What a crazy secret. What a waste. I barely print anything any more, although I use a laser printer when I do.

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3D Printing

The rapidly expanding market of 3D Printing is something I have been following for a while now. Products range from open source / DIY kits and range from $5000 to $50,000 and all the way into the millions. They are used for prototypes, concepts, product creation, and more. People use them to create 3D sculptures of on line gaming avatars, architectural models, toys and many other things. Major car manufacturing companies like BMW, Boeing and General Motors use them. Various materials can be used to create 3D parts out of 3D design files. Everything from plastic to metal. Anyways, these are pretty cool. So many possibilities. I can think of dozens of applications. I bet all of you do too.

The Process:

Quote from ZCorp – a 3D printer manufacturer:

….a variety of powder/binder/infiltrant systems [can be used] to satisfy varying needs. These include high-performance composites for printing strong, high-definition parts; investment casting material for quickly fabricating parts that can be dipped in wax to produce investment casting patterns; and direct casting material for creating sand casting molds for non ferrous metals. For additional flexibility, models printed with these materials can be sanded, drilled, tapped, painted and electroplated.

I have also read over 12 years ago that the US Navy was experimenting with this technology. Now they apparently keep 3D metal printers on ships that use selective laser sintering to create metal parts on demand. This way they can stock pile the metal used for these pieces and carry more material in the same space normally occupied by the parts. Makes a lot of sense.

Rapid prototyping is the automatic construction of physical objects using solid freeform fabrication. The first techniques for rapid prototyping became available in the late 1980s and were used to produce models and prototype parts. Today, they are used for a much wider range of applications and are even used to manufacture production quality parts in relatively small numbers. Some sculptors use the technology to produce complex shapes for fine arts exhibitions.

Resources:

Rapid Prototyping Web Site – A wealth of general information

3D Printing / Prototyping

Z Corp – 3D Printers

Desktop Factory – 3D Printing

Stratasys – 3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping, Direct Digital Manufacturing

Mcor Technologies – Produces 3D models out of paper

3D Systems – 3D Printing, Prototyping

Voxeljet Technology – 3D Printers

There are many other vendors in the marketplace known as Direct Manufacturing Systems:

Electron Beam Melting (EBM) by Arcam AB of Molndal, Sweden.

LaserCUSING by Concept Laser Gmbh of Lichtenfels, Germany.

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) by EOS Gmbh of Munich, Germany.

High Precision Ink Jet Manufacturing by fcubic ab of Molndal, Sweden.

Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) by Optomec Design Company of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Direct Metal Deposition (DMD) by POM Group Inc of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Direct Metal Printing by ProMetal of Irwin, Pennsylvania.

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) by Realizer Gmbh of Borchen, Germany.

Sintermask by Sintermask AB of Molndal, Sweden.

Direct Shell Production Casting (DSPC) by Soligen Inc. of Northridge, California.

Open Source Systems:

Fab at Home Kit – from Carnegie Mellon researchers

Reprap is short for Replicating Rapid-prototyper