I wish someone would design ... (my suggested design & other suggestions)

[Geoff]

Prince Rupert's drops have the shape of raindrops. These days they are made by heating the end of a soft glass rod with a Bunsen burner. When the glass melts, it is allowed to drop into a bucket of cold water from a height of about 4.5 feet. Usually the glass drop shatters when it hits the water. But occasionally the glass hardens, forming a Prince Rupert's drop. Surface tension makes the glass very hard. The head of the drop can withstand being hit with a hammer; a really strong blow will just dent the hammer. But the tail of the drop shatters easily, causing the entire drop to shatter.

So far (about 350 years), the drops have been just a novelty. Each drop has a unique shape. There has been no way to protect the sensitive tail from shattering the entire drop. Digitizing each drop and 3D printing a customized holder that protects the tail, could enable exploitation of the extreme hardness of the head of the drop.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Rupert%27s_Drop

Sorry Dan, you have lost me now...

[Daniel Ross]

Sorry Dan, you have lost me now...

I assume you mean lost sympathy, not lost intellectually. Any further posts will have clear immediate application.

[Geoff]

I assume you mean lost sympathy, not lost intellectually. Any further posts will have clear immediate application.

Hi Daniel, I am going to leave the thread. I think now I feel like the one who is copping abuse.

I was simply saying you lost me now, not for poking fun, not for being 'sympathetic' nor intellectually lost. To clear it up, I was just wondering how we got from the hearing aids to the prince ruperts drops. The hearing aid was on track with the theme of the thread in 3D printing advancements and how we can use this technology to better the world..

... . then the ruperts drops, as fascinating as they are, did not connect the dots for me for any of the other topics we have discussed so far in this thread. Is that a bit clearer? if I missed something I apologize.

Anyway, Good luck with your myriad of ideas, hopefully one of them will come to fruition.

[Daniel Ross]

Pilot relief valve for vehicles stuck in traffic. Adapt aspects of Air Force design. Wikipedia article does not convey nuance.