Will 3-D printing launch a new industrial revolution?

vortmax

Joined Oct 10, 2012
102
have you guys see selective laser sintering? It's a powder process that lets you print metal pieces. You can print things that would be impossible to machine (engineered voids, complex shapes) and the parts supposedly can be just as strong as a machined pieces. I'm not sure if it will spark a new industrial revolution, but I think it will change the face of industry. Just think... no more retooling costs. Making a one-off custom piece is as simple as loading a new program...and very large pieces aren't as troublesome as with a cnc mill or casting.
 

Thread Starter

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
A friend of mine has one almost finished, she is part of the Dallas MakerSpace group (ask if you want more info). Base cost is around $650, but very neat.
 

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
My town, Youngstown, OH, has just got into this! They have a "Business incubator" program that is getting into "additive manufacturing". One of the first things they are doing is medical models from Cat Scans, so doctors can practice and plan before operating on a patient.

Here is a link with a couple of videos showing some of the things they can do. http://www.ybi.org/ Hope they will have an open house.
 

vortmax

Joined Oct 10, 2012
102
$650 for a SLS unit? That's pretty good. I would have thought that the laser and associated optics would cost that alone. Do the parts need to be annealed once they come out?
 

Thread Starter

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
Nope, the big hitters are the maker rails, basically specialized extruded aluminum rails modified from a very stock design that allows the wheels/bears to go over, the stepping motors, and the USB controller. It is a dream to put together.

When I see her this weekend I'll ask for a link to the plans.
 

vortmax

Joined Oct 10, 2012
102
yea...I don't see that being a big deal. DRM on 3D printed parts will mainly affect us when we can purchase plans online or at a store and print at home. Objects aren't music files...they are physical objects. Print a chair at home...take it with you. You can't move it from computer to computer. The issue would be if you wanted to print many without buying a license for multiple chairs....which is again quite a bit different than wanting to put your one song on multiple devices. I want 5 chairs, I buy 5 chairs.

Sure, it might lock you into buying a particular printer with the proper codec, but companies would do that by encrypting their files regardless. You want to print Ikea furniture, you buy the Ikea print module...unless people don't buy it and the open market forces them to ditch the encryption and support an open format.

It also wouldn't stop you from drawing up your own plans and printing them. You can still make your own music on your own computer and share it with anyone you want. DRM only applies to purchased plans, where the question of 'how many are you allowed to have' comes into play...which like I mentioned is much simpler when you are making actual objects.
 

KL7AJ

Joined Nov 4, 2008
2,229
I've been watching this technology for a while now so I'll add a couple of observations. First, the printed resolution is in part determined by material properties since the materials have to be bonded by some means to previous layers. Second, one of the most intriguing capabilities of the technology is the creation of engineered voids and inclusions in a body.

The Atlantic Council report is linked below:
http://www.acus.org/files/publication_pdfs/403/101711_ACUS_3DPrinting.PDF

It already has!
 

Syn7

Joined Nov 13, 2012
11
I think the fact that they are printing body parts and organs is awesome!


I think the ability to create pieces with cavities without seems is so handy in so many ways.

The printers themselves aren't very expensive. It's the materials that eat away at a budget. If you're handy you can hack em to be more efficient. Like separating the curcuit boards from the printing area and encasing the printing area in an "oven" of sorts can be of great benefit. In quality of the print as well as in energy usage. Also, they are a lot harder to work with than you would think. Designing is tough. Scale is a tough one too.

I think they are great for hobbyists and people who need to make many prototypes. But for mass production, we already have some pretty efficient methods. Only in a case where a mold or injection process isn't enough for whatever reason. I also think it's gonna be the most handy to people who want to print VERY small items. It will be sweet when you can print a pcb on your desktop and do very small surface mounts at home for cheap.
 

vortmax

Joined Oct 10, 2012
102
I disagree to some extent. It might not replace injection moulding or hydro forming but I can see the molds and tooling being printed. Although if you look at a lot of plastic pieces, many are heat welded assemblies because moulding it as one piece is impossible. Replace that with a printed piece and you now have one machine replacing at least three.
 

MvGulik

Joined Nov 3, 2011
41
Google "contour crafting".

Not sure if there is already a real (as in, for real occupation/living) on site printed house.
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
My son just finished building a RepRap 3D printer. The most amazing crowd-sourced project I have ever seen. The brain is an Arduino board. CAD files are easily uploaded. Total project was about $500 including a 10lb spool of plastic rope for $80.

He could have built it with old steppers from some inkjet printers we have laying around the house but he was more interested in getting it done quickly and using it rather than trying to hack it together on the cheap. Most parts were eBayed from China and Tailand. It took some tinkering to get everything aligned but he got it done and working.

Not bad for a 18 year old. See reprapwiki.org for full build instructions, firmware and parts.
 

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
President Obama mentioned the 3D printing research lab they built in my home town Youngstown, Ohio, in the State of the Union speech and his speech in Asheville, NC.

Wish they would have an open house there.
 

Georacer

Joined Nov 25, 2009
5,182
I don't have the time to hack 'n' build one of my own. And I think the only reliable ones, true design and print like an inkjet, right now in the market are the Replicator models.

The think that really excites me about this technology is how much easier it rends mechanical prototyping.
You want a custom box for your PCB with LED holes? Done!
You want a mini gimbal for your PCB camera? Easy!
You want a cog replacement for your prototype rover? Easy as pie!

These parts are not only hard to find (if available at all), but they're pretty costly too.
Now, I don't say that a 3D printer is cheap, but if you 're serious about it you might break even in about a year or so.

Still it's outside my budget and I don't really need it. Now, if only I can sneak it in my uni lab budget...
 
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