Yesterday, I visited my son's business and got to see 3D printing in action. I hadn't visited his shop in a couple of years.
OH MY GOD has 3D printing come a long way in the last few years. It's so far beyond what I could believe, I was really dumbfounded. Many of you may have seen the Jay Leno video on YouTube about printing a working wrench. Heck...that's easy stuff today. Today's printers will print not only the part, but the supporting structure for parts that aren't strong enough to support themselves....I mean, so weak, gravity collapses them. They also now print a range of plastics with different hardnesses....for example, a hairbrush where the handle is stiff but the bristles were pliant.
This means you could print a side for a truck that actually works....stiff outside frame and elastic "springs". It means you could print a coupler that absorbed slack impacts. Heck....you could easily print the equivalent of a Kaydee coupler and all the parts would work...no assembly. You could even print the undercarriage of a train with a Kaydee coupler in it....all one part.
So here's a photo I took...that shows what these printers could do 2 years ago...a year ago...and now. I intentionally left it a link so that you can use CNTROL + to make it bigger.
Three cylinder heads which are about 1" in diameter
On the right is the printed model from 2 years ago...with the best 3D printer. It shows that the printer could not even resolve almost half of the fins.
In the middle, is last years version. It shows the resolution is bad....and that the smooth surfaces are still rough....but it did properly "print" most of the voids.
On the left, is today's capability. Today's printers can print with 1/10,000" resolution. Surfaces are now very smooth...and small details like the fins on those cylinder heads are properly resolved.
There are some other good news items too....these printers can now print "clear" plastic...and it's really clear like glass. No more of that partial cloudly look.
And...of course, these printers can now print the inverses....that would be mold prototypes so you can tell if your CAD files really are good enough to make repeated parts.
I personally believe the days of printing a building are VERY near....as 16"W x 13"L x 8"H is the printing limits now...and that's big enough for a nice sized building....windows and all.
I gotta do some 3D CAD learning....
OH MY GOD has 3D printing come a long way in the last few years. It's so far beyond what I could believe, I was really dumbfounded. Many of you may have seen the Jay Leno video on YouTube about printing a working wrench. Heck...that's easy stuff today. Today's printers will print not only the part, but the supporting structure for parts that aren't strong enough to support themselves....I mean, so weak, gravity collapses them. They also now print a range of plastics with different hardnesses....for example, a hairbrush where the handle is stiff but the bristles were pliant.
This means you could print a side for a truck that actually works....stiff outside frame and elastic "springs". It means you could print a coupler that absorbed slack impacts. Heck....you could easily print the equivalent of a Kaydee coupler and all the parts would work...no assembly. You could even print the undercarriage of a train with a Kaydee coupler in it....all one part.
So here's a photo I took...that shows what these printers could do 2 years ago...a year ago...and now. I intentionally left it a link so that you can use CNTROL + to make it bigger.
Three cylinder heads which are about 1" in diameter
On the right is the printed model from 2 years ago...with the best 3D printer. It shows that the printer could not even resolve almost half of the fins.
In the middle, is last years version. It shows the resolution is bad....and that the smooth surfaces are still rough....but it did properly "print" most of the voids.
On the left, is today's capability. Today's printers can print with 1/10,000" resolution. Surfaces are now very smooth...and small details like the fins on those cylinder heads are properly resolved.
There are some other good news items too....these printers can now print "clear" plastic...and it's really clear like glass. No more of that partial cloudly look.
And...of course, these printers can now print the inverses....that would be mold prototypes so you can tell if your CAD files really are good enough to make repeated parts.
I personally believe the days of printing a building are VERY near....as 16"W x 13"L x 8"H is the printing limits now...and that's big enough for a nice sized building....windows and all.
I gotta do some 3D CAD learning....
