Top 5 Videos: What It Takes to 3D Print an Adaptive Bike Saddle

In this week’s Top 5, the focus seems to be on applications. First, we feature an in-depth video on an adaptive 3D printed bike saddle from Fizik, distributed by New Era Cycle. The video dives into every stage of production and shows how the bike saddle was created with innovation in mind at every step. Next, we have 3Dnative’s video on our team’s favorite applications from Formnext 2024. It is impossible to see all the incredible applications at Formnext (because there are too many!) so this video picks out our personal highlights. If the applications in that video weren’t exciting enough, the next video we feature is about a 3D printed hamster wheel designed for a dog! Fourth, we have a TEDx Talk by Dr. Antonia Pontiki, a biomedical engineer who shares how 3D printing is shaping healthcare and education. Finally, watch 3D printed starfish-shaped reefs come to life for a project by 3D Potter. As always, happy watching!

Top 1: Adaptive 3D Printed Bike Saddle

In this video, learn all about the design, manufacturing, and development of a 3D printed bike seat made by Fizik. What’s unique is not only the bike seat itself but the production method that allowed them to create the product quickly while testing hundreds of iterations. Using digital light synthesis, they created a bike seat that would fit to a cyclist’s body. Using pressure mapping data, the team created an adaptive saddle. The saddle has four key functional zones, each with distinctive cushioning and mechanical responses. Watch the full video to learn more about this in-depth research and design process, a comparison with traditional saddles, and more.

Top 2: 3Dnatives Top Picks from Formnext 2024

Formenxt is the largest international additive manufacturing trade show, held annually in Frankfurt, Germany. 3Dnatives brought you a plethora of content about Formnext 2024 last week, but there’s one more video we want to highlight: our favorite applications from the show! We saw so many impressive machines and technologies, but we also wanted to look at the applications that blew us away. With hundreds of exhibitors, it was certainly difficult to choose. We won’t give any spoilers here…watch this video to see what excited our team!

Top 3: A 3D Printed Hamster Wheel (For a Dog!)

Do you have a furry friend in your life who could benefit from some exercise? In this video, you can see how to build a pet-friendly exercise wheel using 3D printing. Here, the Two Moose Design team creates a huge hamster wheel for their dog! Using PETG filament and Bambu Lab printers, they built this functional wheel. Watch the video to see their research, printing and assembly processes and more. The Two Moose Design team explains costs, gives design tips and includes a fun demo of their dog using the wheel. Check it out!

Top 4: How 3D Printing Shapes Healthcare and Education

In her TEDx Talk, biomedical engineer Dr. Antonia Pontiki recounts her journey from a young athlete captivated by human anatomy to a pioneer in healthcare and medical education. She explores how her work with 3D printing has advanced patient care, including developing personalized rib implants for lung cancer patients, and redefined medical training. For instance, by introducing lifelike anatomical models, 3D printing provides an ethical, practical alternative to cadaver-based learning. To find out more about Dr. Pontiki’s insights, watch her TEDx Talk here.

Top 5: 3D Printing Star-Shaped Artificial Reefs

3D Potter is a ceramic 3D printer company that offers printers compatible with clay and cement, as well as the accompanying tools and materials. Now, the company is working on a project printing cement artificial reefs for coasts in South Florida. Using the Scara Elite Roadrunner machine, the team is printing a series of 35 unique cement starfish. They used the Mixcell System with Sika cement for the project. After the printing process is complete, the team fills the vessels with more cement and drills holes if necessary. Watch their latest video to see the printing in action!

Which Formnext application was your favorite?  Let us know in a comment below or on our LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter pages! Don’t forget to sign up for our free weekly Newsletter here, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our YouTube channel.