In the Hardware page we explained how we arrived to the final design of our 3D Printer, The Biolinker. Here you can read about our adventure in finding the pieces to build our Biolinker. This page also shows our media interaction with respect to our Biolinker: radio interviews and presence in newspaper, articles or websites. We were surprised to find so much enthusiasm for our project, and we hope that we made synthetic biology and bioprinting more well known to society.

Building the Biolinker was really exciting, but suddenly we had a practical problem: we didn’t have enough K’NEX to finish this design. With what we had until then, the printer could move on the X axis (structure on the left side of the picture). We ran out of K’NEX when working on the Y axis, the structure on the right side of the picture.

At first, we wanted to buy new K’NEX online. However, the packages specific to our needs were expensive . Thus, we decided to reach out to people via media on twitter, facebook, and radio. In a few minutes we had already retweets, and in no time we got an email from 3FM (national Dutch radio station) for a live request on national radio. So Sunday morning we were live on the radio show Weekend Wijnand. Within an hour, an 11 year old boy (Marijn van Iersel) called the radio station, willing to donate us his K’NEX.

In the same day we were called from another radio station, Omroep West for an interview about our project in their morning show. We also featured on their website. Ever since the radio interviews we kept receiving emails from people all around the country willing to donate K’NEX. We’d like to thank them by adding their photos and short stories here.

Jaqueline Oolthuis. This very dedicated lady lives in Doetinchem. She was very interested in our project, sending us a crate of K’NEX. She was excited to see the printer when it is finished!

On the 18th of August we made a tour through South Holland to collect all the K’NEX. It was very nice to see that so many people were interested in our project and willing to help. Jan was the first person who reacted on our twitter message. He works at Aerospace Engineering (TU Delft) and he had the specific red gears that we desperately needed.

Laura van Dijk. After Jan we drove to Den Hoorn. After getting lost a few times we finally found the right house. Here we found a 6 year old boy. His mother told us that he was bored of playing with the K’NEX within a few weeks. He definitely had no idea what cool stuff you can build with K’NEX, so we invited him to come by the office to see that.

Jelle Dijkstra. Then we travelled farther to Oegstgeest. At first, there was no one home. Jelle told us to that he had left the parts next to the front door. Luckily, he just came home when we found the package, so we could thank him personally.

Marjan Berkheij. We were already really satisfied with the amount of K’NEX we got, but when we arrived at the next address in Katwijk, we could not believe our eyes. Marjan had 5 boxes full with K'NEX. She told us her sons were already in their twenties, so they don’t use it anymore. She wanted to give it to charity, an orphanage for example, so we are going to look for a good charity organization to give it to.

Trees Prins.We drove already for a few hours through the Netherlands. For the last meeting we drove to Den Haag to Trees Prins. Now the car was full and we are ready to drive back to the office.

Leontien Smith and Max. On Friday Leontien Smith came by with her 12 year old son Max. We immediately saw that he was a real expert. He had a lot of ideas how we can improve the printer, so we sat down with him and started building. We really welcomed his advice. Afterwards, we gave him a tour through the building. He enjoyed the day very much, and so did we!

There were also people who brought the K'NEX to us, and could immediately have a look at the printer we’ve got so far. We’d like to thank Ronald Kest and Iris Meijhorst for their donation!

Sorting the K’NEX

After we received everything, we started to sort through thousands of parts, some of which we didn’t know existed. We founds lots of useful parts and after sitting for a few hours with most of the team, we were done. The result was amazing, we had a sea of K’NEX to chose from for designing the perfect DIY 3D printer.

Media attention

Apart from telling our story on the national radio, we were featured in the written press. We appeared in the Physicus Applied Physics Article, the AD Delft Newspaper and the HRO Website. With all this media attention, we were motivated that we are working for a meaningful, interesting subject!

Websites we appear on:

Partners

Delft University of Technology started out as the “Royal Academy for the education of civilian engineers, to serve nation and industry, and of apprentices for trade” founded by King Willem II in 1842. Today it consists of eight faculties, and is among the best universities worldwide.

We would like to thank the following faculties and departments for their help and support.

Board of Directors

Faculty Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Faculty of Applied Sciences

“StuD is a not-for-profit organisation. The aim of the StuD Fund is to provide financial support for projects designed to benefit the students of Delft University of Technology. StuD Fund’s management team is drawn from past and present members of the StuD management team.” (stud.nl)

“The BE-Basic Foundation is an international public-private partnership that develops industrial biobased solutions to build a sustainable society. The BE-Basic Foundation initiates and stimulates collaborations between academia and industry, between scientists and entrepreneurs and between the Netherlands and abroad.” (be-basic.org)

“Medical technology is the driving force behind innovations in patient-centred healthcare. It requires a close interaction between developers, end-users in the medical world and industry. This 'supply chain approach' takes into account the needs and possibilities, from designing to deployment on patients. The Delft Health Initiative is working on solutions that not only improves the quality and safety of healthcare but also keep it accessible for future generations.” (tudelft.nl)

Sponsors

“Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. By connecting its unique competences in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences DSM is driving economic prosperity, environmental progress and social advances to create sustainable value for all stakeholders simultaneously.

DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials. “ (dsm.com)

“Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences is one of the major universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. Education here has been developed to combine a mixture of knowledge accumulation, practical experience, and personal development, reflecting the practical, innovative, and hands-on mentality associated with the city of Rotterdam.” (rotterdamuas.com)

“SnapGene offers the fastest and easiest way to plan, visualize, and document your molecular biology procedures. Cloning is simpler when you can see exactly what you are doing. SnapGene is the first molecular biology software that is easier to use than pen and paper. Now every DNA construct made in your lab can be documented in a rich electronic format… and thanks to the free SnapGene Viewer, the files can be shared with colleagues around the world.” (Snapgene.com)

“Sigma-Aldrich, a leading Life Science and High Technology company focused on enhancing human health and safety, manufactures and distributes more than 250,000 chemicals, biochemicals and other essential products to more than 1.4 million customers globally in research and applied labs as well as in industrial and commercial markets..” (Sigmaaldrich.com)

”Promega is a global leader in providing innovative solutions and technical support to life scientists in academic, industrial and government settings. Promega products are used by life scientists who are asking fundamental questions about biological processes as well as by scientists who are applying scientific knowledge to diagnose and treat diseases, discover new therapeutics, and use genetics and DNA testing for human identification.” (Promega.com)

Studium Generale (SG) wants to contribute to the academical forming of students, and to the societal debate about technology and engineers in this modern society. Studium Generale (SG) aim to improve the knowledge of students, employee's and other curious souls. The SG wants to contribute to the academical forming of students, and the communities discussion about the task of technology and ingenieurs in the current society (sg.tudelft.nl)

https://www.stud.nl/en/stud-fund

http://www.be-basic.org/

http://www.tudelft.nl/en/research/thematic-cooperation/delft-research-based-initiatives/delft-health-initiative/?binary=%2Fdoc%2FDCMat_newsletter_october.pdf

http://www.dsm.com/corporate/about/our-company.html

http://www.rotterdamuas.com/about/rotterdam-uas/education

https://www.snapgene.com

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/

https://nld.promega.com/aboutus/company-information/

http://sg.tudelft.nl/about-sg/