If you have a fairly recent cell phone that you want to sell or donate, it’s pretty easy to remove your personal information (address book, messages, photos, etc.) from the phone before disposing of it. You can get the how-to information from your cell phone manufacturer or cellular provider, or you can find information online from various other sources.

In general, the steps will involve removing any SIM cards and SD cards, doing a hard reset (also known as a factory reset), and setting up encryption if needed (especially on Android phones). To be even more secure, you can load junk data onto your phone and then do another factory reset.

But what if it’s an old phone and you don’t have the charger, you don’t know the password, or both? These phones tend to get shoved into drawers or boxes to be dealt with at a later time — which never comes.

How many old phones do people have laying around? To get an idea, look at what Daniel Otis reported in the Motherboard website:

According to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, which advocates on behalf of the industry, 62 per cent of Canadians have an average of 2.1 phones that they’re not using. That equals more than 47 million unused cell phones collecting dust.

If you’re dealing with phones like this and you’d like to finally unclutter them, the following are a few suggestions.

Missing the password? Try the default lock code or just do a factory reset.

Leaving a default lock code in place is a bad idea, but enough people do it that you might as well try it. Many years ago, the person who used the phone might not have been as security-conscious as most of us are now.

The default code on many Nokia phones is 12345. The code on some LG phones is 0000 (four zeroes) and on other LG phones it’s the last four digits of your phone number. Other phones might use 1234.

But the easiest option might be to do a factory reset (which should be possible even without the password), since you want to remove all of the data on the phone, anyway.

Missing the charger? See if someone else has one.

A vendor’s store may have the charger you’re lacking and might be willing to charge your phone enough that you can follow the standard steps for erasing your phone. Or ask around on sites like Nextdoor, where you might find someone who would be happy to lend you the charger you need.

Still stuck? Physically destroy the phone.

If you can’t get into the phone to erase the data, you can always resort to physically destroying the phone. Some people distrust the software erasing process and prefer hardware destruction, even though it could mean a perfectly usable phone gets destroyed. It’s all a matter of what data you have on the phone and how you evaluate the risks of having that data stolen.

While you could attempt to destroy the phone yourself — if you know what you’re doing — many people will find paying a reputable service provider to shred the phone to be the wiser choice.

Some local shredding companies will shred cell phones, including companies with certification from the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). You can search for a company through the NAID website, although there’s no way to identify which ones work with cell phones as opposed to just paper and storage media such as computer hard drives. Alternatively, you could just use your favorite search engine.

For example, the following are a few companies that provide cell phone shredding services:

• Securis (in North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia)
• Shred Aware (in Humboldt County, California)
• Alaska Archives (in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska)

Post written by Jeri Dansky

Sara Gironi Carnevale est une illustratrice italienne née à Naples et basée à Turin. Dans ses dessins contemporains, elle aborde les problèmes de la société actuelle, comme les droits des femmes, la politique aux Etats-Unis, le harcèlement sexuel ou encore le droit à l’avortement. Ces créations originales lui ont d’ailleurs valu de travailler pour des médias tels que le Washington Post, Artwort Magazine ou encore America Magazine. Plus d’illustrations sur la société moderne à découvrir sur saragironicarnevale.com ou sur Instagram.

Introduction

3D printing materials and manufacturing processes go together hand-with-hand: often choosing a material, also dictates what 3D printing processes are available to use.

But with such a vast selection of 3D printing material options, how can a designer make an informed decision?

In this article we present a comprehensive overview of the 3D printing materials currently available in the market. We grouped them together into categories to simplify the selection process and make decision-making more actionable.

3D Printing Materials

Let’s start with a quick refreshment on Material Science…

3D printing materials usually come in filament, powder or resin form (depending on the 3D printing processes used). Polymers (plastics) and metals are the two main 3D printing material groups, while other materials (such as ceramics or composites) are also available. Polymers can be broken down further into thermoplastics and thermosets.

Thermoplastics:

Thermoplastics can be melted and solidified over and over again, while generally retaining their properties. Both traditional injection molding, as well as the FDM and SLS printing processes, make use of thermoplastics by heating up solid thermoplastic to a malleable state and injecting or extruding it into a die or onto a build platform where it then solidifies.

Thermoplastics are best suited for functional applications.

These materials generally have good mechanical properties and high impact, abrasion and chemical resistance. 3D printed engineering thermoplastics (such as Nylon, PEI and ASA) are widely used to produce end-use parts for industrial applications.

SLS parts have better mechanical properties and higher dimensional accuracy than FDM, but the latter is more economical and has shorter lead times.

Typical 3D printing thermoplastics:

SLS: Nylon (PA), TPU

FDM: PLA, ABS, PETG, Nylon, PEI (ULTEM), ASA, TPU

A functional bracket with hollow sections printed using SLS in Nylon

The pyramid below shows the most common thermoplastic materials for 3D printing. As a rule of thumb, the higher up a material is in the pyramid, the better its mechanical properties and the harder it generally is to print with (higher cost):

Thermosets:

Unlike thermoplastics, thermosets do not melt. Thermosets in 3D printing typically start as a viscous fluid (resin) and are cured to become solid, via exposure to UV light. Once solid, thermosets cannot be melted and instead will lose structural integrity when subjected to high temperatures.

Thermosets (resins) are best suited for applications where aesthetics are key.

These material options produce parts with smooth injection-like surfaces and fine details. Generally, they have high stiffness, but are more brittle than thermoplastics, making them less suitable for functional applications. Speciality resins are available though, that are designed for engineering applications (mimicking the properties of ABS and PP) or dental inserts and implants.

Material Jetting produces parts with superior dimensional accuracy and generally smoother surfaces than SLA, but at a higher cost. Both processes use similar photocurable acrylic-based resins.

Typical 3D printing thermosets:

Material Jetting: Standard resin, Digital ABS, Durable resin (PP-like), Transparent resin, Dental resin

SLA/DLP: Standard resin, Tough resin (ABS-like), Durable resin (PP-like), Clear resin, Dental resin

Small bracket 3D printed with Material Jetting

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Ring with intricate details 3D printed in Castable
Resin with SLA/DLP

Polymer Composites

Both thermoplastic and thermoset polymers can be reinforced with other high strength materials improving their mechanical properties or giving them other unique characteristics.

For example, SLS powder can be filled with carbon, aluminum, graphite and glass particles increasing their mechanical performance, wear and thermal resistance and stiffness.

Furthermore, composite parts reinforced with continuous carbon fibers, kevlar fibers or glass fiber can be manufactured through the FDM process, creating plastic components with strength-to-weight ratio comparable to metals.

Functional joint, 3D printed with FDM in nylon and reinforced with continuous carbon fibers. Courtesy of Markforged

Many “exotic” filaments, such as woodfill or metalfill PLA, are also available for FDM, resulting in parts with a unique appearance.

Phone speaker for the Fairphone 2, 3D printed with FDM in woodfill PLA

SLA resins filled with ceramic powder have improved wear resistance, making them ideal materials for tooling applications (such as 3D printed injection molds).

Typical composite 3D printing materials:

SLS: Carbon filled, Glass filled, Mineral filled

FDM: Carbon filled, Woodfill, Metalfill, Carbon-fiber reinforced, Kevlar-fiber reinforced, Fiberglass reinforced

SLA/DLP: Ceramic filled

Metals

Metal printing allows for high-quality, functional and load bearing parts produced from a variety of metallic powders.

Metal 3D printed parts have excellent mechanical properties and can operate at wide range of environmental conditions. The freeform capabilities of 3D printing make them ideal for lightweight applications for the aerospace and medical industries.

DMLS/SLM parts have superior mechanical properties and tolerances over Binder Jetting, but Binder Jetting can be up to 10x cheaper and can produce much larger parts. Low-cost extrusion-based (FDM) metal 3D printing systems are expected for release in 2018.

Typical 3D printing metals:

DMLS/SLM: Stainless Steel, Titanium, Aluminum

Binder Jetting: Stainless Steel (bronze-filled or sintered)

Metal part 3D printed in aluminium with SLM

An oil and gas strator printed in stainless steel (bronze-filled) with Binder Jetting. Courtesy of ExOne

Other materials

Other materials can also be 3D printed, but have limited applications. These materials include ceramics and sandstone in full-color with Binder Jetting. They generally have poor mechanical properties and are optimized for a single application, such as full-color figurine printing or sand cast manufacturing.

Other 3D printing materials:

Binder Jetting: Full-color sandstone, Ceramics

Large multi-part sand casting assembly 3D printed with Binder Jetting. Courtesy of ExOne

Compare 3D printing Materials

The guidelines and tables of this article should already give the reader a basic understanding and reference for choosing the right 3D printing material.

If you want to view, compare and search for 3D printing materials with specific mechanical or physical properties, the Material Index is the most comprehensive online library of 3D printing materials.

*****

3D Hubs is the world‘s largest network of manufacturing services. With production facilities connected in over 140 countries, the 3D Hubs online platform helps you find the fastest and most price competitive manufacturing solution near you. Founded in 2013, the network has since produced more than 1,000,000 parts locally, making it the global leader in distributed manufacturing.

From arts and music festivals to the mega-draw of the big game, Minneapolis continues to rise as a cultural destination. For years it’s been a CH favorite with great museums, a varied and vibrant landscape, theater, music and public arts programs often……

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Japanese designer Jin Kuramoto has created a “100 per cent biological chair” using flax fibres – a completely biodegradable material that is most commonly used for banknotes and tea bags.

Kuramoto designed the Jin chair for Swedish furniture brand Offecct. They are presenting it at the Stockholm Furniture Fair as part of the city’s annual design week, and it was named best product in show by a jury including Dezeen’s editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs.

After Offecct proposed the flax fibre material to Kuramoto, he got to work on figuring out how to construct a sturdy chair, as the material is more typically used for lightweight items, such as cigarette rolling papers.

However it has been previously used to make chair before – by Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma, who mixed the material mixed with a biodegradable polylactic acid made from sugarcane or cornstarch.

Kuramoto devised a method that involves building and shaping thin flax fibre layers on top of each other to form both the seat and frame. A resin is then used to solidify the structure.

“This is a 100 per cent biological chair made by using flax fibre,” the designer told Dezeen. “The resin is bio-resin too, so it can be burned and will biodegrade.”

Offecct frequently partners with high-profile designers to create products. Examples include Jasper Morrison, who designed a wooden chair for use in a Tanzanian orphanage, and Claesson Koivisto Rune, which created a table using thin sheets of metal.

The furniture brand was last year acquired by Scandinavian Business Seating – now known as Flokk –  which also owns product brands HÅG, RH, BMA Ergonomics, Malmstolen and RBM.

Kuramoto’s chair is the latest furniture launch to come out of Offecct Lab, which was set up to research and develop new materials in response to potential future trends.

It taps into the increasing awareness of sustainability, which can be seen in the work of many current designers. For instance, Sebastian Cox teamed up with researcher Ninela Ivanova to create a range of suede-like furniture from mushroom mycelium for last year’s London Design Festival, while Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Billie van Katwijk recently developed a process for turning bovine guts into a material that can be used to make bags and accessories.

The Jin chair will be on show at the Stockholm Furniture Fair until 10 February 2018.

The post Chair made from flax fibres and bio-resin named best product at Stockholm Furniture Fair appeared first on Dezeen.