Advanced Prototyping Lab Expands to Aggie Square with New Tools
Quick Summary
- BME's TEAM lab will open new larger facility in Sacramento's Aggie Square
UC Davis’ biomedical engineering (BME) department will open a second 7,500-square-foot facility in 2024 within Aggie Square in Sacramento. The new facility will design and manufacture devices that allow researchers and medical professionals to conduct their work. The existing Translating Engineering Advances to Medicine (TEAM) lab resides on the first floor of the Genome and Biomedical Sciences Facility (GBSF). This lab will remain on the UC Davis Campus, providing services to the main campus.
“We’re going to have bigger, more advanced versions of our equipment – 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC machines. But, we’re hesitant even to say what tools we’ll have in the new space in case they become outdated before we order them!” says director Steven Lucero.
The TEAM lab is unique because it does not originate any of its own project prompts. “We’re exclusively here to help others. We’re best known for our 3D printing expertise but can also furnish other tools to handle many other applications,” says Lucero. “If someone needs a tool to facilitate their research, even if they’ve just dreamed the tool up and it doesn’t exist yet, we can probably work with them to make it.”
Potential to Improve Sustainability and Increase Efficiency
Lucero believes that 3D printing technology holds the potential to improve sustainability. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is an advanced additive manufacturing technology for making thermoplastic-based structures using biodegradable corn-derived plastic. Such biodegradable composites are better for the environment and can replace non-biodegradable composites in a variety of applications.
3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing) is also often more efficient than traditional manufacturing. With 3D printing, you only deposit what you need to create the object, while subtractive (traditional) manufacturing involves removing and often discarding excess material to make an object. Many products manufactured on FDM 3D printers are hollow inside, further reducing the amount of material used.
3D Printed Anatomical Models
The TEAM lab recently created models to help surgeons plan and practice the process of separating a pair of conjoined twins. In partnership with UC Davis Health, they furnished more than a dozen models.
Conjoined Twins | Patient Stories | UC Davis Children's Hospital
Anatomical modeling is a specialty of the TEAM lab. They are often involved in anatomical modeling projects for both human and animal patients. “We’re moving closer to the UC Davis Hospital so we can better serve medical professionals,” says Lucero. “We’re planning to work with clinicians each step of the way so that an anatomical model of a patient’s body can be just one of many specialized services they can order when needed, like a CT scan.”
Students and Others Helped by the TEAM Lab
The TEAM lab serves many organizations besides UC Davis, including other universities, startups, and businesses of all sizes. As Lucero says, “We've developed techniques that leverage our unique equipment for use at institutions around the world.” Their state-of-the-art tools are optimized for a rapid turnaround for small product batches, which makes sense for research purposes.
The TEAM lab co-hosts a yearly event with BMES, the "Make-A-Thon," where students are given 48 hours to address an engineering prompt and manufacture a working prototype.
Prior to the pandemic, the lab operated with a small undergraduate student workforce to manage day-to-day operations. The student workforce will expand at the new facility in Aggie Square, including a student maker space. “For our student assistants, this is an amazing opportunity to work hands-on with some of the most advanced manufacturing tools on the market and learn techniques that professionals leverage in prototype device development.”