One of the first eco-festivals in the Czech Republic combined entertainment and inspiration at the beginning of September. Concerts by well-known artists, expert talks and workshops, the announcement of this year's winners of the E.ON Energy Globe environmental competition and a rich accompanying programme – that was the first E.ON Ekofestival, which we simply couldn't miss.
FDM 3D printing, which uses plastics, may not look particularly ecological at first glance, but how printing is used plays a big role here. Decorative items with no further use, which sooner or later end up as useless waste, do not exactly give our field a good name. So we set ourselves the goal of inspiring the public to make practical items with greater added value and benefit for society. That benefit doesn't have to be only ecological and economic, in the form of eco-friendly materials and savings. Products that help people with health, mental, social or other disadvantages also belong here.
And there was plenty to show. In the PrusaLab zone at Karlín Barracks, we presented:
- Haptic models for the blind, thanks to which they can “look at” book illustrations,
- an adjustable splint for stretching shortened muscles in patients after a stroke,
- a hospital bed side rail stop, which, at minimal cost, eliminated a major flaw in this device,
- a special sports aid for playing the Paralympic sport of boccia, made to measure for a female athlete with reduced mobility,
- Ruderal – a modular furniture system made from recycled materials for (not only) refugee centres and asylum homes,
- experimental large-format printing from recycled material using a robotic arm and a pellet extruder
- and at the 3D printing basics workshop for visitors, we showed off the Original Prusa MK4 and the five-head Original Prusa XL, printing mainly with recycled filaments.
