3D printers

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VelvetGeorge
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3D printers

Post by VelvetGeorge » Mon Jun 02, 2014 1:40 am

It seems that high end prototyping machines have morphed into pro-sumer desktop units. It had to get to this eventually. I'm curious if one if these could be used to make amp logos that rival injection molded parts. Or possibly to "print" plastic parts like the old impedance switches. Has anyone played with one? Is the lowest micron setting practical? These affordable units appear to be more suited for printing doll furniture and gear boxes.

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Re: 3D printers

Post by frenchie » Mon Jun 02, 2014 2:18 am

I must say i'm wondering about the quality of the plastics and resins involved in the 3d printing process ( some printers solidify the material with uv right ? ) , assuming you wan't a specific color , texture , durability , resistance to uv .... but the nice feature of 3D printing at least , is that you can also print molds :idea: and fill them with you plastic or resin of choice (....i'm thinking M6 bucker rings here and items alike ) that is if the shape to replicate hasn't got too much intricated inner curves .But even in this case you can also divide what you wanna replicate into several sections to print ... the refills of printer plastic must be pretty expensive , molding when you need a batch seems like a nice alternative to all out printing !

Are you planning to set up 3d files by scanning goodies in 3D , or drawing them from scratch in a specific software george ? ( just out of curiosity ! )

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Re: 3D printers

Post by VelvetGeorge » Mon Jun 02, 2014 10:52 am

Good idea, molds make a lot of sense! I think the 3D printer probably makes most sense for prototyping small parts and as a hobby. The cost and time needed to get good results is likely more than just having logos molded by a company that specializes in that work.
It sure would be cool to play with though.

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Re: 3D printers

Post by jake5150 » Mon Jun 02, 2014 12:06 pm

George,

When I interviewed with these guys a few years back they were one of the first to have the ability to generate 3D prototypes from 2 dimensional images--even MRIs of internal organs. Now it seems that they are in the printer game as well:

http://www.3dsystems.com/

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Re: 3D printers

Post by VelvetGeorge » Mon Jun 02, 2014 12:54 pm

Great stuff. I'm not in the market now, but in a year or two I'll be interested in looking into these. I suspect they will have evolved quite a bit by then.

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Re: 3D printers

Post by robkeeler » Mon Jun 02, 2014 1:36 pm

Give me a buzz if you are interested, George. A buddy of mine is a higher up at 3dsystems.

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