Version 1
: Received: 11 March 2020 / Approved: 12 March 2020 / Online: 12 March 2020 (14:46:07 CET)
How to cite:
Schtickzelle, N.; Laurent, E.; Morel-Journel, T. 3D Printing for Ecology and Evolution: A Hands-on Guide to Turn an Idea into Reality. Preprints2020, 2020030220. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0220.v1
Schtickzelle, N.; Laurent, E.; Morel-Journel, T. 3D Printing for Ecology and Evolution: A Hands-on Guide to Turn an Idea into Reality. Preprints 2020, 2020030220. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0220.v1
Schtickzelle, N.; Laurent, E.; Morel-Journel, T. 3D Printing for Ecology and Evolution: A Hands-on Guide to Turn an Idea into Reality. Preprints2020, 2020030220. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0220.v1
APA Style
Schtickzelle, N., Laurent, E., & Morel-Journel, T. (2020). 3D Printing for Ecology and Evolution: A Hands-on Guide to Turn an Idea into Reality. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0220.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Schtickzelle, N., Estelle Laurent and Thibaut Morel-Journel. 2020 "3D Printing for Ecology and Evolution: A Hands-on Guide to Turn an Idea into Reality" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0220.v1
Abstract
3D printing is described as the third industrial revolution: its impact is global in industry and progresses every day in society. It presents a huge potential for ecology and evolution, sciences with a long tradition of inventing and creating objects for research, education and outreach. Its general principle as an additive manufacturing technique is relatively easy to understand: objects are created by adding material layers on top of each other. Although this may seem very straightforward on paper, it is much harder in the real world. Specific knowledge is indeed needed to successfully turn an idea into a real object, because of technical choices and limitations at each step of the implementation. This article aims at helping scientists to jump in the 3D printing revolution, by offering a hands-on guide to current 3D printing technology. We first give a brief overview of uses of 3D printing in ecology and evolution, then review the whole process of object creation, split into three steps: (1) obtaining the digital 3D model of the object of interest, (2) choosing the 3D printing technology and material best adapted to the requirements of its intended use, (3) pre- and post-processing the 3D object. We compare the main technologies available and their pros and cons according to the features and the use of the object to be printed. We give specific and key details in appendices, based on examples in ecology and evolution.
Keywords
3D printing; 3D scanning; customized ecological objects; methods; stereolithography; open-source lab
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
