3D Printers are the future

[DreamThinkBuild]

Hi All,

Been scrimping and scraping to finally save up for a new tool, a 3D printer, MakerBot Replicator. I've seen the future and it is 3D printing and manufacturing. Being able to take an idea, whip it up in a 3D modeler and several minutes/hours(depending on complexity ) later have a working piece is mind blowing.

The attached picture is a Lego coil bobbin something I've been looking for to do quick tests with different magnet arrangements. The whole process took around one hour and half. This includes sketching the design, taking measurements, building out the model and finally printing. Holding a physical, working model of something you just drew is "Mind blown", as the kids say now a days.

I was worried about accuracy and strength but a few prints put that to rest. The models have good accuracy. I  worked at my brother in laws machine shop where accuracy had to be around +/-.0015" tolerance for some parts. If it was beyond that the part was scrapped and tool heads changed. This doesn't have anywhere near that tolerance (.40mm~.72mm) but it is fine for prototype designs. The strength is just like Lego's, it's ABS plastic and surprisingly strong for it's weak looking appearance. The surface is generally rough but can be smoothed down with acetone, even the large cnc machines will leave tooling marks that have to be cleaned up.

Using these devices would solve one of the biggest problems we face when developing new energy devices, is replication. I may design it from the original inventors and it will never work for me, but if the original designer had a 3D model of the exact specifications he could send it to you, print it out, wire it up and let rip. Now to get back to work.

[hoptoad]

Hi All,

Been scrimping and scraping to finally save up for a new tool, a 3D printer, MakerBot Replicator. I've seen the future and it is 3D printing and manufacturing. Being able to take an idea, whip it up in a 3D modeler and several minutes/hours(depending on complexity ) later have a working piece is mind blowing.

The attached picture is a Lego coil bobbin something I've been looking for to do quick tests with different magnet arrangements. The whole process took around one hour and half. This includes sketching the design, taking measurements, building out the model and finally printing. Holding a physical, working model of something you just drew is "Mind blown", as the kids say now a days.

I was worried about accuracy and strength but a few prints put that to rest. The models have good accuracy. I  worked at my brother in laws machine shop where accuracy had to be around +/-.0015" tolerance for some parts. If it was beyond that the part was scrapped and tool heads changed. This doesn't have anywhere near that tolerance (.40mm~.72mm) but it is fine for prototype designs. The strength is just like Lego's, it's ABS plastic and surprisingly strong for it's weak looking appearance. The surface is generally rough but can be smoothed down with acetone, even the large cnc machines will leave tooling marks that have to be cleaned up.

Using these devices would solve one of the biggest problems we face when developing new energy devices, is replication. I may design it from the original inventors and it will never work for me, but if the original designer had a 3D model of the exact specifications he could send it to you, print it out, wire it up and let rip. Now to get back to work.

Great stuff! What a fantastic convenience for so many manufacturing possibilities.
We really do live in an age of amazing creativity.! Your own creativity, is a good example.

Cheers

[lancaIV]

You are all right.
And for MEMS-devices is here also a "factory-in-a-box" outlook:
http://blog.makezine.com/2012/02/22/building-a-robotic-bee-with-mems-3d-printing/
http://www.i-micronews.com/news/Printing-3D-Silicon-Micro-Nanostructures,9232.html

actually the price for such a 3D printer (list price !) 48.000US$,
too much for an individual,but affordable for a 3D-Prototyping-Printing-Service-Company .
http://www.sonoplot.com

In ten years probably between 500-5000US$ , work velocity and accuracy-dependant.

[broli]

I'm also following the developments of 3d printers quite closely. In fact one very interesting one in particular is the Makibox. It's still being developed and you can even check out the progress here; http://makibox.com/. Which is also a good example of open development.

What makes the Makibox standout compared to printers like the Makerbot is price, it will be on sale for only $350 including worldwide shipping! And probably another outstanding fact is that it uses plastic pellets instead of plastic wire filament. The former is much more common and you can even make your own out of waste plastic.

[lancaIV]

B.O.S. : build-operate-sell  the product capacity
               http://www.shapeways.com/
http://cnc-prototyping.com/?gclid=CKW80d-b1rECFYQKfAod23UA-w

To become this technology faster and cheaper to market we have to accelerate the development ,global !
Each of us has his special skills vulgo talents !

broli's link : the Makibox with at first 3-axis-xyz-coordination-table ,
                                                          later f.e. as 4-/5-axis -printer.

                     The head from the droplets/nano-bubles-ink-printer like this

                     http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?DB=EPODOC&II=16&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=19991116&CC=US&NR=5984444A&KC=A    2004 expired: open source

                     and working  together with f.e. the open source RepRap-community.   
                     a commercial RepRap version
                     http://reprappro.com/Mendel?gclid=CKSA14iW1rECFYzbfAodFQ4A2Q

                     Working out the     
                                                  "3D-Printer-parts"-3D-Printer
                     to give then all regions and localities on earth the possibility to resolve local development barriers
                     of each kind;
                     "head"-quartered in universities,high schools,secondary/basic schools and
                     for the elder  community centers.
                     Free-share 3D CAD,CNC,CIM,CAM software
                      and a free 3 D CAD files library f.e.   http://www.solidcomponents.com/
                     
                     MEMS-printing   
http://www.kth.se/en/ees/omskolan/organisation/avdelningar/mst/research/3d-mems/3d-printing-of-silicon-micro-and-nanostructures-1.319921

                     http://www.digitaladdis.com/sk/Lithography_Pyrolysis_OrganicMEMS_Kassegne_MEMSLab.pdf