I think this might be very useful info to some of you guys. Maybe old news but… I just found out!
Very cool, I have used RedEye (redeyeondemand.com) free, instant online quote with numerous materials and methods. Just upload an STL file.
I saw this in the news last week and thought it was a great idea. Their are some inexpensive CAD programs like moi3d.com for $300 and a web address and tax ID isn’t too expensive… This could help a lot of people start up a business that they always wanted to but previously didn’t have the means to manufacture. They are using professional grade printers too not a hobby Makerbot or Cubify so the prints will be high quality…
So, my first question would be. Can they make a simple plug for my model yacht that would hold up to resins used for making a female mold off that plug?
Well you can. Some people use the higher performing printers and get almost perfectly smooth parts. I’ve also read that acetone will further smooth the plastic possibly to a releasable surface. I would love to get a scanner printer setup at home to play around with.
Very very neat stuff
The acetone trick is done with ABS which is used on the home hobby printers. The step between layers is obviously not as fine as a professional level so the acetone smooths them out. PLA is another material that is used in hobby printers, sometimes along with ABS. The PLA feels like ABS but is a “corn” based plastic and can be dissolved with some drain-o to act as a support material.
The acetone trick is not needed with professional level printers. We have 5 printers at work from Objet/Stratasys, Z Corp, 3D System, and EOS Titanium and Steel printers.
[ame=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApmGFDA6ow”]3d printing with metal, titanium & aluminum demo by EOS @ MDM 2013 - YouTube[/ame]
For an example of the capability, last week I printed a part with .23mm gaps on the Stratasys using Accura Clearvue and it came out flawless.
The Professional level printers all use some sort of proprietary materials but if you ask they will tell you which material is close to ABS, UHMW, etc…
If you want a cheap 3D scanner buy a used Xbox Kinect and download http://reconstructme.net/ (obviously not professional level scans, but for the cost of a Kinect you can’t beat it)
@Rotorage,
I didn’t realize your company was involved with this 3D printing. If I came to your company to have a Male Plug of one Meter in Length made up, what Materials could I choose from? Of course since you are here, you know that I would have a female mold in mind for the male plug. Am I being specific enough?
Would it be possible just to have a female mold made with my figures… something that would hold up like tooling resin and have the same performance characteristics?
I am dead serious about it. This will be my first step towards building.
My biggest challenge will be getting my design into some form someone can use to make either a male plug then a mold or just make a female mold straight up. Its all downhill after that. Any help, info, advice, etc, will be welcomed. Thanks.
1meter! that’s HUGE lol. You’re going to need a big printer for that. Sorry but we design and make Automated Carbon Fiber Machines and are not in the 3D printing business, although our machines are in a sense a massive Carbon Fiber 3D printer.
Generally the materials used in the non-metal printers can’t handle very high heat. So depending on what you use to make your mold from it has a high chance of warping the plastic printed plug and you don’t even want to know what a printed metal one would cost (maybe 40k for that size), it would be way cheaper to machine. Printing is reserved for something that you need the same day/ASAP and can’t wait for a CAM programmer and machinist or the part can’t be manufactured any other way.
I sent you a PM…
@Rotorage,
I was looking at the pricing structure for some of the offerings… even in plastic it could get pricey. For small items this is the future for sure. At least on the plebian level.
Thanks for the PM.
This is awesome! I am so excited for 3D printers to be more accessible for hobbyist and anyone to get their own parts made. Now I have to start a list of parts to get made up to try out.
Actually at JEC (large composites show) there were quite some 3D printer offerings.
For a 1 meter mould I would look into CNC routing.
I agree.
I’ve been involved in consumer grade ‘3d printing’ for well over 3 years and have had thoughts about stacking lots of small prints together too - but in reality it doesn’t work as well. It’s a relatively slow process to extrude out that large of a part. Plus at ~$30usd/kg for an ABS spool (and the many hours involved to print) - milling makes more sense financially.
To see how clumsy this is in practice, see: http://www.replicadb4.com/default.aspx It’s one of the largest prints I’ve seen from a consumer grade machine.
At this time, a RepRap/Makerbot/Etc are good for making custom enclosures, brackets, rapid prototyping, and the like. The stuff that will move industry forward is mostly related to laser sintering (custom heat exchangers, load bearing parts, easier PCB fab, etc) - and that’s something that won’t see home use anytime soon. It’s more to do with laser technology. Moving from gas based lasers to solid state/quantum cascading and getting the power consumption down from thousands of watts to something you could run on 220V…
More ontopic, there’s a chain of US-based office supply stores that will offer in-store 3d printing too - however it’s based on some type of paper ‘paste’ that’s extruded rather than ABS/PLA.
Nevermind the UPS Stores offering 3D printing…
There are 3D printers that can do metal (even titanium)?!? Mind… blown…!
And cheers for the info on using a Kinect for 3D scanning - pretty cool stuff!