Yeah, like probably everyone else here I own soldering irons, prototyping boards, and loads of parts. But some things I can't build and have to buy (when the wife^H^H^Hbudget permits), like strain gauges and specialty sensors.
We've all heard of the Santa Claus machine, I'm sure, and while the current crop of 3D printers have their (severe) limitations, this new gizmo transcends many of them:
Mark L. Fergerson
I got all excited about the makerbot stuff. I have a 3-axis positioner with a Dremel mounted on it for routing and drilling. Thought I'd just bolt the makerbot extrusion head on it. Then, I discovered that the plastic rod used for the extrusion costs $50/pound. Put halt to that fantasy real quick!
The latest thing is the photo-initiated resin printers. They have a vat of liquid resin that is hardened by an image projected by a computer projector. There are a bunch of patents in this area, so one has to be very careful to not infringe on a still-valid patent. 3D Systems just sued the formlabs project and kickstarter, but B9creator seems to have avoided this tangle through very careful design to avoid any infringement. Both of these machines look like they do incredible work that can only be dreamed about by the filament fabricator (makerbot, etc.) machines.
The resin/projector systems can do thin, water-tight walls, and arbitrary complexity at the same speed per layer.
Jon
I think this is the machine used in the above article: $3,200 US dollars. Ouch.
I'll wait until someone builds a Star Trek replicator.
Q: What's the first thing you make with a replicator?
A: Another replicator!
Didn't ROM (Quarks brother) do that in an DS9 episode ??
Mine field if I remember correctly.
h
I don't know - didn't watch much DS9.
"Latest thing?" Doesn't the concept date back to 1974?
Yeah, but with DLP projectors and some custom chemistry, people are actually building these in their basements, and producing amazingly good pieces. You can build one for less than $1000, using a used projector off eBay.
Jon
seems pretty cheap to me. a pound goes a long way unless you're planning on making solid models (eg: bowling balls)
On a sunny day (Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:24:05 -0800) it happened Jeff Liebermann wrote in : $3,200 US dollars. Ouch.
That will create an other copyright hell. Imagine you cloning ipods..... Lawyers are expensive...
the
seems the price vary a bit
-Lasse
Until someone clones them as well.
On a sunny day (Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:34:46 +0000 (UTC)) it happened asdf wrote in :
Or clone Steve Jobs.
Do you have a link for one of those thingies?
Thanks
Klaus
something like this:
-Lasse
Why would clone a dead man?
Ha! The printer ink marketing formula lives on.....
RL
Yikes, that will be the end of the world for sure!
Jon
I think a time machine would also be useful here unless you just wanted two piles of compost.
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