Additive manufacturing for lab applications in environmental sciences: Pushing the boundaries of rapid prototyping

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), better known as 3D printing, has revolutionized modern manufacturing processes and the ever-increasing use of 3D printers is popular not least because of the wide range of materials available for printing. When applying the FDM process to the development of prototypes, it is possible to go from an idea to a first iteration of the product within a few hours, and from an initial concept to a final product within a few days depending on the complexity of the desired structure. We applied FDM-related open-source 3D software and a 3D printer to produce parts for devices being applied in wood anatomy and dendroecology. In this paper, we present the basic requirements for prototyping by showing detailed examples of new devices developed and produced using a 3D printer and related modeling software.