wunwinglow
Sprue Cutter
Always waiting for more reference material....
Posts: 44
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Post by wunwinglow on Dec 24, 2010 15:22:28 GMT
My job involves running several of these machines, both CNC and SLA/ProJet, and to get anything that us modellers would recognise as useful, costs a fair bit. None of our machines cost less that £60,000, and while the CNC machines will cut pretty much anything from balsa to stainless, the CAD modelling of the original shapes still takes a lot of effort and skill, training and software. It is possible to do this yourself, and there are several free software packages that will produce perfectly useable data, but you still have to learn how to use the software! Paying someone else is VERY expensive!! So, in short, it doesn't make things easier, it just shifts the effort and expense somewhere else!!
Costs will come down howeve, all the 3D machine manufacterers are looking at less expensive machines to expand their sales, so over the coming years expect to see some major developments in this area.
Tim
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Post by NoelSmith on Dec 29, 2010 10:06:08 GMT
Interesting post Tim. Having a CAD/CAM background I cannot see this technique ever being cost effective to the modeller. Even if the machinery drops in price over the next few years I can not seeing it ever being affordable to Joe public as the machinery is complex, and of course the cost of consumables will be on top of that. Sub contracting to industry will be prohibitive also. For example most CNC shops will charge about £60.00 per hour for programming on top of the machine time charge. Best stick to the Swann Morton, Files, Milliput and Wet'n'Dry !!!
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Post by playtime on Dec 29, 2010 10:41:35 GMT
Noone mentioned this yet - isn't this cheating?
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Post by NoelSmith on Jan 1, 2011 15:45:20 GMT
Depends on what playtime means by cheating? As far as I can see 3D Printing is just another means of making parts. Let's face it, 99 per cent of us plastic modellers build our models from bits that have been designed and moulded, photo etched or lasered by someone else! We have all become accustomed to the quality of newer releases from all the manufacturers. This is due in a big way to Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing ( CAD/CAM ) so the mould designs become better and better with the advances in this area of Engineering. The skills are in the building, adapting, detailing and finishing for most of us. Basically making the most of a kit and after market accessories for it. I'm attempting my first scratch built model at present. Not because I particularly want to, but because there is unlikely to ever be a kit available in the scale I want, so I have unfortunately just got forced into it. The up side is that I am learning a lot by having a go, although it is a slow process.
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Post by karlos on Jan 10, 2011 15:07:37 GMT
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Post by playtime on Jan 10, 2011 19:21:01 GMT
Subscription required to the murdoch empire...
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Post by foxy on Jan 10, 2011 22:09:49 GMT
Heehee, nice one Playtime. ;D Well things seem to be changeing miles to fast, and maybe its a fast buck for some, but most will, like me wait till its cheaper,'if at all'.
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Post by karlos on Jan 11, 2011 14:30:02 GMT
for those who prefer not to line the pockets of r murdoch.....
What if you needed something — a spare key, a doorknob, a spare part — but did not need to leave the house to get it? What if you had a mini-factory at home which could, within minutes, make everything you ever wanted?
That day is closer than you may think, thanks to the development of “3-D printers” that can “print” entire objects built to a person’s specifications. The current suite of these machines can create objects in plastic. Experts believe, however, that in the future they could also build using metals, allowing them to create electronic devices.
One such machine, dubbed the “Thing-O-Matic”, was on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this weekend, the world’s largest showcase for gadgetry. Most other 3-D printers in development are huge machines that cost from around $10,000 (£6,400) to more than $1 million for a high-end device capable of making sophisticated production parts.
The Thing-O-Matic, however, costs $1,225, making it one of the first commercially viable 3-D printers on the market.
“We want to democratise manufacturing,” said Bre Pettis, the chief executive of Makerbot Industries, the small company based in Brooklyn, New York, that is behind the Thing-O-Matic.
3D printers work using computers that first analyse the structure of an object, creating a virtual design for it. Thousands of these designs are now readily available to download from the internet. The machine itself then gets to work, building up the object in plastic, layer by layer.
There are many forms of 3-D printing, but the typical way is for a machine to dispense thin layers of liquid resin, using an ultraviolet laser to make it harden. A “build tray” then moves down, applying a new liquid surface, and then the process is repeated. At the end, any excess resin is cleaned away using a chemical bath.
In demonstrations, the Thing-O-Matic was able to build working bottle-openers within 25 minutes. “Faster than it would take to go to the shops and buy one, right?” said Mr Pettis.
Industrial-sized 3-D printers can build relatively sophisticated mechanical parts, but take up to a day to create them.
At CES, a place dominated by sleek televisions and computers that make the conference halls shimmer in black and silver, the Thing-O-Matic stood out as the quirkiest and most unrefined device at the event.
The machinery is fixed within a wooden box but wires hang out of it. If it looks DIY, that is because it is. The machines have to be built, by hand, by the owner.
“You can make this if you’re comfortable making IKEA furniture,” explained Mr Pettis. He suggested it would take 12 hours to make, or “a weekend with a friend”.
“Ever since I knew about them, I’ve wanted to make a 3D printer,” said Mr Pettis. “It’s just so much fun to build something that can build things.”
He added that the Thing-O-Matic also had the ability to clone itself, creating the parts for another Thing-O-Matic.
Major companies are currently in a race to build better 3-D printers, with Z Corporation, Objet and Stratasys among those which have built more elaborate machines for major manufacturing companies to purchase.
Meanwhile Adrian Bowyer, of the RepRap project based at the University of Bath, which is also building a 3-D printer, believes that the machines will be able to make a mobile phone, apart from the microchip, within five years.
“We hope they will evolve in the way that the computer evolved, where you need lower and lower technical expertise to use them over time,” Dr Bowyer said.
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Post by robdebie on Jan 16, 2011 16:54:11 GMT
Excellent work! Do you know which company Chuck uses to have his parts printed? Rob de Bie (who had that 1/72 aircraft printed)
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Post by NoelSmith on Jan 21, 2011 19:56:55 GMT
I forgot to mention this in my previous threads, that if anyone wants to have a go at a form of 3D Designing, there is a program by Google named 'Sketch Up' that can be downloaded free of charge. They do claim though that it is not a proper CAD (Computer Aided Design) program as such, as it's use is mainly for doing conceptual sketches in a 3D format. It's quite good, and very impressive. Many schools use it in their Design Technology lessons for sketching ideas, as it is a free to download program.
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Post by karlos on Mar 8, 2011 8:55:39 GMT
printed bike!!!!!
from todays times
To produce the bicycle, layers of nylon were stacked on each other to create a single structure David Bebber for The Times David Robertson Business Correspondent March 8 2011 12:01AM A bicycle “grown” from nylon stockings was put on show yesterday to demonstrate a process that some engineers are calling the most important manufacturing advance since the Industrial Revolution.
The two-wheeler was produced by an EADS research team at Filton, near Bristol, where work on Airbus aircraft is carried out.
The process is known as “additive manufacturing” and involves “growing” products by laying microscopic particles of metal or plastic on top of each other in a 3D printer.
To produce the bicycle, layers of nylon were stacked on each other to create a single structure with the wheels, bearings and axle all made in one piece. The process means that a design can be created on a computer and then printed, removing the costly process of building prototypes.
The use of advanced materials also allows manufacturing companies to build components that are much stronger and lighter because they do not have to be joined, welded or lathed.
Robin Southwell, chief executive of EADS UK, said: “We can now design a component on a computer and, just like printing a sheet of paper, we can print a product using just powder and lasers.”
Additive manufacturing has been around for several years but it has been possible to grow only relatively small products. However, 3D printers are becoming bigger and the process has become more sophisticated.
Some of the world’s largest manufacturing companies are looking at how they can use additive manufacturing to speed up product development and reduce waste. For EADS, the prize is to build aircraft components that are lighter and stronger than is possible using traditional processes.
Mr Southwell believes it is vital that British companies adopt such technology early to stay ahead of international rivals. “Technological leadership is vital for the UK if we are to have a successful export industry and we need support to be able to develop this sort of product,” he said.
EADS has received about £5 million from the Government to help to develop the “Airbike”. The machine is not for sale but will form the basis of future research by EADS into additive manufacturing.
Iain Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, a government agency, said: “The Airbike is an example of technology innovation, which stands a real chance of providing UK businesses with a manufacturing edge for the future while delivering economic growth both here and around the globe.”
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Post by okdoky on Mar 8, 2011 21:17:35 GMT
Regards the Printed Bike Did anybody notice on the TV News that the reporter showing it off couldnae ride it !!!!! He tried to cycle off and nearly fell flat on his face ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, TEE HEE !!!!!!!!! And it sounded very clanky as if the gearing didnae seem to mesh all that well !!!!! Teething problems maybe Nige
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Post by karlos on Jul 9, 2011 17:20:03 GMT
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Ant
Kit Basher
Posts: 113
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Post by Ant on Jul 14, 2011 7:16:35 GMT
Some parts of the kit industry are definitely using this! I was at Wonderfest in the US earlier in the year and there were 3-4 companies showing kits based around 3D printed masters, from some very small one man bands producing resin to Moebius Models who have a range in styrene.
In all cases, the level of detail was phenomenal both in the masters and the final kit pieces. In Moebius's case they are producing several tv/film licence tie ins (Batman, Battlestar Galactica, Iron Man) and have been using digital data direct from the studios to produce the 3D printed prototypes and then ultimately to mill the styrene moulds directly.
As mentioned one of the fantastic benefits of this method is that once you have your final 3D file, you can print in almost any scale.
I'm absolutely certain that some of the major industry players are watching developments VERY closely if they are not using them already. This is definitely the way things are going, and fast...
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2011 9:58:19 GMT
My thanks to Mick Condra for this link ...
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