3D printing

[bbowser]

If I am stepping on toes or using improper ettiquette, please delete. ajwheels posted this link in Big Boyz and I thought it was too good not to share. The parts look incredible even if they are 1/16. It seems 3D printing is a lot further along than I had imagined. I don't think you'll see one on every desktop anytime soon, but I can see enterprising individuals starting a business, ala resin casters?

http://public.fotki.com/ajwheels/116-scale-ford-flat/

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'm very glad you posted this. It illustrates exactly what I said in another thread about the current state-of-the-art....only one wet coat of primer should be sufficient to deal with this amount of surface graininess.

[Chuck Doan]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21159426@N05/

Some more interesting models made this way. (I have no affiliation with this party)

Edited November 6, 2012 by Chuck Doan

[Fat Brian]

When we can get parts this good in 1/25 scale it will be profitable for someone skilled in CAD to buy one of these machines and print aftermarket parts. When you look at a resin casting business look at how much money and time is tied up in making masters and then making molds. Making a quality mold is an art and you can waste a lot of mold material and resin getting one right an then it wears out and every casting becomes of poorer and poorer quality until it's unusable. I believe that I read here that a good body mold will make about fifty bodies before it has to be retired, no wonder resin parts cost so much. You have a very finite amount of copies to make back your huge time and materieal outlay. A person with this machine could make a model one time and print an infinite amount of copies without diminishing quality over time. The cost of parts made this way could be substantially cheaper than resin, there is almost no investment in the part other than design time and parts only have to be printed when they are bought and paid for.

[bbowser]

I assume there is considerable investment in the design files but you're right, there could be an infinite number of copies off one file. That would certainly bring the cost down and the ROI up. The latest issue of Time Magazine has listed the Makerbot Replicator 2 as one of the 25 best inventions of the year.

[my80malibu]

Is there any visual. That shows this process on action.

[CadillacPat]

I see all of Model Manufacturing collapsing and these machines taking over, tomorrow morning.

Every 5 year old kid will be spitting out perfect Model Kits in just minutes with these.

These will change Model Building forever, tomorrow about 6:30 a.m.

Don't hold your breath.

CadillacPat

[Ace-Garageguy]

Is there any visual. That shows this process on action.

Here ya go......

https://www.google.com/search?q=makerbot+video+youtube&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[ajwheels]

Is there any visual. That shows this process on action.

Here are further visuals.........the flathead parts were printed at Shapeways in the Frosted Ultra Detail material........................

http://www.youtube.com/user/Shapeways

Tony

[jas1957]

Some months ago there was a link to a video with Jay Leno showing a 3D scanner reading a part & then printing out a nearly perfect plastic copy. A very interesting technology. Is it possible to take your super rare original AMT '59 Pontiac kit & copy the whole thing ? If so the possiblities boggle the mind. While the hardware is not inexpensive, I looked on line & found the whole system under $50,000. WAY out of my reach, but maybe not others.

Edited November 6, 2012 by jas1957

[raildogg]

I must add my thoughts here. I have been dabbling with this technology since the late 90's and can say with some certainty, it is not close to being a real home hobbyist friendly reality. Yes the commercial machines are very expensive, media for them is not cheap either. But as a hobbyist tool, not even close. The commercial machines are limited in the work envelope size in all axis, but that is not an issue for scale modelers as even the largest parts, can be multiple part assemblies. Currently available machines from those aforementioned manufacturers rely on ABS filament, the type used in lawn trimmers, very hard to glue together. They are very slow and must be very rigid to operate successfully. A recent meeting of my CNC S.I.G. one was demonstrated and took approximately thirty min. to make a guitar pick. The part resolution was not what a modeler would want. Filling with putty would be extensive. What the 3d services use is powdered deposition technology, or, stereo lithography in a liquid medium fused by laser at .003 per pass. I have handled parts made in a printable metal called, Zmac,that were used in prototypical applications right after being printed. That machine was over $195K. I have priced out some simple Mack wheel rims and one copy cost $30.00, ten cast duellies from a resin caster are $54.00. So in closing stick to what levels you are currently enjoying and keep dreaming of a future where kids bang out scale models at the diner table over snacks Mr Jetson!

[Chuck Doan]

I agree with Richard, from what I have seen so far the printing is too slow to do mass part generation. Currently I think it is best suited in the hobby to make masters that can be cleaned up and used to make molds, or small numbers of parts to be used directly.

But the technology is moving forward rapidly. I think the impact on the hobby will be positive for builders and kit makers alike.

[Jantrix]

I think the impact on the hobby will be positive for builders and kit makers alike.

I agree completely.

[shucky]

Thank you Richard and Chuck for your comments. Well said.

[Chief Joseph]

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

Current state of the art for 3D printing:

This is the 1/24 vector wheel I posted about in the Aftermarket section. It's sitting on a toothpick in the top lug hole. I see a couple of places where I could have done things a little differently when I designed the model, but overall I'm happy. Let me stress: this type of output is not cheap. An entire car model assembled completely from 3D-printed parts of this kind would easily be $2K just in printing cost alone, but using 3D-printed parts as masters for resin casting makes perfect sense right now.

[LDO]

Someone is already making resin copies from 3-D printed masters. I have a

1/8 scale '29 Ford Tudor Sedan body made this way. It was made in a "slush" mold, so the inside of the body needs some cleanup...but that is OK with me. It was US $130, including shipping, from Canada. Compare that to $700+ for TDR's printed bodies, and quality time with a grinder doesn't look so bad. Detail on the outside of the body is great, and within reach of the average Joe (or at least closer to being within reach).

[Lownslow]

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

Current state of the art for 3D printing:

This is the 1/24 vector wheel I posted about in the Aftermarket section. It's sitting on a toothpick in the top lug hole. I see a couple of places where I could have done things a little differently when I designed the model, but overall I'm happy. Let me stress: this type of output is not cheap. An entire car model assembled completely from 3D-printed parts of this kind would easily be $2K just in printing cost alone, but using 3D-printed parts as masters for resin casting makes perfect sense right now.

who did you go with that work is beautiful and the fact that they included the lip makes it better

[Belair2k]

Here ya go......

https://www.google.c...lient=firefox-a

The Makerbot printer is great but nowhere near capable of producing a product similar to what Shapeway does.

I've never heard what printer they use but you can be sure it's not a "home 3D printer".

[shucky]

Chief I second that. Can you share what printing service printed that wheel? I'll say that may be the finest surface finish I've seen in a 1/24 or 1/25 scale 3D printed part.

[Ace-Garageguy]

The Makerbot printer is great but nowhere near capable of producing a product similar to what Shapeway does.

I've never heard what printer they use but you can be sure it's not a "home 3D printer".

Yes, agreed. Just for clarification, the question was " Is there any visual. That shows this process on action." (from my80malibu) The links I posted simply show the process, which is similar to larger machines producing finer resolution.

Edited November 8, 2012 by Ace-Garageguy

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Chief I second that. Can you share what printing service printed that wheel? I'll say that may be the finest surface finish I've seen in a 1/24 or 1/25 scale 3D printed part.

X2! 1/24??

Jaw-dropping.

[Chief Joseph]

The guy who printed this wheel for me is not a full-time printer for hire, so he would not want me posting his info on the 'net. However, there's a place in San Francisco that is about to put a new printer into service that can do this kind of fine work. Their web site is www.moddler.com. I imagine Shapeways will have this capability soon, too.

I'd like to add that the MakerBot Replicator 2 is a huge leap forward for the plastic-squirter type of printer, but a liquid resin printer like the B9Creator can make better parts, albeit with a higher material cost. I would love to have a desktop printer so that I could generate lower-resolution basic shapes that I could then finish with traditional modeling techniques. For really intricate parts, I would send them out for printing and in return, get a part back that would be virtually ready to go into rubber.

This is the future, guys. I've been very slow in embracing it, but now that I'm in, I have a whole new enthusiasm for the hobby.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

The People's Republic of SF??

WOOOOOOOOO! Perhaps you might guess why I'm DIGGIN' that, Chief!

Excellent. Thanks for the proof.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Not model-related, but interesting illustration of how fast this stuff is coming on.....

FEATURE

3D-Printerd Tools Help Lab Fight Diseases

At the University of California San Francisco’s DeRisi Lab, scientists investigate viruses and parasites that torment humans as well as anything from tiny insects to boa constrictors. Joseph DeRisi, the lab’s head and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator, views 3D printing as a valuable tool for research, lab equipment, and education. Often DeRisi finds it faster and cheaper -- a lot cheaper -- to build such parts as pipet racks, objective cases, and gel combs as well as unique devices on the lab’s uPrint 3D Printer than waiting for a third-party supplier.

“Scientists are constantly in need of specialized apparatuses,” says DeRisi. “There’s hardly a microscope in our building that does not have some 3D-printed part on it. Yes, you could go to a catalog and order a highly specialized [part]. But it’s ridiculous that that costs $50 and that we can print it for a dollar.”

In his lectures outside the lab, DeRisi uses detailed 3D-printed virus models to help students and other audiences understand viruses. DeRisi hopes that 3D printers could fuel a resurgence in do-it-yourself equipment in labs. To help others get started making their own equipment, DeRisi Lab maintains the 3D Printables website, an online library of downloadable STL files of viruses and lab equipment. Read more about how the DeRisi Lab uses its uPrint 3D printer here then visit the DeRisi Lab’s 3D Printables website.

[sjordan2]

3D printers lay down material by making passes in "slices" of material of a certain thickness. The finished surface of the product depends on how many slices are produced at what thickness. It's going to keep getting more precise all the time, so roughness will be reduced more and more, and I think improvements will occur very quickly and with greater accessibility for the home or small business operator.