Beam It Down From the Web, Scotty

[Wistanley]

Are 3D printers close to coming to your home?

PASADENA, Calif. — Sometimes a particular piece of plastic is just what you need. You have lost the battery cover to your cellphone, perhaps. Or your daughter needs to have the golden princess doll she saw on television. Now.

In a few years, it will be possible to make these items yourself. You will be able to download three-dimensional plans online, then push Print. Hours later, a solid object will be ready to remove from your printer.

More here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/t...em&ex=1178856000&en=5732d599eea31a16&ei=5087

This could really change the way we do things. Resin kits are probably still the way to go in many cases, but imagine a team generating files that produce replica kit parts for a studio scale model that everyone can download and "print" at home.

 

[cloudborn]

Actually, rapid prototyping (stereolithography) has been around for years that provides this same type of capability but it's too expensive for "personal" purposes. Anyway, I would love to see a personal 3D printer actually happen...at least while I'm still young! :lol

Thanks for posting the information!!

 

[Bradleyfett]

Actually, rapid prototyping (stereolithography) has been around for years that provides this same type of capability but it's too expensive for "personal" purposes. Anyway, I would love to see a personal 3D printer actually happen...at least while I'm still young! :lol

Thanks for posting the information!!

I think in a very short amount of years, we'll look back at a lot of the things we do here at the rpf and marvel at how much trouble we went to to recreate a simple physical object.

I run into this all the time when I look back at some of the graphic stuff I used to try and create when I was a younger geek in middle and high school- things like the Trek tech manuals, sci-fi ID cards and other paper props, etc. Now all the tools are at my fingertips. I once created a rather extensive tech manual for KITT from Kight Rider using photocopied pictures and text from a typewriter! Back then I would have killed for something like CorelDraw or Photoshop. Granted I was only in middle school, but even the 'professional' standard back then was press type and grahpic tape.

Even the access so many people have to mold-making materials is so much greater than it was just 10-15 years ago. Then there's laser cutting and machining-

One day soon, we'll all have access to technology that goes way beyond rapid- prototyping and we'll all wonder why we spent so much time sanding, cutting, gluing, etc.

Mark

 

[jordankarr]

This would be nice to have at home and to be able to make a concept come to life with a touch of the print button.

It has its uses in this hobby, but I would have to wonder what the cost of that "INK Cartridge" Would run when you ran out of the powder. Right now the one discussed in the article uses nylon, but I would prefer a more traditional product like styrene. But we will see where this technology leads!

Very Cool None the Less!

 

[Mr.Engineer]

I have been following this one with interest: RepRap. You might want to have a looksee over here:

 

[Hollowdimension]

This might take some of the fun out of prop making.

 

[Got Maul]

In some cases it would...but then again, could you imagine what the Junkyard would look like :

FS: Replica Bladerunner CAD File /$100 each
FS: Original Adi Galia Lightsaber CAD File !