the fact that manufacturers have used such technology to build models and prototypes to test new product designs for 20 years. The difference with the new NAMII effort is that the U.S. government wants 3D printing to help produce more products stamped "Made in USA."

The strength of 3D printing comes from its ability to make individual, specifically tailored parts on demand, rather than churning out thousands of standard products with a factory's worth of assembly-line equipment. That could prove especially cost-effective for making the complex parts of specialty devices or equipment in small batches or on a one-off basis, such as replacement parts for a fighter jet or thejawbone implant customized for an individual patient's surgery.

"If you're making 10,000,000 trash cans for sale at Wal-Mart, then no — you might prototype those things with 3D printing but you won't be manufacturing them that way," Wohlers told TechNewsDaily. "If you're making parts for 50 to 100 military aircraft, then it is a perfect fit."

Aerospace giant Boeing has already proved a pioneer by using 3D printing to make more than 22,000 parts used on civilian and military aircraft flying today. The rest of the U.S. aerospace industry is trying to catch up fast — GE Aviation announced its purchase of two companies in Ohio, Morris Technologies and Rapid Quality Manufacturing, last month. GE Aviation's idea is to use its newly acquired 3D printing capabilities to make jet engine parts. [Video: A 3D Printer Of Your Own: When Will You Have One At Home?]

Similarly, 3D printing is poised to shake up the medical industry, said David Dean, director of the neurological surgery imaging laboratory at Case Western Reserve University. He pointed to the possibilities of 3D-printed hip and knee implants fitted precisely to each patient that can avoid the medical problems related to today's less well-fitted implants.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

Scientists invent a pineapple that tastes like coconut

                                          Some scientists develop water purification systems to help serve parched populations, some scientists work on battling epidemics that cause suffering for millions. But to the relief of bartenders and tipplers everywhere, some scientists work on creating coconut-flavored pineapples.

Australia's Department of Agriculture announced it is in the final stages of developing a new variety of pineapple that conveys the distinct taste of coconut, according to the Daily Mail. The agency has been developing the new breed for the past 10 years at a research station in Queensland.

The new fruit has been bestowed with the marketing-ready, peppy moniker of the “AusFestival.” What the name “AusFestival” has to do with pineapples and coconuts wasn't revealed, but we can assume that “pinenut” wouldn’t work, and “cocoapple” sounds more like a winter dessert than a blast of the tropics. So AusFestival it is.

Although scientists clearly get a bit carried away with the whole “playing God” thing (we’re talking to you, glow-in-the-dark cat inventors), hybrid fruit like the AusFestival has a long legacy, and there’s no actual genetic engineering involved. About 100 years ago, Luther Burbank hybridized plums and apricots to invent the plumcot. At the same time, Walter T. Swingle crossed tangerines and grapefruits to come up with tangelos, one of the first times a new fruit gained commercial acceptance. Grapefruits, peppermint and boysenberries are just a few of the many other hybrid fruits.

Although these days, all too often the best texture and flavor attributes are bred out of produce in favor of traits that create a heartier and more commercially viable product (more durability for shipping, longer shelf life at the market, etc), yet the new coconut-pineapple is said to be quite flavorful.

"Taste tests tell us that AusFestival is a winner — it has this lovely coconut flavor, which you won't find in any other pineapple in Australia,” horticulturalist Garth Senewski told the Australian Broadcast Corporation. Senewski said that the researchers did not initially set out to create a pineapple that tasted like coconut. They were, “looking for a nice flavored pineapple … for a variety that is sweet, low acid and aromatic,” he told the Australian Broadcast Corporation.

Although for now, piña colada aficionados best keep stocked up on Coco Lopez; the new fruit will not be commercially available for another two years. In the meantime, maybe the researchers can figure out how to breed some dark rum into their new concoction

--mnn NEWS