Just watched this TED talk today[1] and mentioned to a friend that 3D printing is going to be "really, really cool". While the video probably won't show anything new for your average hacker here it might be a good introduction for people around you.
Creating a lower jaw within a few hours is "really, really cool".
I'm extremely impressed that this just took a few hours. How did they get the right shape? Did they just print a copy of an old (pre-infection) scan of her mandible? Or did a doctor "clean up" the scan of her current, damaged jaw?
That's just the printing time. Designing the jaw took much longer (it's a complex joint apparently), and after printing it needed to be polished and coated in a bio-compatible layer by a different company.
About that 'apparently': I guess they would take their time for any joint, but a jaw is special in two ways:
- it hinges at two points. As with doors, those must be t exactly the right distance of each other, or the thing simply will not fit, and be perfectly in line, or rotating the thing will cause huge forces on those hinges. I guess these could easily break of the new jaw or, worse, parts of the upper jaw.
- it must close perfectly flat; you do not want to have only a few teeth touch when it is maximally closed.
Creating a lower jaw within a few hours is "really, really cool".
[1] http://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_harouni_a_primer_on_3d_printin...