3D Printing, Is This for Real?

Wow is right.

Just plain, old, simple... WOW.

It's more generally called "Rapid Prototyping", but recently it's coming to be known as, "Additive Manufacturing".

If the video is to be believed, this is larger than rapid prototyping I have seen. I sort of watched at the video, I did not really have time to peruse closely.

Functional rotating parts... meshing gears... these videos are intended to grab you, pique your interest. This one has grabbed me. I could not listen to the audio...

The technology has advanced considerably in the past few years. A few years ago, NASA conducted tests to see if they can manufacture spare parts in space.

As for part size, the company in the video, Z-Corp, has machines capable of parts up to 254 x 381 x 203 mm. Machines from 3D Systems Inc can do up to 550 x 393 x 300 mm.

The process began life years ago as stereo lithography and has steadily progressed in sophistication. Initially a laser beam was used to harden liquid acrylic resins in a big vat.

Now, if they could just do metals.

Similar technology is being developed to print conductive circuits on "printed" circuit boards. That would mean no more caustics or acids would be needed to produce PWb's. And no more waste to dispose of.

They'll have it down to bucky balls soon. At least that is what I would make things of if I had the funds to be part of this. The two micron is petty much as good as they can get and would be sufficient to satisfy any of my rapid prototyping requirements.

Fine glass powder would be another way to go or even a mixture of glass and metals to be hardened afterwards. The mind boggles. I wish I could have that lab for a few days including the services of the experts.

Anyone want my account details?

Nice links pantaz!

Not really that surprising since it is similar to older rapid prototype processes which have been around for well over a decade.

We used stereo lithography resources to prototype 3-D parts for many years. Most items were produced directly from CAD files and shipped back to us within 48-72 hours. Initially, the parts were truly 3-D but barely functional because the material was far too brittle/fragile. Over just a couple years, that process evolved to produce 98% functional prototypes for our plastic assemblies.

The process in the video is just another step in the evolution of rapid prototyping. While they did use the replica wrench to tighten a nut, I seriously doubt that composite material has anywhere near the same strength as the original FORGED STEEL wrench.

All these processes can be very useful during initial product design and/or for low volume production runs, but they are unlikely to make a dent in any high volume production/manufacturing process.

I'd bet the cost of the forged wrench was under $10 while the composite copy was over $500.

Don't know about strength compared to a hot-forged wrench, but they're doing some amazing stuff with Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS).

I've used this method a few times to make stuff for my underwater camera. Just draw the piece up on CAD and send it off to them and 3 days later the part arrives in the mail. I know of 3 companies in Australia that do this kind of printing.

I even heard of a story of a woman who had herself cremated and then printed into a toaster.

You guys all have misunderstood the question entirely. Biologically, it is called making children. The technology is known, well refined by many, many generations.

Any more questions?

In case you missed it there is a link in Pentaz's earlier Wiki link to reprap

Z corporation machines are pretty expensive; RepRap is an opensource project which aims to make self replicating 3D printers for less than a thousand dollars.

http://www.reprapcentral.com/vmchk.html

Thanks for the link

"One thing that concerns me about the video is that the wrench being replicated had a drop forged(?) hole on the end, while the replicated piece had a wire ring. Why?"

That is a very good point. The tool scanned by the laser has the forged eye, but the image generated has the ring, as does the completed part...

Masterful editing? For what purpose? I would assume the hole would be easier to print.

Exactly. Having been involved in the production of such high tech marketing/news videos, that one is an amateurish mistake, IMO. One that is quickly picked up by the technically aware, and invites more in-depth scrutiny.

Hooker

Surely it's impossible to scan the internal details of the mechanism anyway. Or am I missing something?

No, you're not missing anything. They totally gloss over the minutiae of the scanning process, which can make or break the end product.

At my recent last job, I had a boss who decided we needed to scan the interior structure of a Beachcraft twin engine aircraft. He didn't bother to consult me, though I was the CAD "expert" in the company, and went ahead and hired a company to come in and laser scan both the inside and outside of an ancient hulk we used for prototyping stuff. This aircraft had also been involved in a ground accident and was written off as a total loss with a twisted fuselage.

When the scans came back as CAD files, nothing in the structure was straight or relative to standard planes. Skin was wrinkled and frames and ribs were twisted. The model was virtually worthless for engineering purposes, without massive manual work to straighten everything out.

The purpose of the above is to show that 3D scanning is not a miniscule part of the overall process and should not be glossed over in the selection and use of a replicating system as shown in the video.

I'd sure like to know how they got the geometry of the thumbscrew and the sliding jaw in the adjustable wrench. It's impressive in the video but I'm sure there are at least a few man hours involved in the pre-processing.

Hooker

Well... regardless of all that, I still see it as a fascinating step forward that will undoubtedly continue to be improved upon, toward a useful end.

One step closer to "Tea... Earl Gray... Hot"

I agree, we're gonna get to Star Trek replicators at some point.

Hopefully, not in my lifetime, though. I'd probably gain 20 pounds the first week I had one.

Imagine!! Never ending strawberry shortcake.

Hooker

We are, right now, at the point where we could 3D print certain foods (starches, sugars, etc -- all sorts of interestingly-shaped and colored candy bars, for example).

The Coke Freestyle machines are already at the point where the customer can concoct his/her own drink. I'd think within a couple years there will be mass market food printers -- it seems like a natural (granted, an unnatural natural). (According to this old article, Z-Corp used a starch-based powder in 2004 -- and they may still. This was not out of a desire to eat the things that the machines could make, but because of the utility of starches.)

Reprap's and their cousins have been adapted to such things as cake decorating with frosting and 3D chocolate designs. Basically, anything that can be semi-liquified can be run through the extruders with proper temperature control.

Hooker

I saw a demo of this at one time a few years ago... thought it cool. and had some claims to accuracy, plus the ability to stitch together scans from multiple points of view on the objects...

Sort of the point of my #3. As Hooker points out, it appears there may be some creative editing to make this appear to be something which it is not.

I, at one time, had a working gearset in a framework, made by stereolithography.

It was impressive 20 years ago, too.

New, improved Toad Laundry detergent gets your clothes up to 50 % brighter with each use.

LOL. I musta made a gazillion hollow ball in a cage handouts during my time with 3D Systems. Cute stuff, but worthless for practical production.

I eventually specialized in very high resolution builds for lost wax casting of jewelry. Working with Harry Winston was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Hooker

Harry Winston, I'm impressed!

That would be disappointing. But very possible. Creative editing of videos there days is so common, there's really no way to tell for sure. Almost as common as suspicion. I guess it all depends on the reliability of whether this company is the real deal, or not. I know nothing about them. But if they are a reputable company, it would be foolish of them to make an embellished demo video and ruin their credibility. Unless someone else made the video, just as a hoax to gain notoriety with a cool viral video.

I do not claim that the video is perfect. But if the made an ad minute but minute it would not be and advertisement but a mini series. I can't vouch for the companies in the states but the guys I've dealt with there in OZ can do some very impressive things. The way I under stand it you can make items out of anything as long as it can be powdered and can accept the bonding agent.I would love to get on my self but at the moment it is well out my price range. As it is I'll be putting together my own injection molder soon

I've got a major home project I'm working on and the finished product will defiantly be printed in some way.

so will you be able to built a 'mesh' on the reprap, that can be impregnated with resin?

just curious

Chris

_{^{(ps... are you going to be offering reprap machines for sale to cr4 brethren? )}}

I don't see why a mesh couldn't be laid out, though I haven't thought that far ahead yet. The nozzle diameter of the extruder I have is .5mm and the positioning accuracy is reported to be .1mm. The specs do say though that the minimum feature size is 2mm. I'm not exactly sure what that means but I guess I'll find out eventually.

Since the machine uses PLA, HDPE or ABS as designed, these are more than adequate for prototypes.

Hooker

_{(ps... dunno about offering machines. I bought a laser cut plywood Mendel kit that I want to use to build the plastic parts to replace the plywood, The plywood is just ugly. Then I'll see about making more Mendel's. Presuming I ever get this thing built and operating, that is. )}

I can't review the video (firewall restrictions) but have seen much of the technology you are all discussing. Sales reps for these companies have been trying to convince engineering managers for years that they can make functional prototype parts. (In one case, they wanted to build a heated pressure vessel!) You need to see the material properties, including any non-homogeneous effects of the layering technique they use to build the parts. Also, the stairstep effect that was mentioned previously creates areas of stress concentration. Finally, the material needs to perform a in real world environments - temperature, humidity, UV, chemical, vibration, pressure, etc. This technology has a long way to go before any of us worry that manufacturing plants will be endangered.

There doesn't appear to be anything fundamentally new here: just a new variety of hype. 3D printers and scanners have been around for quite a while, and the "new"element of this would appear to be that the scanner magically determines the nature of hidden pieces, such as the axle on the adjusting screw: its length, its diameter, the dimensions of the hole in which it mounts, etc. But nothing in the video indicates how that feat is accomplished; in fact, it is glossed over entirely. Even with x-ray this would be tough to do, and with laser it is impossible.

The fact that the two wrenches are not the same shape is also glossed over.

Before I could believe that this composite will really perform like a forging, I'd need to see the astonishing material specs. The "demo" in which the over-the-top gushing reporter tightens a nut with nothing more than his hand restraining the cylindrical piece to which the nut is tightened means that the nut might have 3-4 lb-ft torque, not the 50 lb-ft that a wrench of that size could be used for. The reporter says "Wow that's a real tool!" as he tests to see that the wrench can make something finger tight.

The corporate rep says that he can make the tool stronger just by infusing with resin... but resins are 10,000 psi materials (some much lower), and steel is 100,000 psi (some quite a bit higher). If there were anything impressive about their plastic, they would certainly mention it in their brochure, but they do not (other than to call it a "high performance composite").

They might be very nice machines, but they are substantially overselling.

I think their biggest mistake was to use it to make something like a wrench. As was mentioned, no resin could match the properties of steel, and a wrench made by this process is obviously useless. A "real tool", it's not. And anyone that is not in fact a tool themselves, realizes this and can rightfully mock the whole process.

On the other hand, if they had made something equally intricate, but something that only requires the inherent strength of that resin, it may have been a much more convincing demonstration... with fewer nay sayers.

If they honestly did reproduce the internal mechanisms of the wrench, that would be impressive, and more than any rapid prototyping process of the past could do. But since I don't really know their whole process, I can't really judge its validity one way or the other.

You are right. That wrench was shooting canon balls at sparrows. A useless shot at glory. I wonder if the engineers were the writers of the script and can imagine that some of them cringed.

I have several gadgets at CAD readiness that would lend themselves to such prototyping and would make final reality checks possible at an instant.

Never mind the cosmetic problems of the presentation this is a huge step in tooling and if funds and opportunity meet I will take part. There are also these guys (just two)

http://www.globalspec.com/FeaturedProducts/Detail/SuperiorTechnicalCeramics/Custom_Manufactured_Technical_Ceramics_Parts/137673/1?id=-1385743232&uh=77ef97&email=kywilms%40myway.com&md=100826&mh=2bb193&Vol=Vol2Issue8&Pub=77&LinkId=678294&keyword=link_678294&vid=127294&frmtrk=newsletter

Water blast cutting and polishing do similar things and are well established. See:

http://spie.org/x8679.xml?ArticleID=x8679

I'm on the case, Ky.

If you look at the 2^nd clip in the series they replicate a bearing. It looks good but they done spin it!

is this a scam?

I'm still waiting long past promised shipping date

Interesting message on 3D printing. http://www.angelnexus.com/o/web/40856

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-06/meet-liberator-world%E2%80%99s-first-fully-3d-printed-firearm