Tag Archives: 3D Printing

Dubai opens world’s first functioning 3D-printed office building

A view of the world's first functional 3D printed offices are seen in Dubai

DUBAI (Reuters) – Dubai has opened what it said was the world’s first functioning 3D-printed office building, part of a drive by the Gulf’s main tourism and business hub to develop technology that cuts costs and saves time.

The printers – used industrially and also on a smaller scale to make digitally designed, three-dimensional objects from plastic – have not been used much for building.

This one used a special mixture of cement, a Dubai government statement said, and reliability tests were done in Britain and China.

The one-storey prototype building, with floorspace of about 250 square meters (2,700 square feet), used a 20-foot (6-metre)by 120-foot by 40-foot printer, the government said.

“This is the first 3D-printed building in the world, and it’s not just a building, it has fully functional offices and staff,” the United Arab Emirates Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Mohamed Al Gergawi, said.

“We believe this is just the beginning. The world will change,” he said.

The arc-shaped office, built in 17 days and costing about $140,000, will be the temporary headquarters of Dubai Future Foundation – the company behind the project – is in the center of the city, near the Dubai International Financial Center.

Gergawi said studies estimated the technique could cut building time by 50-70 percent and labor costs by 50-80 percent. Dubai’s strategy was to have 25 percent of the buildings in the emirate printed by 2030, he said.

(Reporting by Lara Sukhtian; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Louise Ireland)

FDA Approves First 3D Printed Drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first drug that is created using a 3D printer.

The drug, Spritam, is designed for the treatment of epilepsy according to a statement from the manufacturer Aprecia Pharmaceuticals.

The printed pills were created by what the company calls “ZipDose.”  The printer creates a pre-measured dose that dissolves in the mouth when you consume a liquid.  Tests showed the pill dissolves significantly faster than “fast melt” drugs because the pill is powdered medication bound together by the printer.

“As a result, Spritam enhances the patient experience — administration of even the largest strengths of levetiracetam with just a sip of liquid,” Aprecia said in a statement on Monday. “In addition, with Spritam there is no measuring required as each dose is individually packaged, making it easy to carry this treatment on the go.”

Scientists are hailing the decision by the FDA, saying that the use of 3D printing technology could revolutionize the way medication is given to patients.

The technology could allow doctors to put all of a patient’s medication into a single pill with precise monitoring of the dosages of each medication.  If the doctor needs to make a change, they just change the amount in the printing program for that patient.

Spirtam is the first 3D printed drug approved by the FDA.