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63 Comments
- DAC1138, on 08/20/2008, -0/+14They have been using tools like this in Hollywood now for about a decade. The props for Van Helsing were created by "printing" them with a 3D sculptor like this.
- clumsytime, on 08/21/2008, -0/+8I don't know why you got dugg down...
I use one every day (I'm a Mechanical Engineer). We have one that is a polymer 3-D printer which works as you describe. Because it has to build supports under and around the parts, we have to soak them in the hot solution overnight to remove the unwanted support structure, leaving only the part we printed. These parts are strong and somewhat flexible, though not as much as a normal plastic part would be. They take a long time because it doesn't really print a whole layer in one pass, the head must actually follow every bit of the layer to lay down the polymer (as opposed to the one below that prints EVERYTHING in one layer with one pass since it's just like an inkjet).
The one I use more often is a 3-D powder printer. Two compartments, one empty (with a minimal layer of powder) and one filled with powder...it uses a set of standard inkjet printer cartridges to print a layer of binder solution (with color if needed) on the empty side, then uses a roller to roll a layer of powder from the filled side about 0.0035 inches in thickness. Then it prints again, binding the just-laid out layer of powder, and the cycle continues. At the end we cure it using a special solution which you apply directly to the part and a chemical reaction hardens the printed piece. These are very hard, and NOT flexible at all, and pretty much feel like concrete pieces (although much, much lighter). But because it prints a whole layer in one pass it is VERY quick and I can have pieces done in a few hours. Actually if you wanna look it up it's a Z Corp Spectrum Z510 3-D printer. - Techx4, on 08/21/2008, -0/+7well usually us adults dont start licking and sucking on things we buy.. so it's a little less of an issue for us.. but if your the type that likes to suck on your gadgets then you should steer clear of this service
- abadonn, on 08/21/2008, -0/+7I used to work for a die caster that had one of these machines for part prototyping, the only drawback is that the plastic that goes in it is really expensive, I think it was on the order of 5 bucks per cubic inch. I once modeled a mobius jar in CAD, but my boss would not let me model it.
- ZoomBoy, on 08/21/2008, -0/+6Buried for Michael Phelps
- ZackScott, on 08/21/2008, -2/+7I would like to be harkened back to the days in which I were a kid playing with action figures, and then suddenly end up 10 years from now. Imagine if you had many colors of plastics and maybe other materials that you could print on. You could design your own figures! And plus you or your friends or a company can print them out.
Listen, I used to have quite the imagination. I used to love baseball cards and Marvel Comics cards so much that I would create my own heroes and villains and draw my own cards. And now look at 2008. We can do that with computers easy as cake. Piece of cake! And just print them out. Oh take me to 2018 when I was 10, and I'd be a happy one.
Probably my most beloved hero was Sleet. At times I had him as a villain, but he could turn air cuticles into metal ones and blast them away. It was like metal sleet. Very dangerous. He wore a hockey mask for his own protection. - jisrael, on 08/21/2008, -0/+5I printed out a chess set using this technology when I was still in college. It cost me $1200 and took 3 days to print everything. This technology is far from perfect, but it is really cool and $100 for a part is actually a really good deal, imho.
- warplayer, on 08/21/2008, -0/+5...are you new here?
- DrDragun, on 08/21/2008, -0/+5It's been used for engineering prototypes for much longer than that. There are different processes like STL or FDM where you have access to different materials and resolutions.
Even as a private customer, you can call small local fabrication shops or bigger places like quickparts.com and something the size of a TV remote will cost you about $100 to have it printed and shipped to you. Of course you have to design the part on computer CAD software also.
Can't think of too many uses unless you have something with a really custom and complex shape that you want made out of plastic. If you're an artist trying to make a casting mold of something really small and complex it could be worthwhile, but it's very expensive for 1-offs. - lordsteve, on 08/21/2008, -0/+4http://www.shapeways.com/model/3163/girl.html
- abadonn, on 08/21/2008, -0/+4Sorry, I meant the Klein bottle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_bottle
- diadem2, on 08/21/2008, -0/+4In this department we do not defy the laws of euclidean space!
How did you manage mapping a mobius strip in CAD? - DarkSunlight, on 08/21/2008, -0/+3Only 30k?
I'll take 2!
And a lollipop! - chaoswings, on 08/21/2008, -1/+4subscription service? When models cost $100 a pop? You must be joking..that would be more costly then Rogers' original iPhone plans.
On a side note why are 80% of the models in the gallery all glasses or cups? They can't actually use them. - Ryan2845, on 08/21/2008, -0/+3Yeah widely used in engineering. I worked at a small place that only had about 8 employees and even they had one. You can get some printers for like 30k.
- sexybobo, on 08/21/2008, -0/+3His account is less than a month old
- digitaldivinci, on 08/21/2008, -3/+6There is a highschool I volunteer at that has a 3D printer. We used it to make some fully workable mecanum wheels - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecanum_wheel. They were sweet, but took about 17 hours to create one. At half scale.
The machine is amazing, giant cartridges, that look as if they go to some sort of comic prop printer, filled with plastic thread take up about 50% of the size of the machine, which is nearly 8ft tall.
The most pain in the ass thing is the boiling hot solution you need to use to get the pieces off of the plate.. - thaddeusj, on 08/21/2008, -1/+4This paragraph from their signup confirmation page is epic:
[... stuff about your signup being automatically reviewed...]
This will mean that if you are unfortunate enough to actually have the first name assdf, the last name wqwewerewr or have the email adress a@a.com there will be a substantial delay in your application being approved. Substantial in this case is a euphemism for: it will not happen. - digitaldivinci, on 08/22/2008, -0/+3Hey, sorry about that. If you copy that link and remove the period it will work fine. It was just my punctuation messing up my link. Sorry Zaeboes.
- malex, on 08/21/2008, -0/+3Not until materials aside from hard plastic are available.
- Bishoco, on 08/21/2008, -0/+2They should allow you to submit something from Spore's editors, Creature Creator, Spaceship Creator, etc. That would be awesome.
- ampledismantle, on 08/21/2008, -1/+3Stereolithography has been around for a long time and is usually pretty expensive. It is typically used for creating a single prototype which can then be used to create a mold for casting additional pieces. The author suggests complexity as a factor in cost, but that usually isn't the case. The volume of material used in the part is the main factor in cost because how much material is used is directly proportional to how long the part takes to make.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography - markperia, on 08/21/2008, -1/+3MICA has a plaster 3D printer for like a couple of bucks per cubic inch. You just have to model it in 3DS Max and print it.
- aholesen, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2It would be cool if they let you download the STL files from the gallery to print on a reprap or the like.
- Techx4, on 08/21/2008, -1/+3It took 2 full minutes for the shapeways site to load, then after clicking a link on it I got a 'too many connections' error... not very professional, even if they are getting "dugg"
- fitzwillie, on 08/20/2008, -1/+3I wonder if they offer a subscription service? That would be cool - and maybe API integration, so I could upload a Flickr photo of something, and have it fabbed.
- redsoc, on 08/21/2008, -1/+3Price is much more variable than people would think (especially for the editor who has little experience in the area). To create that text in the middle, the "sphere" would have to be at least half filled with support material (aka $). Like an earlier post said, that support material must then be eroded using a hot chemical bath which can take a bit more time (aka $). Further, not only can these machines use different types of material (aka $-$$$), you can print in either honeycomb (not solid plastic- less $) or solid ($$$). So, your end price can vary DRAMATICALLY based on the parameters used.
Regardless, 3d printing is not cheap. It's mainly used for rapid prototyping and the like. - gringer, on 08/21/2008, -1/+3Or... you can make one of your own:
http://reprap.org/ - GeorgeClayton, on 08/21/2008, -0/+2The "I think" says it all. If you do want to see a guy with excellent design skills, check this guy out.
http://www.gryphonauto.com/ - tech42er, on 08/22/2008, -0/+2Or if you're lazy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecanum_wheel
- werries, on 08/21/2008, -0/+2very carefully.
- Zaeboes, on 08/22/2008, -0/+2He was dugg down because his wikipedia link didn't go to an article.
- tech42er, on 08/22/2008, -0/+1"I thought it was an inexpensive, compact, and easy-to-use machine you could buy pre-assembled to make things"
You can, but it's nothing close to inexpensive. You could also buy the plans for one. That said, you could aslso use this service if you don't want to buy a machine and material. - aholesen, on 08/20/2008, -1/+2Right now they only accept these filetypes: .stl, .dae, .x3d and .x3db
- flarn2006, on 10/11/2008, -0/+1Generally if you say you like something, you don't say something negative right after it unless you put a word like "but" or "however" before it.
- inactive, on 08/21/2008, -1/+2Hellyeah!
I would replace all the weapons to all my TMNT toys that I lost (--chewed up??) But I'll have to paint them that weird brown myself. - rdschouw, on 08/21/2008, -0/+1Here is the video on how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQoTro9WfbQ
- lovebane, on 08/21/2008, -2/+3they already have DIY molded dildos.
- cadmiumpaint, on 08/21/2008, -1/+23d printers are sweet. The material is expensive and it takes hours to get the smallest part made.
People should know that you're not going to get off the shelf store quality out of the thing. you still have to do a lot of finishing work to the part before it looks really awesome. - inactive, on 08/21/2008, -0/+1um something keeping me from doing it...
1. I dont own the printer
2. this printer is limited to printing 'word poems'
so yeah, I WOULD ; ) - kevinb70, on 08/21/2008, -0/+1every guy's going to want a copy of their GF's knockers printed out for their desk :)
Menu > Image > Enlarge > 400% - kabbalahdigg, on 08/21/2008, -0/+1prices: http://www.shapeways.com/about/material-options
- jawdog, on 08/21/2008, -3/+4...the type that likes to "suck on your gadget" --hahahaha!
- flarn2006, on 08/21/2008, -0/+1I thought it was an inexpensive, compact, and easy-to-use machine you could buy pre-assembled to make things, as opposed to a service where you can have someone else do it for you.
- joris78, on 08/21/2008, -0/+1I think that the wired blog article is down, you can go directly to the site here: http://www.shapeways.com/
- flarn2006, on 08/21/2008, -0/+1yeah but the plans cost $22...
- BurgerPunch, on 08/23/2008, -0/+0No it can print any 3D model
- lordsteve, on 08/21/2008, -2/+2The cake is a lie.
- stickymickey, on 08/22/2008, -0/+0Or 3D digital displays at www.spatialview.com or www.wazabee.net
- flarn2006, on 08/21/2008, -1/+1You would...if what? Using 'would' generally implies that there is something keeping you from doing it.
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