3d printers

[Users Tech]

hi all,

maybe the moderator can add 3d printers in the technical forums so we can discuss more about this new technology.
has anyone actually produced a copier gear out of this 3d printer?
what type of filament is the best to use in making plastic gears?
can we also make metal gears out of 3d printers? what type of filament can we use for metal gears?
more inputs is highly appreciated. ty

[slimslob]

Re: 3d printers

There is a previous thread on 3d printing. See:

http://www.copytechnet.com/forums/rants-raves-and-everything-else/82720-3d-printing-real.html

[RRodgers]

Re: 3d printers

I have to agree, it's just about time 3d printers get their own thread.

[Iowatech]

Re: 3d printers

hi all,

maybe the moderator can add 3d printers in the technical forums so we can discuss more about this new technology.
has anyone actually produced a copier gear out of this 3d printer?
what type of filament is the best to use in making plastic gears?
can we also make metal gears out of 3d printers? what type of filament can we use for metal gears?
more inputs is highly appreciated. ty

I'd find it somewhat interesting to see a 3D printer thread here too (printers that can print houses and pizza, some stories I've seen about 3D printers elsewhere), but based on the entire portion of CTN that I check regularly I haven't seen that much interest in that topic here yet.
Don't give up though. You might try posting your request here:

http://www.copytechnet.com/forums/site-feedback-and-questions/

That's the best way to let Aneurysm know that is something to consider adding.

[JR2ALTA]

3D Printers are expensive and extremely slow. We're not seeing a big demand yet. The amazing stories you read about are usually a marketing gimmick. Such as, 3D Systems approaches a med school as setups a collaborative project to create a 3D jaw or heart. Its cost free for the school, but takes a ton of effort.

It's also a destructive industry, when it does take off it will kill off a lot of well paying jobs along the lines of the cell phone app kills off calculators, atlases, printed media, etc.

Not to be a luddite, but Drones, 3D printers make me a little apprehensive about the future.

[Phrag]

Re: 3d printers

They are a handy piece of equipment though.

I don't know if any of you own a Ford Territory from 2008 onwards, but a common part to break would be the plastic latch on the dash compartment. Ford charge AU$400 give or take for a replacement compartment DOOR which required an extensive amount of labour to replace.

I found a guy or printed his own with a 3D printer using a styrene plastic which is typically stronger than most polystyrene plastics.

AU$60 and 30 min labour to pull that latch out. Easy.

[Akitu]

Re: 3d printers

I read about the house they tried to build, but that was ages ago. Didn't that thing break?
Mostly what I've seen 3D printed have been bongs, guns and cool random shit like a 3D Nintendo 64 logo.
I'm interested to see what can come of it once the technology improves, it was only 10 years ago that cell phones became more than just a large brick and the Samsung A680 was introduced (first ever phone with a built in camera!), and only 5 years ago that smart phones became widely adopted and more than just a phone with PDA features and potentially a camera/GPS. Tablet PCs have only been around for about the same amount of time (decent ones; does anyone actually consider the earliest products as serious contenders?)

3D printing is still in its infancy, for all we as techs know, it could be an entirely different market with an entirely different set of tools and logic required for the job. It may eliminate a few jobs here or there, but it will also create them. 3D printer repair will definitely be a thing of the future, the question is if it will be for us or someone else.

[pepper38_cnd]

Re: 3d printers

I agree a forum for 3D would be good. Of all the stuff I have read hear I don't think I've seen anyone post who is actually trained and working on these products, I was trained on 3D Systems Projet 35xx and will be going for training on the X60 series in August. Yes they certainly are not copiers!! But hey change is good and I believe it really is the future.

[Iowatech]

Re: 3d printers

I read about the house they tried to build, but that was ages ago. Didn't that thing break?
Mostly what I've seen 3D printed have been bongs, guns and cool random shit like a 3D Nintendo 64 logo.
I'm interested to see what can come of it once the technology improves, it was only 10 years ago that cell phones became more than just a large brick and the Samsung A680 was introduced (first ever phone with a built in camera!), and only 5 years ago that smart phones became widely adopted and more than just a phone with PDA features and potentially a camera/GPS. Tablet PCs have only been around for about the same amount of time (decent ones; does anyone actually consider the earliest products as serious contenders?)

3D printing is still in its infancy, for all we as techs know, it could be an entirely different market with an entirely different set of tools and logic required for the job. It may eliminate a few jobs here or there, but it will also create them. 3D printer repair will definitely be a thing of the future, the question is if it will be for us or someone else.

I think there were some small houses that were built recently using a large concrete extrusion based 3D printer.
The houses looked pretty nice when they were finished (except for too much glass for my taste), although before they put the paneling up the interior of the buildings looked a little like the interior of the cooling tower from the movie "Aliens".
I found this on Slashdot, it should still be somewhere in their archives if you're interested. Although the story could be at least one month old, maybe two, I don't remember. So there will be a lot of articles to go through before you get there, sorry.

[pepper38_cnd]

Re: 3d printers

Hey i made a very short video with some of the stuff we printed in our office. These printers are not the toys that have been referred to in other posts.