Bachelor of Science听in Biological Sciences and Statistics
Master of Product Design
听
At only 26, Deane Thomas has a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Product Design, and she鈥檚 passionate about an eco-friendly economy.
Her summer project, funded by the听蜜桃儿直播鈥檚 Biosecurity Innovations (UCBI)听team, was a step in the right direction.
Over the last 200 years, possums, stoats, and other invasive species have caused significant harm to New 蜜桃儿直播鈥檚 native wildlife. Poisonous baits and traps have helped reduce invasive populations, but our country鈥檚 rugged landscape can make some areas impossible to reach on foot.
Recognising this problem, the Department of Conservation (DoC) and UC鈥檚 School of Product Design collaborated to create 鈥渓ong-life lures鈥 鈥 baits with a 6鈥12 month lifespan which can be placed within DoC鈥檚 traps. Currently, traps are baited with peanut butter or fruit which only remains attractive to pests for a short period of time.
Thomas aimed to 3D-print a biodegradable case for the lures which can ultimately degrade into the environment overtime. This is important for reducing environmental pollution, and the long-life aspect of the lures means less labour is required to keep the traps attractive to pests.
Usually, 3D printers use a thermoplastic material which bends when warm and holds its shape when cooled. Trying to achieve the properties of thermoplastics without the use of conventional听plastic听proved an exciting challenge for Thomas.
Biodegradable filament exists, but only some will be able to decompose in your compost bin; whereas others are designed to degrade in industrial composting facilities.
Thomas took all this information on board in her attempt to create a biodegradable filament that can decompose in your compost bin, which was able to be created in-house using the School of Product Design鈥檚 facilities.
鈥淚t can get hard with these sorts of projects to keep going when you don鈥檛 see progress. I had to keep reminding myself 'there鈥檚 only so much I can achieve in 5 weeks'.鈥
Sustainability was front-of-mind for Thomas while working on this project. She says she鈥檚 happy to have worked on something fit for a circular economy 鈥 a world where waste can be composted and landfills become unnecessary.
鈥溾he [lures], when disposed of, end up going back into the system in some way or another that doesn鈥檛 involve environmental pollution.鈥
Post-UCBI project, she鈥檚 kept on the lure development track. Her research she conducted during her master鈥檚 project and during the UCBI summer project helped her understand the behaviour of different materials involved in additive manufacturing.
With the help of the unique expertise and skills offered by the School of Product Design staff, she has moved on to exploring various designs and prototyping methods for the development of the long-life lures.
Thomas hopes her research will provide UC鈥檚 Product Design students with insight into 3D printing materials, and the importance of sustainability. She says students should just 鈥済ive things a go鈥 and make sure they get involved early.鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what I was capable of until I put myself forward for this.
鈥淒on鈥檛 count yourself out early, give everything a go.鈥
