3D Printing Flies High now. Articles on three-dimensional printers are popping up everywhere these days. And nowadays there are many 3D printer products. Some are small enough to fit in a briefcase and others are large enough to print houses.
Everything you ever wanted to know about 3D printing article tells that 3D printing is having its “Macintosh moment,” declares Wired editor -in-chief Chris Anderson in cover story on the subject. 3D printers are now where the PC was 30 years ago. They are just becoming affordable and accessible to non-geeks, will be maybe able to democratize manufacturing the same way that PCs democratized publishing.
Gartner’s 2012 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies Identifies “Tipping Point” Technologies That Will Unlock Long-Awaited Technology Scenarios lists 3D Print It at Home as important topic. In this scenario, 3D printing allows consumers to print physical objects, such as toys or housewares, at home, just as they print digital photos today. Combined with 3D scanning, it may be possible to scan certain objects with a smartphone and print a near-duplicate. Analysts predict that 3D printing will take more than five years to mature beyond the niche market. Eventually, 3D printing will enable individuals to print just about anything from the comfort of their own homes.Slideshow: 3D Printers Make Prototypes Pop article tells that advances in performance, and the durability and range of materials used in additive manufacturing and stereolithography offerings, are enabling companies to produce highly durable prototypes and parts, while also cost-effectively churning out manufactured products in limited production runs.
3D printing can have implications to manufacturers of some expensive products. The Pirate Bay declares 3D printed “physibles” as the next frontier of piracy. Pirate Bay Launches 3D-Printed ‘Physibles’ Downloads. The idea is to have freely available designs for different products that you can print at home with your 3D printer. Here a video demonstrating 3D home printing in operation.
Shapeways is a marketplace and community that encourages the making and sharing of 3D-printed designs. 3D Printing Shapes Factory of the Future article tells that recently New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg cut the Shapeways‘ Factory (filled with industrial-sized 3D printers) ribbon using a pair of 3D-printed scissors.
The Next Battle for Internet Freedom Could Be Over 3D Printing article tells up to date, 3D printing has primarily been used for rapid commercial prototyping largely because of its associated high costs. Now, companies such as MakerBot are selling 3D printers for under $2,000. Slideshow: 3D Printers Make Prototypes Pop article gives view a wide range of 3D printers, from half-million-dollar rapid prototyping systems to $1,000 home units. Cheapest 3D printers (with quite limited performance) now start from 500-1000 US dollars. It is rather expensive or inexpensive is how you view that.
RepRap Project is a cheap 3D printer that started huge 3D printing buzz. RepRap Project is an initiative to develop an open design 3D printer that can print most of its own components. RepRap (short for replicating rapid prototyper) uses a variant of fused deposition modeling, an additive manufacturing technique (The project calls it Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) to avoid trademark issues around the “fused deposition modeling” term). It is almost like a small hot glue gun that melts special plastic is moved around to make the printout. I saw RepRap (Mendel) and Cupcake CNC 3D printers in operation at at Assembly Summer 2010.
There has been some time been trials to make 3D-Printed Circuit Boards. 3D Printers Will Build Circuit Boards ‘In Two Years’ article tells that printing actual electronics circuit boards is very close. Most of the assembly tools are already completely automated anyway.
3D printing can be used to prototype things like entire cars or planes. The makers of James Bond’s latest outing, Skyfall, cut a couple corners in production and used modern 3D printing techniques to fake the decimation of a classic 1960s Aston Martin DB5 (made1:3 scale replicas of the car for use in explosive scenes). The world’s first 3D printed racing car can pace at 140 km/h article tells that a group of 16 engineers named “Group T” has unveiled a racing car “Areion” that is competing in Formula Student 2012 challenge. It is described as the world’s first 3D printed race car. The Areion is not fully 3D printed but most of it is.
Student Engineers Design, Build, Fly ‘Printed’ Airplane article tells that when University of Virginia engineering students posted a YouTube video last spring of a plastic turbofan engine they had designed and built using 3-D printing technology, they didn’t expect it to lead to anything except some page views. But it lead to something bigger. 3-D Printing Enables UVA Student-Built Unmanned Plane article tells that in an effort that took four months and $2000, instead of the quarter million dollars and two years they estimate it would have using conventional design methods, a group of University of Virginia engineering students has built and flown an airplane of parts created on a 3-D printer. The plane is 6.5 feet in wingspan, and cruises at 45 mph.
3D printers can also print guns and synthetic chemical compounds (aka drugs). The potential policy implications are obvious. US Army Deploys 3D Printing Labs to Battlefield to print different things army needs. ‘Wiki Weapon Project’ Aims To Create A Gun Anyone Can 3D-Print At Home. If high-quality weapons can be printed by anyone with a 3D printer, and 3D printers are widely available, then law enforcement agencies will be forced to monitor what you’re printing in order to maintain current gun control laws.
Software Advances Do Their Part to Spur 3D Print Revolution article tells that much of the recent hype around 3D printing has been focused on the bevy of new, lower-cost printer models. Yet, significant improvements to content creation software on both the low and high end of the spectrum are also helping to advance the cause, making the technology more accessible and appealing to a broader audience. Slideshow: Content Creation Tools Push 3D Printing Mainstream article tells that there is still a sizeable bottleneck standing in the way of mainstream adoption of 3D printing: the easy to use software used to create the 3D content. Enter a new genre of low-cost (many even free like Tikercad) and easy-to-use 3D content creation tools. By putting the tools in reach, anyone with a compelling idea will be able to easily translate that concept into a physical working prototype without the baggage of full-blown CAD and without having to make the huge capital investments required for traditional manufacturing.
Finally when you have reached the end of the article there is time for some fun. Check out this 3D printing on Dilbert strip so see a creative use of 3D printing.
2,052 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
RepRap Simpson puts a new spin on delta RepRaps
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/18/reprap-simpson-puts-a-new-spin-on-delta-repraps/
Simpson is a delta robot – but unlike any delta we’ve seen before. Previous offerings vertical rails on which the arms travel. As you can see, this design mounts three articulated arms directly to the base of the printer, using steel cables as part of the joint mechanism.
As with any delta design inverse kinematics play a huge role in the software. [Nicholas] is trying to simplify this with an optical calibration system. For the adventurous, the equations are posted on the forums, and a python Gcode preprocessor is posted on Thingiverse.
Tomi Engdahl says:
VTT envisioned: 3D printing, Finland, the new Nokia
VTT’s research manager of 3D printing technology advances, it can be used in the future to print up a unique house.
At least VTT and Aalto University is believed to 3D printing brought about by business opportunities in Finland.
VTT’s research director Erja Turunen, Finland has plenty of capacity to make breakthroughs in 3D technology. Finnish industry is based on small series manufacture of special products with 3D technology, the benefits can be.
- We are not for mass producing because out size. Finland is a good as a high-value-added products. We are also good to combine expertise from different fields. It is when something is needed 3D printing innovation. In addition, we have a strong engineering-March.
VTT sees the greatest potential for technological exploitation of the Finnish engineering and energy industries. The Institute has been involved in developing inter alia, spare parts business.
- We want to stand out from consumer gadget hype. We believe that 3D allows to explicitly provide new high value-added industrial products.
3D technology is said to put an existing business models into new, as it eventually revolutionize the production of industrial design and production. 3D printing customers can be produced more individual, lighter and more complex products at no additional cost.
Thanks to technology, such as a broken part of the machine or production equipment spare part can be printed if necessary, to the other side of the globe.
This in turn saves significantly on corporate transportation and storage costs when the product logistics chain, from design to production takes place mainly in bits.
- Sure, the mass production of the traditional supply chain will continue. In business, additive technology means that companies are more design oriented, rather than the capital they have closed stores and materials.
Source: http://yle.fi/uutiset/vtt_visioi_3d-tulostuksesta_suomelle_uusi_nokia/6837596
Tomi Engdahl says:
Slideshow: 3D Printing in the Medical Cloud
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1392&doc_id=267884&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_183,industry_medical,bid_27,aid_267884&dfpLayout=blog
The cloud is being used for lots of things these days, such as storage, design collaboration, editing code online, and manufacturing quantities as low as one.
Technically, 3D printing in the cloud has been around for a while in rather rudimentary form. As we discussed in our recent blog about the Zeus 3D printer/scanner/copier/fax, you can upload your .STL files to various sites to get them printed and shipped. If you’d rather use someone else’s design or a photo, you can use content creation sites such as Cubify.
But 3D Systems is changing the medical model industry with its cloud-based Bespoke Modeling service. Surgeons, dentists, and other medical professionals can use the secure service to create and print sophisticated, full-color, 3D anatomical models from CT scans, MRI scans, or any other digital imaging and communications data. Users can view, share, and edit 2D and 3D data files. Models can even be created from selected data in an image, such as tissue or bone.
Lee Dockstader, vice president of business development for 3D Systems, told us in an email that it offers two other cloud printing services: Quickparts, which is for industrial users of rapid prototyping and injection molds, and Cubify, which is primarily for consumers.
But the medical model service makes even more sense as a cloud service, since these model sets can be several hundred megabytes in size and are very difficult to handle on a PC. “We have huge cloud-based servers that can process the data in real time and send the results down the Internet as a movie using Microsoft’s Silverlight streaming technology.”
The traditional process for making medical models can be slow and extremely expensive, he said. Medical modeling software costs $20,000-$30,000 and takes weeks to learn how to use. “For clinical applications it’s worth every penny, but for models, it’s overkill.”
Normally, doctors have to send the data to a medical technician and then wait days or weeks for models that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars each. “But we’re talking about taking a CT scan of say a jaw or skull, uploading it to the cloud, making two or three button clicks, and the software makes your model and gives you the price for having the service print it,” Dockstader said. “That’s a total of less than five minutes.” And it typically costs $100 or less per model, depending on who prints it out.
Bespoke Modeling subscriptions start at $30 per month for two hours of modeling time and 10 GBytes of storage, with additional hours available at $10 each.
Models can be created within any major Internet browser, as well as on iPhone, iPad, and Android mobile devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
10 3D printers under $1000
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/systems-interface/4421382/10-3D-printers-under–1000
Hello everyone, it’s Max Maxfield here. When Steve told me that he was writing a column about 3D Printers under $1000, my first thought was “Dang! I wish he’d done that before I purchased my 3D printer!” (LOL)
Most of the cheap-and-cheerful 3D printers are open-source designs derived from the RepRap project and have only one print head (or extruder), which means you can print only one type of material at a time. Some 3D printers brag dual print heads, and we may soon be seeing 3D printers that boast quad print heads. There are two main advantages associated with having multiple print heads. First, you can print objects with different parts in different colors. Second, you can print portions of the design using a special material that dissolves in water, which allows you to create structures that simply aren’t possible using a single print head.
Until recently, SLA-based 3D printers have been horrendously expensive, but the prices are falling dramatically. For example, the folks at FormLabs are now taking pre-orders for their forthcoming Form 1 SLA printer, which offers almost unbelievable specifications with regard to resolution and surface finish.
At $3,299, the Form 1 will be beyond the purchasing power of most hobbyists, but it’s well within the means of many companies, and it offers a superior 3D printing experience with professional-level results.
Actually, while I think about it, another thing you should consider is the cost of materials. A 1-liter bottle of resin for the Form 1 costs $149. By comparison, a 2lb spool of ABS filament for my 3D printer costs $43. Sadly, I have no way to compare the cubic volume of the objects that can be created using these different materials.
Another consideration is the design flow. I’d originally imagined this to be relatively simple, along the lines of “Use a 3D modeling package to capture the model and then press the ‘Print’ button.” Now, this may be the case with some integrated packages, but it’s not quite that simple with mine, and my feeling is that my situation is pretty common.
We start by capturing the 3D design. There are a variety of tools you can use for this, ranging from free to incredibly expensive. Also, some are relatively easy to learn and use, while others will make your brains leak out of your ears. The one I’m now using is a free, very powerful tool called DesignSpark Mechanical.
Once you’ve captured your 3D design, the next step is to generate an output file in STL (STereoLithography) format, which is widely used across different 3D printing and modeling interfaces.
It turns out that it is often the case that the STL file have “issues” when it comes to 3D printing. I found a company called NetFabb who offer a free cloud-based service to fix your STL file. You upload your model in STL format and they return a fixed version to you. When I used the fixed version, everything came out as I expected.
As I mentioned earlier, in some integrated solutions it may be that a lot of things happen automatically “under the hood.” In my case, the printer driver software that comes with my 3D printer requires me to import the STL file and to then run a “slice and dice” utility that converts it into the slices that will be printed. Just to increase the fun, it offers the choice of two different utilities to do this.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hurray! My 3D Printer Has Arrived!
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1319460
This is just a brief update to confirm that the $499 3D printer I recently purchased from the folks at Solidoodle.com has arrived and is sitting safe and sound in the Pleasure Dome (my office)
One of the things people keep on asking me is: “But what are you going to print with it?” Well, all sorts of things keep on popping into my mind.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Allied/RS Bring Free 3D Design Software to Everyone on the Planet!
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1319478
OMG! All the electronic and mechanical engineers I know (and even most of the marketing folks) are going to squeal like schoolgirls when they get their sticky little hands on this amazing, free 3D design software that will enable conceptualization and rapid prototyping, reduce costs, and dramatically accelerate product development. In short, this software is like a “Gift of invention that will bring your ideas to life!”
Tomi Engdahl says:
World Maker Faire 2013: The Sub-$500 Deltaprintr
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/22/world-maker-faire-2013-the-sub-500-deltaprintr/
There are a few delta bot 3D printers out there such as the Rostock which, while being a very nice printer, is still a little expensive. When [Shai] from SUNY wanted to use a 3D printer for his artistic and academic pursuits, he decided to build his own printer. Thus the Deltaprintr was born.
Instead of printed parts, the Deltaprintr uses laser cut and machined parts for just about all of its bill of materials. The three motors mounted in the base are connected to the delta arms with Spectra fishing line, thus getting rid of the ludicrous cost of belts of the requisite length.
Everything is Open Source, and the guys behind the project should be putting their printr up on Kickstarter sometime next month. Word is the entire thing should be sub-$500
Tomi Engdahl says:
A $100 Stereolithography 3D Printer
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/22/a-100-stereolithography-3d-printer/
The Hackaday tip line has been blowing up with a new Kickstarter for a 3D printer. Although this is a pretty common occurrence around here, this printer is actually very interesting: it’s quite possibly the simplest and cheapest laser resin printer ever.
At $100, the Peachy printer doesn’t have the budget for such luxuries as servos or motors, so the layer height is increased by dripping salt water over the liquid resin. The X and Y axes are controlled with mirrors and voice coils, allowing this printer’s electronics to be controlled by a computer’s sound card. It’s really amazing in its simplicity, and from the looks of it the Peachy can produce some fairly good prints.
Tomi Engdahl says:
World Maker Faire: The New Ultimaker
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/21/world-maker-faire-the-new-ultimaker/
Compared to the older laser-cut Ultimaker, the Ultimaker 2 is much, much cleaner that’s made more for designers and architects instead of students, hackerspaces and tinkerers. There are a few new additions to the Ultimaker 2 – OLED display, heated bed, and a larger build volume
Ultimaker will be shipping a pre-assembled version for €1.895,00, with a kit version to follow shortly. As always, the Ultimaker 2 is open source, and no, this doesn’t mean an end to the classic Ultimaker.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Update: The Best Things to Come Out of a 3D Printer
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=262309&dfpPParams=ind_183,industry_auto,industry_consumer,industry_medical,aid_262309&dfpLayout=blog
It seems as if everything these days is being 3D printed. We have seen many different items — bathing suits, shoes, and even guns and cars — 3D printed and it is truly transforming how we are making things.
With the price of 3D printers coming down, more people will be able to bring them into their home and really start experimenting. The amount of things that we can create with 3D printers looks to be limitless. Even NASA recently said that it is experimenting with 3D printing to make space parts.
the slideshow of some our favorite 3D-printed creations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Use your new-timey printer to make an old-timey camera
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/08/use-your-new-timey-printer-to-make-an-old-timey-camera/
Here’s something to show people who don’t realize the power of 3D printing. This pinhole camera has one moving part which reveals the pinhole, letting in light to expose the 4×5 film inside.
It’s a near perfect roundup of all the qualities a 3D printer has to offer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sub $100 3D printer rakes in Kickstarter cash
Exceeded its target in a couple of days
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2296265/sub-usd100-3d-printer-rakes-in-kickstarter-cash
A VERY CHEAP 3D printer has appeared on Kickstarter and has already raked in more cash than its target.
The Peachy Printer wants to make 3D printing seriously cheap and aims to build a machine for just under $100 (Canadian).
The inexpensive 3D printer should also make it cheap to print, according to the Peachy Printer sponsor.
You can invest in the printer for as little as $2. Funding of $90 and up secures access to the printer when it is finished. That’s an early bird price, and buyers will have to put their own printer together. The Peachy Printer outfit reckons it will take around an hour to assemble and recommends some parental oversight.
The early bird deals are all gone, as are the next two tiers. Open to investors now are packages that cost upwards of $350. For $400 you can get a completely built printer with 500ml of resin.
“The [Peachy Printer] moves a laser beam along the X and Y axes to create the shape of the object, while using a drip system to control the level of the resin on the Z axis which determines the height of the object.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
FDM and PolyJet Technologies: Determining Which Technology is Right for Your Application
http://www.designnews.com/lg_redirect.asp?piddl_lgid_docid=267457&cid=eAlert092413&dfpPParams=&dfpLayout=siteInfo
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), conceived and patented by Stratasys, and PolyJet inkjet printing, patented by the former Objet Ltd., are now companion products that address the needs of a wide range of applications and an even wider range of industries.
While there is crossover in applications and advantages, these two technology platforms are distinctly different and bring unique benefits.
Tomi Engdahl says:
LIB3 plans to bring contract manufacturing to the masses
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/24/lib3-plans-to-bring-contract-manufacturing-to-the-masses/
LIB3 is an open source hardware start-up from upstate New York. Thus far, the team has made some interesting products such as the piLED kit. However, they have big dreams for the future. LIB3 plans to become a contract assembly house specifically targeting low volume makers. To do this they have to build their own tools. LIB3’s latest project is a solder paste dispenser for surface mount components. Traditionally solder paste is applied with stencils made of stainless steel. In more recent years laser cut kapton has become a favorite for low volume production.
Both of these systems require a stencil to be made up. LIB3 took a different approach, and modified an old CNC glue dispenser for paste.
For their Maker Faire demo LIB3 replaced the paste with a standard felt tipped pen. Any mouse motion on the attached PC was directly translated into pen motion. The modified machine is extremely accurate – 0603 resistor pads will be no problem. The machine is also incredibly fast.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Priceless Paintings – Scanned and Printed in 3D
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/24/priceless-paintings-scanned-and-printed-in-3d/
When we think of works by Van Gogh and Rembrandt, most of us remember a picture, but we aren’t accustomed to seeing the actual painting. [Tim Zaman], a scientist at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, realized that the material presence of the paint conveys meaning as well. He wanted to create a lifelike reproduction in full dimension and color.
He and his team eventually used two 40-megapixel Nikon cameras in conjunction with a fringe projector to capture a topographical map with in-plane resolution of 50 μm, and depth resolution of 9.2 μm.
We can’t find a lot of information on the printing process they used, other than references to high-resolution 3D printers by Océ (a Canon company).
Tomi Engdahl says:
World Maker Faire: We annoy the DIWire crew
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/24/world-maker-faire-we-annoy-the-diwire-crew/
The first time we saw the DIWire it was a very cool piece of kit, but something that might not hold up to the rigours of a production environment. The latest version, a 14×8.5×5.5 inch machine designed to be set into a table, allowing for rapid manufacturing of nearly any shape imaginable bent into 1/8″ and 1/16″ steel wire.
Making any shape with the DIWire is extremely simple: if you have an SVG file, just import it into the software, define a few points along a path, and slip in a length of wire. One of the guys from Pensa was able to re-create the Hackaday logo is a few minutes.
It’s an impressive piece of kit that a few makers, hackers, and architects are using to build structures that can’t be made any other way. The DIWire will soon be released to the public
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printering: Advances in 3D printing at Maker Faire
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/25/3d-printering-advances-in-3d-printing-at-maker-faire/
Needless to say, the World Maker Faire had a ton of 3D printers. It’s really becoming an obligatory fixture of any booth, whether you’re Microsoft announcing to the world Windows 8 now supports 3D printer drivers (don’t ask), or you just have a Makerbot Replicator on your table for some street cred.
Even the 3D Printing section of the faire wasn’t without a lot of what we’ve all seen before. Yes, the RepRap Morgan and Simpson made a showing, but 3D printing to most people attending the faire is just plastic trinkets, Minecraft figures, and single-thickness vases and jars.
First up from AS220 is [Matt Stultz] who has been experimenting with filaments other than the usual ABS and PLA. He gave a talk at the 3D Printing stage where he introduced the crowd to High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS), an amazing filament that produces unimaginably smooth objects, but can also be dissolved away with Limonene.
Along with HIPS, [Matt] also showed off two interesting filaments you need to feel to believe. The first is Laywood, a type of PLA embedded with wood fibers.
Laybrick, the PLA infused with chalk dust to emulate a stone texture,
Although we would not be where we are today without the RepRap project, the idea of using 3D printers solely to print more 3D printers is a dumb idea. Self-replication is a fine goal, but rapid manufacturing techniques should be used to build one of something, not an army of something.
Tomi says:
3D-printed objects outgrow their printers
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24275-3dprinted-objects-outgrow-their-printers.html#.UkcqwXLbO9I
3D printing may be set to change the world by letting us make all sorts of bespoke objects, but there’s one little problem: the printers can only print items smaller than themselves. Until now, that is.
Skylar Tibbits at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Self-Assembly Lab and colleague Marcelo Coelho have come up with a way for standard 3D printers to print out large-scale objects.
The approach, called Hyperform, converts the object to be printed into a single long chain made from interlocking links.
The resulting cube is small enough to be printed inside a standard printer.
Once this cube is printed, the chain can be unravelled and assembled by hand to create the desired object. That’s possible because each link in the chain has notches that allow it to bend only in a certain way. “You have to fold it by hand and click it into place,” says Tibbits. Hyperform won the “The Next Idea” prize at the Ars Electronica 2013 technology festival in Linz, Austria, earlier this month.
they teamed up with Formlabs who, after a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, have just started shipping their Form 1 3D printer.
The Form 1 is capable of much higher resolution than standard consumer 3D printers. Instead of printing out layer upon layer of plastic, it uses stereolithography
Manually clicking each link into place isn’t ideal either. That’s where Tibbits’ other work in so-called 4D printing might help. 4D printing uses materials that are 3D-printed to produce an intermediate object which, when exposed to water, will bend and twist itself into the final structure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nasa plans first 3D printer space launch in 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24329296
US space agency Nasa is planning to launch a 3D printer into space next year to help astronauts manufacture spare parts and tools in zero gravity.
It will be the first time a 3D printer has been used in space and could help reduce the costs of future missions.
The device will have to withstand lift-off vibrations and operate safely in an enclosed space station environment.
Nasa has chosen technology start-up Made in Space to make the microwave oven-sized printer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video: Look at what kind of 3D printers have been invented
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/video+vilkaisepa+millaisia+3dtulostimia+on+jo+keksitty/a934388
Tomi Engdahl says:
Slideshow: Content Creation Tools Push 3D Printing Mainstream
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1394&doc_id=249704&cid=nl.dn14
There’s been lots of talk lately about how the price of 3D printers is going down, how the choice of materials for 3D printing is expanding, and how improved accessibility of the technology is widening its use in a host of new industries, from medical applications to becoming an instrumental part of the engineering workflow around early prototyping.
Yet even with the flood of new, inexpensive, and more consumer-oriented 3D printers for hobbyists, and office-ready models for small and midsized engineering shops, there is still a sizeable bottleneck standing in the way of mainstream adoption. That is, the software used to create the 3D content.
Sure, there are the tried-and-true 3D CAD and NURBS-based modeling tools, but not everyone with the germ of a product idea is a CAD specialist, nor do they want to spend the time learning a complex product. Enter a new genre of low-cost (many even free) and easy-to-use 3D content creation tools. These offerings are making it easy for anyone — a CAD-savvy engineer or an aspiring hobbyist — to easily create a 3D model of their concept and output it via any one of a variety of low-cost 3D printers or 3D printing services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Slideshow: 3D Printing Multiple Materials, Colors & Textures Gets Closer
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1392&doc_id=267987&cid=nl.dn14
The ability to 3D-print multiple materials, colors, and textures in the same piece is of growing interest to many engineers. Design News bloggers and readers have speculated in the comments section about how soon we’ll see high-quality, industrial-strength printers that can do both plastics and other materials, such as ceramics or metals, in one job.
Tomi Engdahl says:
There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch, or Is There?
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=268007&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_186,aid_268007&dfpLayout=blog
We are constantly reminded that you get what you pay for, and there’s no such thing as a free lunch. (Any other clichés come to mind?) So, when I met recently with the folks from Allied Electronics, RS Components, and SpaceClaim (yes, the room was crowded), I had those two adages in mind as they presented their “free” CAD tool.
(Note that full-blown free tools are rare in the industry. Other vendors might offer a “pay as you go” or a limited version of a tool for free. But this tool comes from a different type of source — a distributor rather than a tool developer.)
Tomi says:
3D printers on an edge to a breakthrough
3D printing is moving into the mainstream of freaks, predicts market researcher Gartner. Their possibilities are dawning for companies and home users.
Gartner estimates that less than 75 000 euro-priced 3D printer sales will grow 49 percent this year. Handsome percentage, not in spite of the low level of output still does not get to the more than 56 000 device.
But the end is in any case been opened, and the growth is expected to pick up more and more. Next year’s is expected to grow 75 percent, and sales continue to double from the next.
Gartner believes a breakthrough in the case, even though the market is still small.
“3D printing floating around the hype is still greater technical realities. Increased interest in forcing OEMs and application developers, however, to bring the user-friendly tools and materials that create high-quality output, “Gartner research director Pete Basilier believes.
The main customers for 3d printers are companies in. Companies are expected to spend on equipment money this year to 240 million euros, household are expected to spend 64 million. Equipment prices constantly falling as competition increases and manufacturing is growing.
“When the field is changing rapidly, companies are using 3D printing more and more in research, product development and manufacturing,” says Basilier.
At home, changing the attitude of curiosity, genuine interest, as long as the prices, applications and opportunities are attractive. Basilier predict this to happen the next year and a half. Very large 3D printing breakthrough in our homes, he predicts for 2016.
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/3d_tulostimet_lyovat_itsensa_lapi
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printering: The Problem of Thingiverse
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/02/3d-printering-the-problem-of-thingiverse/
Most makers, I’m sure, enter into the 3D printing world with a goal in mind. Whether that’s printing enclosures for projects, Warhammer figurines, robot chassis, or even a mechanical computer, there is usually some obvious utility in having a 3D printer at home. 3D printers are a machine tool, though, and any time it’s not being used means it’s an investment with a lower return, or at the very least a really cool toy gathering dust.
Where then do you find new stuff to print that you don’t design yourself?
For the longest time now, Thingiverse has been the largest repository to share, browse, and download object other people have made.
This does not mean the 3D printer community particularly likes Thingiverse, however: Last year, Makerbot, the people behind Thingiverse, changed the terms of use so (allegedly) Thingiverse owns everything uploaded to their service.
There is a huge market for an online repository of user-submitted 3D objects that isn’t controlled by Makerbot, and many have attempted to enter the fray. Defense Distributed, the guys behind the 3D printed AR lowers and all-plastic handguns launched DEFCAD, a Thingiverse clone, made an attempt by mirroring thousands of Thingiverse objects, removing the attribution in violation of these object’s licenses. Shady, yes, but at least it’s an option. There are other repos such as Cubehero and the newly launched YouMagine, a repo developed by Ultimaker. the Luke Skywalker to Makerbot’s Darth Vader.
But here is the problem with Thingiverse: even if you would like to get away from using this Makerbot service, it’s still the largest collection of 3D printed objects on the Internet. It has the most users, and is growing more each day than any of its competitors. Putting your objects anywhere else only means fewer people will see them, and fewer still will incorporate your designs into their new designs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
X-Winder: Carbon Fiber Wrapping
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/01/x-winder-carbon-fiber-wrapping/
One of our readers just sent us a tip about this interesting kickstarter project. [Turner Hunt] is bringing carbon fiber manufacture into the hands of makers — at considerable cost savings!
So how does it work? The machine wraps the filament around the workpiece, not unlike a CNC lathe in reverse. Actually it’s kind of a new breed of 3D printer! As the machine feeds the filament, it dips it through a bath of epoxy resin before being wrapped around the workpiece. A finishing step wraps heat shrink tape around the finished project using a heat gun, which then provides a glossy surface finish very similar to commercial carbon fiber products.
By purchasing carbon fiber filament and epoxy resin and using this machine, you can create structural carbon fiber tubes for about 80% less than they would cost commercially. The system comes with its own software that controls the machine via g-code
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ultimaker Launches YouMagine, a Competitor to Thingiverse
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1319700&
In the 3D printing world, one name currently pops to mind when people talk about hosting their files for the public. That name is Thingiverse, owned by Makerbot. Ultimaker is hoping to carve its own place out in the market with YouMagine.
EE Times: Why did you guys decide to build a part repository?
Erik de Bruijn: Thingiverse was independent of Makerbot when I first contributed to it back in 2008, but it was put more and more under the control of Makerbot, which became especially noticeable over the years. I very much like the idea of a sharing repository.
EE Times: What features of YouMagine make it stand out? How is it different?
Erik de Bruijn: Sharing ideas, print settings and files (not just STLs, but also source files). We want a contribution to be the starting point for the next person. Ideas should inspire people to design. We have an idea section where people are starting to add things and find collaborators. Also, designs should be a starting point, so we help people to upload source files. Cura has a YouMagine upload feature (using the same API that any developer can use), which helps you upload that .scad file in addition to the STL file.
Wireless cloud 3D printing
We have instant, single click-printing working in conjunction with Doodle3D (it’s in a prototype stage right now). This will be compatible with most 3D printers that have standardized protocols. Slicing will be done for you in the cloud, through the fast new CuraEngine.
Smart
YouMagine understands the files that are being uploaded. It analyzes the printability in the cloud, even indicating how much time and material the prints will cost.
Tomi Engdahl says:
This secretive startup plans to 3D print custom, affordable wood furniture
http://gigaom.com/2013/10/06/this-secretive-startup-plans-to-3d-print-custom-affordable-wood-furniture/
Traditional wood furniture is expensive and a dying craft. One company wants to give it the 3D printing treatment.
The traditional wood furniture industry has its share of problems. Faced with cheap plywood and chip wood that can be packed flat to ship inexpensively before assembly, furniture made of solid wood has become rarer and more expensive.
4 AXYZ founder and CEO Samir Shah has an idea. Instead of working with layers of cheap wood, he wants to work with layers of nice wood. And he’ll do it with 3D printing.
“Effectively what you’re seeing is solid wood furniture is too expensive and quality is dropping. We have something that is not rocket science, even though it is patent pending,” Shah said. “You can make [furniture pieces] to North American standards, and we can deliver them within 15 days even if they were customized by the customer.”
4 AXYZ won’t disclose how the technology works. Shah said the big secret is how the machine cuts the wood and secures layers together.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printering: You Want UV Resin?
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/09/3d-printering-you-want-uv-resin/
Just a few short months ago, 3D printing with stereolithography was an uncommon and very expensive proposition. Consumer-oriented SLA machines such as the Form1 and the B9Creator are as expensive as the upper echelons of squirting plastic printers and the community behind these machines isn’t even as diverse as the forums for the fly-by-night printers featured on Kickstarter every week.
This may be about to change with last month’s reveal of the Peachy Printer, a remarkably clever stereolithography printer that requires no special equipment, hardly any electronics, and costs $100. Even if the folks behind Peachy never ship a single unit, their clever engineering ensures that stereolithography will be a staple in the makers toolbox in the near future.
There is, of course, the problem of material. While plastic filament can be bought just about everywhere, UV curing resin is a little harder to come by and much more expensive per kilogram or liter. Where then does the stereolithography experimenter get their hands on some of this magical material from the future?
This stuff is really complicated
Needless to say, the market for SLA resin is a bit complicated. Some printers use DLP projectors, others use lasers. Some printers require a low viscosity resin while in others it doesn’t matter as much. This has a direct effect on what types of resins can be used with which printers. The market is so convoluted there’s no standardized unit of how to sell resin
For better or worse, the makers behind these SLA printers have stepped in and are selling their own resin
It’s like printer ink!
Tomi Engdahl says:
STL Fun: Converting Images To STL Geometry
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/09/stl-fun-converting-images-to-stl-geometry/
There’s been some good .STL manipulation tips in this week.
The first one is called stl_tools, and it’s a Python library to convert images or text to 3D-printable STL files. The examples shown are quite impressive, and it even does a top notch job of taking a 2D company logo into 3D!
Now if only .STLs were easier to edit afterwards…
The second one is a Javascript based Leap Motion Controller STL manipulator, which lets you pick STLs and manipulate them individually with your fingers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printing The Lab’s Logo
https://thelab.o2.com/2013/08/3d-printing-the-labs-logo/
There’s a whole bunch of great Open Source 3D printing tools out there. Many of them rely on you being able to be comfortable drawing complex polygons – either with a mouse, or programatically.
For more complex designs, it’s often easier to take an existing image file and turn it into a 3D model. So that’s what I’ve done with The Lab’s logo. It’s pretty easy.
First, convert your image to a black and white PNG.
Once that’s done you can use some Free Software called PNG23D which, as the name suggests, allows you to convert a PNG file to a 3D file.
Once installed, run:
png23d -o stl -w 100 -d 5 logo.png logo.stl
This tells PNG23D to create an STL file of width 100 and height 5. You can, of course, adjust this to suit your own parameters.
After a few seconds, you’ll have an STL file which you can view in something like MeshLab.
PNG23D is a 3d mesh generation tool
http://kyllikki.github.io/png23d/
This tool converts images in the PNG image format into a 3 dimensional representation. Two output formats (OpenSCAD and STL) are currently supported with several options for output parameters.
MeshLab
http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/
MeshLab is an open source, portable, and extensible system for the processing and editing of unstructured 3D triangular meshes.
The system is heavily based on the VCG library
it is available for Windows, MacOSX, and Linux.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printing: Game-Changing Applications for Consumers
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1365&doc_id=268391&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_183,aid_268391&dfpLayout=blog
3D printing is quickly capturing the hearts and minds of the general population. Often, 3D printing is spoken of in fantastical terms with the slightly derogatory phrase, “We can’t quite do that just yet.”
The primary drivers behind 3D printing’s popularity are the customization and democratization of products today’s consumer demands. It is no longer enough to create something that will be appreciated by the masses, since personalization is a key enabler for this consumer. It is no longer adequate to simply own a device. You need to own the experience and perception of that item through modifications. There are a number of pioneering companies that are leveraging 3D printing business models to capitalize on this trend.
3D printing home decor
Future-forward fashions for women
Don’t forget your accessories
Taking DIY to a whole new level
Driving in 3D style
Tomi Engdahl says:
3-D Printed Paintings Make Jackson Pollock Look Plain
http://www.wired.com/design/2013/10/3-d-printed-abstract-expressionism/
3-D printers are typically used make high-resolution models or functional prototypes, but artist Shane Hope manipulates them to channel his inner Jackson Pollock. The Brooklyn-based artist creates “paintings” that are densely packed with a rainbow of 3-D printed barnacles. The results are massive, dazzling assemblages—beautiful in the way that spectacular computer glitches can be—and are only matched in manic energy by Hope’s descriptions of them. “Seeing 3-D printing as a sort of gateway drug en route toward molecular manufacturing, I thereafter decided I’d visually/literally relate the operative ideologies, promises, and hype of 3-D printing to the R&D and forecasts regarding nanofacture.” Heady stuff, and while this jargon-filled description is a tad grandiose, the paintings push the boundaries of low-cost 3-D printers in new and interesting ways.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CNC Software Toolchain Using Only Open Source Software
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/12/cnc-software-toolchain-using-only-open-source-software-2/
For hobbyists, there are two types of machines that can make parts at home. The first type is matter-adding machines (3D printers) and the other is matter-subtracting machines (like CNC milling machines). [Mario] recently tipped us about an article he made detailing which free software can be used to design and produce parts on CNC machines.
The first step of the process is obviously designing the part you want to make using a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) application. [Mario] suggests Heeks or Freecad
converting the part you just designed to machine tool paths using a Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) application. Fortunately, Heeks can do both
pcb2gcode application, which allows you to manufacture printed circuit boards at home
LinuxCNC (previously Linux EMC2) software is used to control the CNC machine using the GCode that the CAM software produced.
Tomi Engdahl says:
RepRap Wally Can Print Larger Versions of Itself
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/12/reprap-wally-can-print-larger-versions-of-itself/
SCARA based 3D printers seem to be all the rage these days, and with good reason. This RepRap Wally doesn’t use any linear rods or timing belts — in fact, it can even print larger versions of itself with each iteration! Well, minus the electronics of course.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printer Made from E-waste in Africa
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/13/3d-printer-made-from-e-waste-in-africa/
We throw away millions of tons of e-waste every year and barely manage to recycle more than 15-20%. [Kodjo Afate Gnikou] is a 33-year old African who has just finished off a 3D printer built almost entirely out of e-waste.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D printing gets metal with European Space Agency’s AMAZE project
http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/15/european-space-agency-3d-printing-metal/
AMAZE, which stands for Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards Zero Waste & Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products (we guess AMATZWEPHMP just didn’t have the same ring to it), is a joint effort to take the next logical step in the evolution of 3D printing: manufacturing metal parts.
At today’s event, components made of tungsten alloy were a particular highlight, as the extremely high temperatures such material can withstand (up to 3,000 degrees Celsius) would make them ideal for use in spacecraft and nuclear fusion environments.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printering: Pastestruders
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/16/3d-printering-pastestruders/
While bits of plastic are the usual material for 3D printers, there are hundreds of other materials that are equally well suited for 3D printing. One of the most famous is chocolate, a material so popular and easy to manipulate inside an extruder there are even Kickstarters for 3D printed chocolate bars.
There are many more materials deserving of being 3D printed, though: wax for lost wax castings, other foodstuffs for improbably shaped edibles, and ceramics
One of the first instances where paste extrusion was demonstrated to the world was – remarkably – with the MakerBot Frostruder.
With both piston and pressure-based extruders, there is one drawback: it’s impossible to have a true continuous feed system. Eventually, after decorating a whole lot of cakes or extruding a whole lot of chocolate, you’ll have to tear down your extruder and refill it.
One solution to this is using pumps. Peristaltic pumps – basically a flexible tube with a set of rollers pushing a fluid along – could be used for thinner liquids, but for clay and ceramics this method has been met with failure. A much more interesting way of feeding thick liquids onto a build platform is a progressive cavity pump.
Surprisingly, there hasn’t been much progress in the development of a progressive cavity or Moineau pump for 3D printers
Tomi Engdahl says:
Metal 3D printing will be – the manufacture of a new era
Three-dimensional printing could revolutionize the way the world for years to come. Europe now focus on 3d metal printing, the preparation of new types of components such as rockets and airplanes. The benefits can be considerable.
Plastic 3D printing has been around for years, and the technology is starting to become a public use. The market is now affordable 3D printing services and even home-3d-printers.
Metal three-dimensional printing can be even more significant reform. The EU and the European Space Agency have set up a large 3D printing association. So Amaze-consortium consists of 28 organizations, for example, European companies and research institutes.
The consortium will try to speed up the metal 3d-printing of new production systems. The goal is to enable companies to take their products to new types of printed parts.
More durable, lighter and cheaper
ESA presents a printed metal parts that can withstand temperatures thousand degrees. These components will be used as space ships and airplanes. 3D printing, the benefits of such applications are far-reaching.
Metals generally based on three-dimensional printing metal powder, which is melted by laser beams at desired locations. Technology can be used to create almost any shape and structures, including complex cavities or support structures.
This will produce parts that are more durable and lighter, however. This produces large savings in space vehicles or aircraft. Reduction in weight can mean the tune of savings in aircraft fuel expenses.
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/metallien_3d_tulostus_tulee_valmistuksen_uusi_aikakausi
Tomi Engdahl says:
Growing Need for Optimization, Simulation in Design Process
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=268622&cid=nl.dn14
A major theme at the 2013 Americas Altair Technology Conference was the growth of the need for using simulation and optimization tools during product design.
Both the products that engineers design, and the design and development process for manufacturing those products, are changing, said Dagg. Optimization is influencing the esthetics as well as the structure of products, which can be seen in the design of robotics and aerospace components, as well as more typical examples such as cars. Consumers are also expecting a much better user experience from all products, due mostly to the success of Apple’s products. “Apple changed our expectations of all products, not just electronics,” he said. In cars, every aspect of a vehicle is now engineered, which requires a lot of simulation. Safety and simplicity are now more important. So is sustainability. All of these constraints require simulation and optimization, so engineering is becoming extremely complex.
In the design process, the use of optimization can help develop the concept of a product and inspire entirely new products, by showing what is and isn’t possible, and the best shapes or other features.
The growth of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is timely, since it combines well with the increase in optimization, said Dagg. This is because 3D printing and additive manufacturing are often used to create designs with complex shapes that can’t be manufactured by traditional subtractive processes. “The two technologies were made for each other,” he said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Blender CAM – Open Source CAM Software
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/19/blender-cam-open-source-cam-software/
[Vilem] sent in a tip about a plugin he’s been working on for Blender, called Blender CAM. It allows for exporting directly from Blender to a G-code file. He has been working on it for several months, and releasing regular updates with various tweaks and improvements.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3Doodler in the Wild
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/20/3doodler-in-the-wild/
Remember the Kickstarter for the 3Doodler? Well they have just started shipping, and a hackerspace called Open Garage in Belgium just got theirs!
Stick around after the break to see the innards, and the first test print using a CNC mill!
Satisfied with the tear down, they did the next most logical thing — they zip-tied it to their resident CNC mill and attempted 3D printing! They only made it one layer so far, but it’s a good start.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3Doodler Printer
http://anthony.liekens.net/index.php/Computers/3DoodlerPrinter
This page details a few of our initial experiments to use the 3Doodler and our CNC as a 3D printer and to see if the 3Doodler can be adopted as an extruder for a simple 3D printer.
Deepak’s 3Doodler “printing pen
As features, the 3Doodler prints ABS and PLA plastic 3mm filament. There’s a button to select material temperatures. Two buttons control two different speeds or reverse the filament (pressing both buttons) through a 0.4mm nozzle. There’s a (rather noisy) fan to cool the cold end of the filament.
Interestingly, a few pins to connect wires to control the pen from external signals (a button, an Arduino, …) are also available, but not yet documented.
So here you have it, as far as we know, this is the first (2D) print made by a CNC whose extruder is nothing more than a 3Doodler!
Still, converting a CNC into a 3D printer with the 3Doodler now seems like a quick (<30 minutes) and cheap (99$ for a complete extruder with some quality components!!!) hack, if you already have a CNC, of course. We were quite impressed with the initial quality of the extruder.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Woodcut Stamps and Conductive Ink
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/18/woodcut-stamps-and-conductive-ink/
He wondered if it would be possible to create SMD circuit boards by using a 3D printer to fabricate a stamp for conductive ink.
They suggested cutting a wooden stamp using a laser cutter and within 30 minutes of the idea’s inception a completed stamp for an Atari Punk Console PCB was in [Luong]‘s hands.
As an experiment, the idea was a tremendous success. As a tool, the stamp didn’t perform as well as hoped; the traces didn’t transfer properly, and there’s no way this wooden laser cut stamp could ever create usable PCBs.
That being said, we’re thinking [Luong] is on the right track here with printed PCBs.
This idea for CNC-created PCB stamps might work with a different material – linoleum or other rubber stamp material, or even a CNC milled aluminum plate.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Introducing the Shapeoko 2
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/21/introducing-the-shapeoko-2/
For all the 3D printers that hit the Hackaday tip line, it’s surprising we don’t see more CNC routers. They’re arguably more useful tools, and with the ability to mill wood, plastic, and non-ferrous metals, open up the door to a whole bunch more potential builds. One of the most popular – and certainly one of the least expensive – CNC routers out there, the Shapeoko, just received a huge update that makes this minimal machine even more capable.
The Shapeoko 2 is available in two versions, a $300 mechanical kit that requires you to go out and get some motors, a power supply, and a grblShield, the full version, for $650, includes everything you’ll need to start routing wood metal and plastic at home.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HP to enter 3D printer market in mid-2014 says CEO Meg Whitman
Faster, cheaper, kit on the way for service providers
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/23/hp_to_enter_3d_printer_market_in_mid2014_says_meg_whitman/
Canalys Channels Forum HP CEO Meg Whitman has told the Canalys Channels Forum in Bangkok that the company will enter the 3D printer market in the middle of 2014.
“We are excited about 3D printing,” Whitman said, adding that it is a natural business for HP to enter given its heritage in printers. “We want to lead this businesses. HP labs is looking at it.”
The things HP’s boffins are considering is the time it takes to print and object. “To print a bottle can take eight to ten hours. That’s all very interesting, but it is like watching ice melt,” she said. Lower cost is also on the agenda.
“3D printing is in its infancy” she said. “It is a big opportunity and we are all over it. We will have something by the middle of next year.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printing With Sugar
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1394&doc_id=264127&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_186,bid_26,aid_264127&dfpLayout=blog
Kyle and Liz von Hasseln, a California-based couple with a background in architecture and geometry, and a suspected sweet tooth, have found a way to use a 3D printer and granulated sugar to make intricate, edible geometrical decorations.
The couple set out to use a 3D printer to make a gift for their friend’s birthday. After much trial and error, and long after their friend’s birthday had passed, the couple found a formula that worked.
The Sugar Lab offers no pre-designed sculptures but instead asks customers to participate in the design process. Anyone interested can share a concept, or send in a picture or even a physical object they would like to have captured in a sugar sculpture.
Just be sure to protect them from rain or harsh changes in temperature and moisture, Liz von Hasseln warned me. The sculptures melt at around 150F, same as sugar, so don’t leave them in the car for too long! “3D printing represents a paradigm shift for confections, transforming sugar into a dimensional, structural medium,” she told me.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Police ‘Find First 3D Gun-Printing Factory’
Officers in Manchester seize a printer and other components potentially used in the manufacture of firearms.
http://news.sky.com/story/1159349/police-find-first-3d-gun-printing-factory
Police have discovered a 3D printer which they believe criminals were using to try to make a gun, Sky News can reveal.
In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, officers in Manchester on Thursday seized a printer and other components potentially used in the manufacture of firearms during a raid.
As part of an operation to target organised crime gangs in the city, police found a trigger and a magazine they believe is capable of holding bullets, both of which are thought to have been made using the printer.
Officers believe the raid – in the Bagley area of the city – could have uncovered what could be Britain’s first 3D gun factory.
“In theory, the technology essentially allows offenders to produce their own guns in the privacy of their own home, which they can then supply to the criminal gangs who are causing such misery in our communities.
“Because they are also plastic and can avoid X-ray detection, it makes them easy to conceal and smuggle.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printering: A Call for an Open Source Automated Build Platform
http://hackaday.com/2013/10/23/3d-printering-a-call-for-an-open-source-automated-build-platform/
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: if you’re using a 3D printer to make a few hundred identical plastic parts, you’re doing it wrong. That’s the place for traditional manufacturing methods such as injection molding or resin casting.
If, however, you’re looking at printing a few dozen identical plastic parts, or even running a script to optimize your machine time, the current open source 3D printer world leaves one thing to be desired.
An Automated Build Platform is a fairly simple idea: put a conveyor belt on your heated bed, and when the print is done, send a command to drive a motor, dumping the newly printed part into a bin, The printer then begins the next part with a clean bed, and the days of doting over a 3D printer soon fade into the past.
For such a simple and useful idea, it’s surprising there hasn’t been much done with this idea in open source circles. There are, of course, problems both technical and legal, but hopefully nothing that should indefinitely derail anyone who would want to create the first open source automated build platform.
For anyone who has been following 3D printers for a while now, the idea of an automated build platform will sound very familiar.
Yep, there are two patents for the Automated Build Platform, apparently one for the apparatus and one for the method.
Here’s a challenge for you, oh Hackaday reader. The world of 3D printers has pretty much settled on a single build plate. There is, if I’m reading the suggestions for this 3D Printering column correctly, a demand for an open source automated build plate. Let’s make this happen.