3D printers enter the lab

A researcher in the United States has produced simple lab items using a 3D printer rather than purchasing them off-the-shelf, highlighting the power of the technology for producing low cost items on demand, but also raising serious intellectual property questions.

A blog post by University of California Davis graduate student details his creation of electrophoresis combs from scratch.

He starts by expressing outrage that the combs cost $51 each retail, yet were little more than a 'lousy little scrap of plastic'. Yet, he noted, creating moulded 'little scraps of plastic' is what 3D printers do so well.

Using an inexpensive 3D printer, he then designed his own electrophoresis combs in two different sizes, and calculated that they cost only around 21c each to print.

Not only were they cheap and producible on demand, but they were tailored to his specifications and functioned even better than the off-the-shelf versions.

He even shared the code to produce the six well 1.5mm by 9mm comb:

f=0.01; difference(){ difference(){ union(){ cube( [ 80, 27, 3 ] ); translate( [ 5.25, 14.3, f ] ) cube( [ 68, 9.3, 7.25 ] ); } for ( i = [ 0:5 ] ) { translate( [ 17.1+i*11.0, -f, -f ] ) cube( [ 1.75, 12, 5 ] ); } } union(){ translate( [ -f, -f, -f ] ) cube( [ 7, 12, 7] ); translate( [ 73+f, -f, -f ] ) cube( [ 7, 12, 7] ); translate( [ 0, -f, 1.6] ) cube( [ 80, 12, 8] ); } }

The production of simple items that resemble or are based on existing products raises some serious intellectual property concerns.

The copying of products that are currently protected by patents, design patents or copyright is currently illegal in many jurisdictions. So too is deriving new work from an existing product.

In this case, the researcher designed the combs from scratch. And, as electrophoresis combs are a generic item, it is unlikely there was any breach of intellectual property unless the new comb was a copy of an existing design that is protected by a patent or design patent.

However, despite the legal uncertainties, 3D printing technology is appealing to many researchers, with several comments on the blog supporting the venture.

Russell, the author of the blog post, closed his post with the following remark: "If you have a lab, and you don't have a 3D printer, you are wasting your money. Seriously."