For example, an abalone shell is stronger than high-tech ceramics because of its internal structure. Diatom shells are made of silica (glass), but they are extremely strong because of their stress-distributing pattern of holes.
Like nature, 3-D printers can excel at building complex structures from simple materials, said Benyus. Both use an additive process, meaning larger pieces are built up from smaller ones.
Technical application:
unexpected high!
Bionic application:
sea shells
Further description:
In contrast, conventional industrial manufacturing is typically subtractive: Pieces are cut out of rolls of prefashioned material, or extracted from natural resources like ore or timber. The problem with that approach is it creates a lot of waste. A leaf isn’t cut out of a roll of green stuff.
read the full article:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130707-3d-printing-biomimicry-green-design-science/
More facts about citin from Max-Plank-Institute in Germany:
http://www.dierk-raabe.com/chitin/
Video:
Contact:
Sources:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130707-3d-printing-biomimicry-green-design-science/
Picture-sources:
http://www.feuerwehr-weblog.org/2013/01/23/turoffnung-versuche-mit-t30-topcut/