my66s55 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 There will be leaps and bounds in the developement of decktop 3d printers over the next few short years. DLP printers started showing up in the open source community over the last couple years and also, the B 9 creator printer was introduced. These have incredible detail, but rather small printing footprint. DLP hasn't really taken off and I believe that many were waiting for the patents to expire on some of the laser printers. These patents started expiring this month. Marlin, which is one of the open source firmware that runs the ramps electronics for FFF printers, just announced that they have incorperated the ability to print with a laser with the firmware. Once the open source community starts developing laser technology, thing will really develope. For those that don'tknow, it was the open source community that developed the FFF or FDM printer. Makerbot came out of the reprap project. These printers that people post on this forum are only someones design of the same printer with maybe some improvement, but that is what it's all about. Taking something and improving it. The reason these printers, FFF & FDM are coming down in price is because:1-The electronics are about 1/3 the cost they were a year ago 2- the design is cheaper to build 3- Better technolgy is developed. Using the vcr analogy, the cheap printers are the vcr, the DLP printer is the cd and the laser printer, just over the horizon, is the dvd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Wann Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/08/3d-systems-sense/ Here is a scanner video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbowser Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 This is almost scary. Not sure about the printing food thing..... http://www.computerworld.com/slideshow/detail/141185/From-burgers-to-buildings--10-things-you-didn-t-know-3D-printers-could-make?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2014-02-24#slide1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Kourouklis Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/08/3d-systems-sense/ Here is a scanner video. 10'x10' field, huh? Man, they do somethin' that can scan a car for 'round $600, I am so there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlotDaddy1963 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 "Hey, kids; what do you want me to print for dinner? Soylent Red or Soylent Green?" Anything but Soylent Brown, Mom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 "What a wonderful modern age we live in." Jack Aubrey - Master and Commander All this gives me high hopes for our hobby in general. Indeed we are seeing a bit of a renaissance in our hobby lately and it just seems to be getting better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lownslow Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 the whole car http://www.fabbaloo.com/blog/2014/2/27/buildpartss-3d-printed-miller-car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impcon Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) Interesting - no - fascinating thread and viewing! I have not seen anywhere however where anyone has wondered about or considered the technology that is currently being used and tested behind closed doors that is far advanced over what we see and hear about. At risk of sounding like a conspiracy nut, I'd be willing to bet that the likes of NASA, the military and some government agencies have been experimenting and using this technology for a lot longer than the general public has known about it and is lightyears ahead of what we are offered. I think that as with many new and wonderful things that we enjoy in this world, we, as just common people owe many modern "conveniences" and "gadgets" to R&D that is funded by the tax payers. Does anyone wonder what the developers of this technology may well be producing quietly under government contracts in the name of national security? What we get are the outdated, watered down trickles of years of top secret development done in the name of the space program, military intelligence and surveillance and who knows what else but to us, it is all new and wonderful. Things like this with the capabilities that we are just becoming aware of and being informed of are usually a lot further along in development somewhere than we are ever made aware of until they are basically obsolete to the powers that be. Below are just three links to things that once were or bordered on being science fiction but are now ordinary everyday items that we just take for granted. The lists are much longer than the items listed on these linked sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spin-off_technologies http://radaronline.com/photos/13-mainstream-products-originally-invented-for-space-travel/photo/109384/#/photos/13-mainstream-products-originally-invented-for-space-travel/photo/109481/?&_suid=139383116868409040974973164763 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_invention Remember when VCR's cost in excess of $1,000.00? I well recall when a good friend who was and still into electronics and computers bought his first one in the '70's and it cost at that time, as I recall, around $1200.00? Today, you can buy then new off the shelf for under $50.00 at Walmart. Microwaves? Our first new one was in the area of the same amount. Today - you can buy a good one for for a fraction of that. Computers? I started working at a sawmill in 1972 and the only real computer on the site at that time was huge - measuring close to 8' high and almost 10' across. Within a few short years, it was replaced with a simple desk top PC that did more and did it more efficiently. Our first home PC had a 2 gig hard drive!!!! And Windows 95!!! Today, that is a joke. The 3D printer will, I believe, result in more changes than many would care to imagine possible in the not too distant future. As technology advances, it advances faster because of new developments - kind of like a snow ball rolling down a hill. Just as not that many years ago, few people would have imagined that almost every home in North America would not just have a computer in it, but that communicating and sharing just as we are doing even as you read this - to many - it was unimaginable or economically unattainable. I have little trouble envisioning how these devices will benefit the modeler's hobby and make possible things that today seem unlikely at best. Even if a good scanner and printer is too expensive for the average person, at the very least, this should enable kit manufacturers to make models more proportionately accurate and detailed rather than have window openings, wheel wells, and/or roof and body lines that are out of proportion or place. While I am not really a perfectionist and I am grateful for new releases and products, I am often disappointed by how glaringly wrong some features sometimes are - for example, the "Christine" Plymouth with it's body issues. Some kits are fine but others...??? This should also give the resin industry a boost as well as it will be easier to produce a new model from which to be able to make new and replacement molds. Whether it will change the current actual methods of producing styrene and resin products remains to be seen, but it should give the manufacturers a better starting point to work with. Maybe I'll finally be able to one day be able to have that accurate 1/25 '59 Chevy Brookwood four door wagon that I have wanted for so long printed and become a reality. Whether change and new technology is better is a matter of personal perspective but as far as model cars and trucks go, this is something that I find exciting and welcome and look forward as to what the future holds. This has, I believe, the ability to change the hobby in many good ways just as it will change other things in life for the better. there is always a downside and there will be those who will abuse it, but let's try to be optimistic and look for good things that come from this without counting rivets and splitting hairs over details. Time alone will be the judge as to how this affects us all. I am not being paranoid or delusional here but just putting forth my own thoughts for consideration. That's just my opinion anyways. Edited March 3, 2014 by impcon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Jon Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 That's a good observation Gary, and price for these products will keep coming down, but so too the use may become more practical The largest expense, besides the initial purchase, at this time, is the materials, which depending upon the specific chosen, put into the extruded line necessary for 3D printing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 I well recall when a good friend who was and still into electronics and computers bought his first one in the '70's and it cost at that time, as I recall, around $1200.00? I remember people buying IBM PCs in the $5000-7500 range. I paid $800 for my first digital camera, a Sony Mavica FD83. I just bought a new Canon digital that is light years ahead of that for $60. Time and technology march on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impcon Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 I remember people buying IBM PCs in the $5000-7500 range. I paid $800 for my first digital camera, a Sony Mavica FD83. I just bought a new Canon digital that is light years ahead of that for $60. Time and technology march on. Funny that you mention the Sony Mavica 83. That was our first digital camera as well and living here in Canada of course means that most things are over inflated in price. Our camera cost us 50% more than you paid for yours - $1200.00. We were starting to sell used car parts on Ebay and it was the ideal camera and we still have it and it still works well today. Today, you can buy that same Camera well under thirty dollars on Ebay and I have even seen new, unused ones on there. We bought a newer Mavica that takes video as well and uses a memory chip off Ebay a few years back for well under $100.00 because XP would destroy the information on a floppy disc and I learned that it wasn't our computer - it was Microsoft's way of "encouraging" people to move away from the floppies. We have an old beater computer that still has Windows 95 on it and it reads floppies that have photos on them that are fifteen years old flawlessly. The chip is a better deal, no question about it though. A scanner and a printer will be on my wish list in the next couple of years but I am going to wait and not rush right out and buy anything right now. I see some uses for one both in my shop and for models and I am sure that we would all use one a lot more once we had it than we think that we would. I lived for most of my life without a hydraulic press and got along and than I bought a 50 ton unit that was almost brand new and it is surprising how handy it is to have and what I do now that before, I'd have had to pay to have done or just couldn't do. As the materials with which to create things improves as it will surely do, and the price of machines and materials continues to become more within reach, so to will possible reasons to own these devices just for simple home repairs and for hobby use. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to create for instance, a replica of your first car specific to make, model, body style and year? Or just a unique part that is now only available from casters of dubious reputation? Just as our cameras that we bought have fallen so quickly by the wayside as far as technology and quality - and price - go, so to will these machines except I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the advances will be faster and change will happen at an increasingly fast rate even past what we can imagine today. With the ability to produce almost anything from nothing, this technology is going to change life on a huge scale as the new opportunities for the criminal element are huge. I can almost see where this will render cloning living things as a waste of time one day given the medical advancement that are out there already. It's exciting - but somewhat frightening at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baugher Garage Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Meet George Jetson! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) I can almost see where this will render cloning living things as a waste of time one day given the medical advancement that are out there already. It's exciting - but somewhat frightening at the same time. Good observation. The technology already exists to 3D print living tissue, and has for some years. The original crude (by today's standards) attempt involved using a modified color inkjet printer, mouse heart cells, and a sticky nutrient matrix. The printed partial heart began beating. Building fully functional replacements for diseased or maimed body parts from the recipient's OWN cultured cells (not cloned) will entirely eliminate the risk of tissue rejection, and will soon, probably in my own limited lifetime, have sweeping effects on medicine worldwide. There is always a technological tip-of-the-iceberg known to the general population and media, and a massive amount of developing or experimental follow on work, far advanced, happening simultaneously. Unfortunately, it's not considered as worthy of media exposure as Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber's latest antics, and most folks just don't care...even though much of the information is publicly available. Edited March 3, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 (edited) Another real-world illustration of how 3D printing can help eliminate excuses and inaccuracies from injection-molded products. There are also step-saving applications to limited-run resin-cast products as well. Anybody in the industry, and anyone seriously interested in the real deal, should read this. http://web.stratasys.com/US_EM_InjectionMoldWPSept2013_LP.html?cid=701a0000002EPj3 Edited March 6, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Or how about a webinar about the current state of 3d scanning to 3d modeling? Enter here... http://www.engineeringwhitepapers.com/rapid-prototyping/3d-scan-3d-print-design-innovations-faro-3d-systems-webinar/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Interesting article on one man's attempt at desktop 3-D printing: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/03/solidoodle_4_testing_the_home_3_d_printer.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtModeler Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Has anyone seen something called SENSE? It is a hand held 3D scanner that will create a file. You could scan somebodies head and print it. You could have a small size of yourself in a StarTrek diorama. You scan something and then send it to a 3D scanner for printing. The thing is only $400.00. I told Chris Soback that if he had a 3D printer and scanner we could make cool trophies for our Desert Scale Classic model contest. I can imagine the trophy for best paint could be a hand holding a can of paint with the index finger pushing the button down. It would be a new and fresh idea for contest trophies. I am on a computer at work and it will not allow me to post a link here. I understand it is possible to make something that is clear and rubbery with a 3D printer. It would be even more cool if the above mentioned trophy could light up as well. Maybe some fiber optic at the nozzle would give it the look as if it were spraying paint. I am full of great ideas, I am full of talent, but mostly I am full of? that has been on my radar for some time now. I can think of a lot of uses for it.. I'd like to see some of the expert resin casters get a hold of one.. Scan a 1:25 body, scale it up to 1:16, 3D print it.. spend some time sanding the print smooth and making a master.. Then use that master to make 1:16 casts of a 1:25 car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 (edited) Scan a 1:25 body, scale it up to 1:16, 3D print it.. spend some time sanding the print smooth and making a master.. Then use that master to make 1:16 casts of a 1:25 car. It's still going to be some time before any $400 hand-held scanner will have the resolution and processing power to do that, but it will happen in the foreseeable future. What a lot of folks still seem to fail to realize is that there's a HUGE amount of data to capture and manipulate in getting a high-resolution scan. Add the complication of a "hand held" unit where the subject isn't stabilized relative to the scanner, and the problem is compounded many times over. Also, when you "sand the print smooth" you lose resolution and change the surface contours...unless the print is specifically made a fraction oversize to accommodate the loss of material during sanding...and then you have no absolute guarantee that you'll sand EXACTLY the same amount off of every single point on the printed part. In the real world, this is called tolerance-creep, or tolerance-stackup. It's kinda important. You also lose resolution when you go up in scale from an original scan. Just think of blowing up a photo on the computer until it gets pixelated, and you have the idea. The hot setup is going to be to wait until a high-res scan can produce a print with resolution fine enough to appear almost as slick as a styrene injection-molded part. It's coming, but it's not here yet. I have held in my own hands parts printed by high-res commercial machines that only take a coat of primer to fill the very minor surface texture, but getting these results from a desktop or even high-end consumer-priced unit right now? Nah. Edited March 10, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Low-cost scanner update from the real world. http://www.makepartsfast.com/2014/03/6789/can-lower-cost-3d-scanners-benefit/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbowser Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 More news from the 3d world, a 3d printer for $399.00 http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9247414/The_da_Vinci_499_3D_printer_goes_on_sale?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2014-04-03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodguyinar416 Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Check this site out for a new micro 3D printer that is coming out. It will be awesome if it works as good as shown...It's only $200.00 to $300.00 dollars. There are 2 videos to watch! Art http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/07/The-micro-3d-printer/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000589 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranma Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 That's cool but would it be able to make a 1/25 car body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 If I can ever learn the 3D software....I'll buy one for sure. Seem perfect for the model car guy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lownslow Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 That's cool but would it be able to make a 1/25 car body? technically it can be made better than a 1/25 body as you can make the components individually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lownslow Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 its pretty rough when it comes to resolution definitely not for model cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.