来自美国陆军航空研究实验室已经使用3D打印来生产和测试为成员的可定制耳塞US Armed Forces。
可以部署陆军科学家的新技术，以防止武装部队成员之间的听力损失。对士兵听力的损害可能会导致他们变得更加脆弱，并在战场上失去战斗准备，除了限制他们参加社交互动的能力。
添加剂制造的耳塞
It’s currently mandatory for soldiers to wear some kind of Hearing Protection Device (HPD), and those that are routinely exposed to hazardous noise are enrolled in the Army Hearing Program (AHP). The initiative works to prevent hearing loss through a range of clinical hearing services, but soldiers are by no means the only vulnerable group. In the US, an estimated $242 million is spent each year on workers’ compensation claims due to reported hearing impairments.
为了打击听力损失，给耳朵留下深刻印象也是一项冒险的努力。例如，有时候印象材料使其超过了“ Oto块”，旨在保护内耳，导致可能导致手术干预甚至听力损失的伤害。陆军研究人员试图通过结合扫描方法，传统的耳朵印象，数字扫描物理印象和3D打印来减轻这种风险。结合这些技术允许生产自定义的耳塞，并使研究人员评估每种方法的好处和性能。
Traditional fabrication processes require physical earmold impressions to be created, which are shipped off to an earplug manufacturer. The ‘ear-prints’ are then either cast to create a negative mold of the ear, or scanned by an ear-impression scanner, to produce a digital model. Both methods are currently used, so to compare and optimize the different techniques, the researchers created six different ear plug samples. Physical ear impressions and digital scans of the physical impressions were used, along with three different digital ear-scanning methods, and an in-house 3D printing method.
3D modelling and printing the earplugs
美国陆军研究人员首先使用轻捕获方法来创建20名志愿者耳道的3D模型。然后，使用计算机辅助设计（CAD）软件对这些模型进行修改，以创建使用三种制造方法中每一种生产的自定义拟合耳机。扫描是利用一系列扫描仪进行的，以评估EFIT提供的最有效的效率，3Shape和Lantos。Five subjects would therefore use impression-shaped earplugs, five from eFit scans, five from 3Shape, and five from Lantos.
数字扫描是在内部建模的Cyfex秘密耳朵设计器软件和耳塞壳是使用EnvisionTecPerfactory Micro 3D printer and E-Silicone M materials. After printing, the shells were washed in a solution of isopropyl alcohol, and dried with pneumatic pressure. Polymax 1, a pressure polymerization unit, was summarily used to cure the material, taking approximately 15 minutes at 60oC。
将最终的耳朵给予了测试对象，他们被要求评估每种设计的舒适性，并且每种制造方法的结果都不同。尽管物理耳朵印象的产物提供了最佳的听力保护，但平均而言，它们也是最不舒服的。值得注意的是，使用数字扫描制作的耳塞被证明远不及使用物理印象创建的耳塞。根据研究人员的说法，这可能归因于给人留下印象的人们的技能和技术，并且需要进一步的研究来完善过程。
3D printed medical advances in the US Army
Additive manufacturing has often been utilized by the US Armed Forces, in an attempt to provide better medical support for soldiers, and gain an edge on the battlefield.
总部位于佛罗里达的微型技术公司nScrypt发达the nRugged, a Factory in a Tool (FIT), for the US Army in March 2020. The 3D printer, which is designed to be used in harsh environments, is able to create products ranging from a complete electronic device to a bioactive bandage without changing tools.
2019年10月，Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences(USU) and the美国军事学院西点, New York, piloted using3D打印的医疗设备在冲突区域。该实验表明，可以部署一系列工具来节省时间，减少运输成本和避免后勤挑战。
来自美国空军3D打印a医疗手术牵开器2020年4月。该乐器旨在由现场医生使用来释放伤口，可以部署在无法补货的医疗用品的敌对环境中。
研究人员的发现在其论文中详细介绍了“Evaluation of Custom Hearing Protection Fabricated from Digital Ear Scanning and Traditional Methods。” The study was published by the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory in December 2019, and co-authored by JR Stefanson and William Ahroon.
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特色图像显示，我们的士兵在迫击炮发射时遮住耳朵。通过中士照片。马修·克雷恩（Matthew Crane），美国陆军。
