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

[Daniel Ross]

can help nreak that loop.

Typo: "nreak" should be "break".

[3D OZ]

Lippes loop does not require customisation and has lost FDA approval largely because it doesn't work as well as active IUDs.

No IUD requires any level of customisation, there is no such thing as a customised IUD!
ALL IUDs are mass-produced, not a field where 3D printing can or should help.

No inert IUD has approval in the US, UK, Canada or Australia.
There is no benefit in 3D printing a small, standard, non-customised plastic item when far better options exist in both methods of manufacture and device types.

I applaud your intent but this is not a puzzle solved by 3D printers.

[Daniel Ross]

it's up to the backyard tinkerers such as yourself to take that first step :/

I lack the requisite skills. I am old and retired and in poor health. I am in no condition to develop this myself. That is why I started this thread: to divorce having an idea from developing the idea. I hope that other people with other ideas that they cannot develop, will post their ideas here. I hope that people looking for ideas to develop, will read this thread.

[Mjolinor]

Education is a big part of the solution. Witness resistance to Ebola safety measures.

Overpopulation caused in part by lack of education caused in part by poverty caused in part by high cost of resources caused in part by scarcity of resources caused in part by overpopulation. Typical positive feedback loop not amenable to control. Technological fix can help break that loop. Worth trying, considering the potential cost/benefit ratio.

Not a positive feedback loop. It is self controlling. The only reason that "we" are concerned is that if "we" let it control itself then that control does not discriminate between us and them, epidemic will reduce the numbers, problem solved until next time.

Our problem is that "we" want to not let the control take a natural course by stopping the cycle. Whether or not it is a sensible and correct thing to do depends on whether or not you are "us" or "them". To us, stopping the birth of children that will die is sensible. To them, having lots of children to satisfy immediate needs should you grow dependant is the sensible thing to do.

No right or wrong here, just different views and not solvable or relevant to a 3d forum. It will make people get hostile and result in a thread that no one will ever read.

[Daniel Ross]

This is a completely separate idea that I got from a science fiction story when I was young, seemingly 2 centuries ago. Ever-shrinking machine shops. Use a conventional machine shop to build a smaller machine shop. Use that to build an even smaller machine shop. Etc. An iterative process. Its success requires that mechanical error tolerances become smaller as the machines become smaller.

At present there exist conventional machine shops and nanodevices fabricated on chips. There does not exist anything of in-between size.

Could 3D printers of differing manufacturers and differing design principles, be teamed together to make the next smaller size family of 3D printers? The next smaller size 3D printers need not look the same or even work the same as their larger forbears. They just need to be of practical use. It would be nice if they were complete enough to make even smaller 3D printers.

[Mjolinor]

This is a completely separate idea that I got from a science fiction story when I was young, seemingly 2 centuries ago. Ever-shrinking machine shops. Use a conventional machine shop to build a smaller machine shop. Use that to build an even smaller machine shop. Etc. An iterative process. Its success requires that mechanical error tolerances become smaller as the machines become smaller.

At present there exist conventional machine shops and nanodevices fabricated on chips. There does not exist anything of in-between size.

Could 3D printers of differing manufacturers and differing design principles, be teamed together to make the next smaller size family of 3D printers? The next smaller size 3D printers need not look the same or even work the same as their larger forbears. They just need to be of practical use. It would be nice if they were complete enough to make even smaller 3D printers.

May I have some of whatever you are smoking?

[Daniel Ross]

Ever-shrinking machine shops ... success requires that mechanical error tolerances become smaller as the machines become smaller

Make many copies of the same widget, select the most accurate one. Statistics work in your favor. There are microscopes that can resolve very small images, to help in selection. The microscopes are expensive, rent microscope time.

Maybe the techniques that stabilize microscope images, can be applied to 3D printer stability. The microscopes are not mass produced. Maybe 3D printing can reduce the cost of the microscopes. Contact Rich Didday rich@indecsystems.com . Tell him Dan sent you. He is very tolerant.

[Daniel Ross]

May I have some of whatever you are smoking?

At present we lack fabrication methods for arbitrary electromechanical devices in thr 1/100 inch to 1/1000 inch size range, that are made of components 1 to 2 orders of magnitude smaller.

These devices could (1) circulate in the human body and (1a) locate tumors and cut off their blood supply, (1b) repair broken nerve fibers in the spine, (1c) perform eye surgery beyond what can be done with laser surgery, (1d) act as radio transducers in the brains of people with Parkinson's disease or epilepsy, (2) medicate marine mammals, (3) circulate in plants and attack fungal and other infections and infestations, (4) kill the parasites that are killing bees, (5) what more is needed to convince you of their value?

[awerby]

This is the sort of thing that gives lawyers orgasms. Imagine what happens when a woman gets sick with one of these things inside her - the feeding frenzy over the "3D-printed gun" would fade into insignificance. If you don't remember the Dalkon Shield, look it up. This was the product of a major pharmaceutical company, and it bankrupted that company. Who would be to blame for a 3D printed device's failure -its designers, the doctor that installed it, the company that printed it, the manufacturers of the printer, the producers of the materials that went into it, or all of the above?

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[curious aardvark]

I've seen a 3dprinted iud. Either in one of brian's press releases or on a 3d file site.

And yep - it really was very simple.

Found it - here you go: http://www.3ders.org/articles/201301...d-concept.html

So, next topic to argue about please :-)