About 4 months ago I was checking my facebook and looked at some interesting but unknown event which attracted me because of its photos published. One of them was about a guy who invented the popular Bionic Boots, thus I got curious about how he could make an exhibition about his invention, so here it is! It could be possible through the most famous event around the world, The Maker Faire. The maker faire is a part science faire, part county faire, in fact something totally new. Educators, scientists, students, artists and crafters show what they have done and what they have learned about it.
The Maker Faire’s objective is to showcase people who are exploring new forms and new technologies. Also, The Maker Faire wants to make people, especially children to participate and get interested in invention and creativity.
What did I get interested in the Bionic Boots? Well, the reason is simply: Those boots make us move as fast as a wild animal and the mechanical properties were so simple. The idea of the Bionioc Boots came from a guy whose name is Keahi Seymour, a lover of design and invention. Since he was 12 years old, he wanted to run like a cheetah in the African savanna, so by this, the ideas came into his mind and accomplished his dream. The best part of this is that it is environmentally friendly.
The Bionic Boots are made from alluminium and carbon fiber, which is very good at resistance. Elastic tendons are also included. If you wear them, you can stand 7 feet tall and run 25 mph.
If you want to know more details about how the mechanics works in those boots, I give the link: http://makezine.com/magazine/make-43/the-fastest-man-on-earth/
Another interesting invention which got my attention was a 3D printer that works with different types of polymers. Cute, isn’t it? According to the inventor, if we change the plastics we’re using, we can get better prints.
Since Wolrd War II, we really started understanding the chemistry of plastics. Nowdays, our world is covered with plastics, we can proved that if we look around and see our cellphones, our folders, chairs, there are plastics everywhere! Also there are hundreds of different types of plastics, we have got PLA (Polylactic Acid), we have got nylon varieties, PVA ( Polyvinyl Alcohol, a water-soluble synthetic polymer) and so on,which are now starting to come to the market and they all give us different functionalities based on their own physical and chemical properties. Being now able to work with these properties, makes us pushing forward and doing a lot more with our printers.
The purpose of this invention is to build objects made from at least two types of polymers. As an example, we can get from two polymers a monochromatic plastic which reacts to heat and change of color.It could sound a little bit silly but it could be useful too. Toys production could be one applicaction. Another example is a piece of Lawood. Lawood is a mixture of PLA and wood fiber. This was created more for aesthetic reasons because you are able to create objects with a wood appearance.
In order to got an idea, look at the image given. This is the MakerBot Replicator. It is one of the most popular personal 3D printers. It works with PLA and ABS polymers.