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Researching inclusive design so my ecovillage community designs are accessible...
I wonder if you can 3D print outdoor wheelchairs 
for making gardening more accessible
for making gardening more accessible
I feel like I wouldnât want to take my everyday wheelchair out in the bugs and mud but idk I would have to survey people (obviously)
Super excited to look into accessible wayfinding too 
Kind of blows my mind that everything isnât wheelchair access in 2021 tbh...like some of us would just have to bend down more often or use stools while we worked
Okay I want to try this with eco materials
âHe takes ground up straw, and infuses it with Mycelium fungus. The fungus is known for taking a liking to straw, thus the reason for its use. He uses this material as sort of a filament within a large 3D printer.â https://www.google.com/amp/s/3dprint.com/7279/3d-print-fungus-mycelium/amp/
Fungus 
The Plastic of the Future
The Plastic of the Future
We could 3D print outdoor wheelchairs and compost them in the garden later 
âToday a growing community of environmentally conscious consumers is looking more closely at mycelium, or the part of mushrooms that grows underground.â https://actu.epfl.ch/news/the-mushroom-that-works-like-a-green-3d-printer/
âThis thread-like substance can bind together various substrates, such as woodchips, and the resulting mixture can be molded into things like bricks, panels, packing chips, furniture and a host of other objects.â
âThis idea came up when we met with architecture students at our school to develop an original, innovative alternative to existing building materials, which generate a lot of pollution,â says GaĂ«l Packer, an environmental engineering student at ENAC.â
âAs future architects and construction engineers, they realize that, as a result of resource depletion, some of todayâs building materials wonât be around forever, and that existing materials generate a lot of emissions throughout their life cycle, from production to disposal.â
âMycelium-based materials offer a promising alternative because not only are they light, cheap and easy to make, but they also provide a way to recycle waste products and can be biodegraded in just three months.â
âToday a number of grow-it-yourself kits are available online; all you need is mycelium, a substrate and a bit of patience (not included in the kit).â
âThe first step is to grow the âmushroom rootsâ in a sterile or pasteurized environment together with the substrate and some flour and water. The resulting mixture is then poured into a mold.â
âOnce it has set â which takes about a week â it needs to be baked at a low temperature to stop any further growth and consolidate the objectâs shape. The result is a light, low-density, solid, and resistant object â much as if it had been produced using 3D printing.â
âRather than use a grow-it-yourself kit, the students made their own version of the mixture using mycelium from local oyster mushrooms and fibers from hemp grown in the Jura region.â
âWe worked with several EPFL labs to test the materialâs key properties: thermal insulation, acoustic absorption, compressive strength, and water- and fire-resistance,â says Packer.â
âThey found that its thermal insulation capacity was on par with other insulating materials, that it could easily withstand the weight of a human body, that it floats and is watertight, and that it is fairly fire-resistant. Acoustic absorption tests are still under way.â
âAlthough further testing is needed, the results so far are highly promising and show that the materialâs properties are similar to those of expanded polystyrene.â
âWe can certainly improve those properties further by adjusting the composition of our mixture, whether in terms of the substrate or the mushroom feed.â
âMarkforged, a U.S. manufacturer of metal and composite 3D printers, has launched its new AI-based Blacksmith software for use with the X7 3D printer.â https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/markforged-has-launched-its-new-ai-based-blacksmith-software-for-3d-printing-186661/
âThe software has the ability to learn from each print job via closed-loop processing, enabling it to improve the quality of 3D printed parts on a rolling basis.â
âBy gradually building up a centralized scan library of print quality data, users are able to more intelligently modify print parameters based on previous results.â
âSince the in-process part inspection system performs scans on every layer, complex inner structures which would otherwise be impossible to measure can also be captured with ease.â
âAs a bonus, Blacksmith enables organizations to compare single part printing data across multiple locations, which is crucial for multinationals that may have manufacturing facilities worldwide.â
Oop 
âElsewhere, the company is also helping a team led by the NASA JPL take on the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agencyâs (DARPA) Subterranean Challenge.â
âElsewhere, the company is also helping a team led by the NASA JPL take on the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agencyâs (DARPA) Subterranean Challenge.â
âAs part of the project, Markforged 3D printers will be used to help create fully autonomous robotic systems capable of traversing underground environments such as caves during planetary explorations.â
When I tell you my weird research finds ME?!
And tell me why have I been researching cave dwelling designs and underwater facility building
We can go down the rabbit hole later lol let me stay focused on the task at hand 
How generative design and 3D printing are making customised, lighter wheelchairs a reality https://www.tctmagazine.com/additive-manufacturing-3d-printing-news/3d-printing-generative-design-custom-wheelchair/
How generative design and 3D printing are making customised, lighter wheelchairs a reality https://www.tctmagazine.com/additive-manufacturing-3d-printing-news/3d-printing-generative-design-custom-wheelchair/
âIn the same way that spectacles are a medical aid but theyâve become a fashion item - why canât we do the same for wheelchairs?â
âItâs comprised of five interchangeable modules, customised in accordance to her measurements and preferences, puts the user forward and itself in the background, and the potential to be retailed under the 2,000 GBP price point of typical personalised models.â
âFor those working on the project, the lightweighting of a wheelchair is as important as it is in the automotive/aerospace industries. It means less material usage, and less cost in both the production and shipping stages, but most importantly it makes life easier for the user.â
âIn a world where they are continually restricted, be it through accessibility, stigmatism, mobility, making life easier is Disrupt Disabilityâs motivation, and through a range of collaborators has the technology at its disposal to achieve that.â
âDD was born out of a series of hackathons, taking on board the suggestions from wheelchair users and professional designers, and is aiming to serve the 70 million people worldwide who require a wheelchair, of which around 14 million feel their requirements are not met.â
âIt operates with a mantra of âable-bodied people donât wear the same shoes every day, so why should wheelchair users use the same wheelchair every day?â If the user wants to go to the beach, the wheelchair should be able to do so without its front wheels sinking into the sand.â
âThatâs why the five core modules: the seat, backrest, rear wheel axle, cast support and footrest, can all be swapped out to better suit the function at any given time.â
3D Printing for Engineers & Product Designers https://formlabs.com/industries/engineering-product-design/
Prototyping an Optically Clear Airlock for Homebrewing With 3D Printing https://formlabs.com/blog/prototyping-an-optically-clear-airlock-for-homebrewing-with-3d-printing/
â3D printers eliminate the need to invest in fixed tooling capacities to produce complex or custom, functional prototypes in various quantities. Manufacturers can now save money and time by testing, verifying, and validating designs before production.â
Prototyping Product Designs at Bhold Design Studio
Should I pivot to product design?
The people who need design ingenuity the most, the poorest 90% of the global population, have historically been deprived of it.
Alice Rawsthorn
Alice Rawsthorn
I forgot to add alt text to images before but I remembered on this one, hope theyâre not too bad
I just believe that poor and disabled people deserve community and luxury too, and they should have access to that and secure, affordable housing. I want these ecovillages to solve as many issues as possible for folks while also being beautiful
âOne in 4 U.S. adults â 61 million Americans â have a disability that impacts major life activities, according to a report in CDCâs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.â
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0816-disability.html
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0816-disability.html
