Submitted by D.P. Juan on Wed, 01/05/2024 - 15:25
During the 2024 Cambridge Festival, we had quite a lot of interest in our 3D-printed models! Many people came over and mentioned how interesting our models were. This was a very good outcome for our small models!
We had a variety of models, all related to our exhibitions or pharmacology in general. A few examples are:
- T4 Bacteriophage
- Human Papillomavirus
- Adeno-Associated Virus
- an example Coronavirus model
- Various drug compounds
- Various protein targets
What was the inspiration?
While renovating our exhibition, we were very interested in adding more interactivity and visual interest to our stalls. We storyboarded multiple ideas, but many of these ideas did not meet our needs or were too difficult to manage during a busy public engagement event.
These plans were revitalised after we uncovered a disused Prusia 3D printer in our Teaching Laboratory! Our version is the MK3S+ printer, a simple single-colour printing model, which suits our needs very well. This printer was very easy to set up, learn, and clean thanks to its robust developer and community support. Additionally, it came with various coloured plastic filaments, allowing us to print immediately and in various colours.
How did we go about building models?
Building 3D-printed models of biological structures is a common practice, especially to support outreach and teaching. Many companies offer bespoke printing solutions, but with an in-house 3D printer, we
We looked at many different sites – ranging from institution records, department sites and blog posts. This helped us understand the processes needed to produce printable models, and identify useful resoruces.
We made extensive use of the following sites:
- https://www.otago.ac.nz/biochemistry/research/otago-biochemistry-print-3d-models-of-biological-molecules
- https://weareprintlab.com/blog/3d-printing-chemical-structures/
- https://3d.nih.gov/faqs
But finding resources was just the first step! We’ll be posting our full process soon!