http://3dprint.com/59177/makerbot-layoffs/

Why do you say Over-Hyped 3D ...
care to cite or define ?

All sorts of medical parts are made from them.
All sorts of food parts are made from them.

Even NASA designed a tool, uploaded it to the station and they
were able to make the wrench to fix something.

Not bad when you consider the wild design they had
to make to clean the air on an Apollo flight. One little
interface unit would have been easy.

Martin

On 4/19/2015 11:04 AM, jon_banquer wrote:
http://3dprint.com/59177/makerbot-layoffs/

On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 7:49:22 PM UTC-7, Martin Eastburn wrote:
Why do you say Over-Hyped 3D ...
care to cite or define ?

All sorts of medical parts are made from them.
All sorts of food parts are made from them.

Even NASA designed a tool, uploaded it to the station and they
were able to make the wrench to fix something.

Not bad when you consider the wild design they had
to make to clean the air on an Apollo flight. One little
interface unit would have been easy.

Martin

On 4/19/2015 11:04 AM, jon_banquer wrote:
http://3dprint.com/59177/makerbot-layoffs/


Lets start with this:

http://gizmodo.com/why-3d-printing-i...t-fo-508176750

If it is so over hyped why did he make thousands of models.

Making something is sometimes easy. Sometimes a real pain and often
someone has already done it.

Anyone with real 3-D cad for a metal machine knows it isn't easy.
One has to learn and work at it. Big deal.

Over hyped by those who want to hear it said.

And that was not a statement of anything - just a long list of things.
Many students at schools are into 3-D cad and are making things.

Companies like hearing aids are making theirs out of 3-D printers.
GM design are doing 3-D printers for model cars. The clay models
are gone. Over night comes a new rev. Cad drawings are in the works.

Martin

On 4/19/2015 9:56 PM, jon_banquer wrote:
On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 7:49:22 PM UTC-7, Martin Eastburn wrote:
Why do you say Over-Hyped 3D ...
care to cite or define ?

All sorts of medical parts are made from them.
All sorts of food parts are made from them.

Even NASA designed a tool, uploaded it to the station and they
were able to make the wrench to fix something.

Not bad when you consider the wild design they had
to make to clean the air on an Apollo flight. One little
interface unit would have been easy.

Martin

On 4/19/2015 11:04 AM, jon_banquer wrote:
http://3dprint.com/59177/makerbot-layoffs/


Lets start with this:

http://gizmodo.com/why-3d-printing-i...t-fo-508176750

On Monday, April 20, 2015 at 6:16:01 PM UTC-7, Martin Eastburn wrote:
If it is so over hyped why did he make thousands of models.

Making something is sometimes easy. Sometimes a real pain and often
someone has already done it.

Anyone with real 3-D cad for a metal machine knows it isn't easy.
One has to learn and work at it. Big deal.

Over hyped by those who want to hear it said.

And that was not a statement of anything - just a long list of things.
Many students at schools are into 3-D cad and are making things.

Companies like hearing aids are making theirs out of 3-D printers.
GM design are doing 3-D printers for model cars. The clay models
are gone. Over night comes a new rev. Cad drawings are in the works.

Martin


Lets continue with this:

http://www.inside3dp.com/33-reasons-...d-3d-printing/

On Monday, April 20, 2015 at 6:16:01 PM UTC-7, Martin Eastburn wrote:

GM design are doing 3-D printers for model cars. The clay models
are gone. Over night comes a new rev. Cad drawings are in the works.


http://www.wsj.com/articles/one-thin...pes-1401473645

Martin Eastburn fired this volley in
:

Over hyped by those who want to hear it said.

We appreciate YOUR comments, Martin, whether or not we agree, but WHY do
you keep falling prey to responding to that moron? He's not worth the
breath to say "NO" to.

Lloyd

On Monday, April 20, 2015 at 8:07:23 PM UTC-7, Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
Martin Eastburn fired this volley in
:

Over hyped by those who want to hear it said.

We appreciate YOUR comments, Martin, whether or not we agree, but WHY do
you keep falling prey to responding to that moron? He's not worth the
breath to say "NO" to.

Lloyd


Time to deal with reality, Loud:

You simply don't have the CADCAM or modern, high-tech, CNC machining job shop skills I have and you never will.

On Mon, 20 Apr 2015 22:07:19 -0500, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:

Martin Eastburn fired this volley in
:

Over hyped by those who want to hear it said.

We appreciate YOUR comments, Martin, whether or not we agree, but WHY do
you keep falling prey to responding to that moron? He's not worth the
breath to say "NO" to.

Lloyd

Excuse this lengthy post -- I try to avoid doing this, but I've been
researching this subject and some readers will find it interesing. In
the issue of FAB Shop coming out in a week or so, I wrote three
articles on AM (additive manufacturing); one is on metals for AM,
another is on a big mold shop that's using it to make premium
injection molds from maraging steel, and the third is on plastic AM
tooling at Volvo trucks. This is the latter. No, neither Volvo nor
Stratasys are among our advertisers. g

AM is overhyped in the consumer press, and some of the trade press is
doing the same, not doing their homework. We're being careful about
our reporting on it and, if you study it carefully, you'll see that
it's creeping up on us from several directions. Under the hype is some
amazing stuff. The auto manufacturers, big and small, are all over it.

I almost got myself into trouble here with the cube/square issue on
which Ned corrected me, but I didn't quite:

=========================================
[headline]

A Pitch for Plastic

[deck]

When a major truck manufacturer starts using ABS plastic to make jigs
and fixtures, it's time for an attitude adjustment about using
plastics in additive manufacturing for fabricating tasks.

[byline]

By Ed Huntress, Editor

[text]

FAB Shop recognizes the many applications for additive manufacturing
("AM," or "3D printing") in industry, but we've taken a cautious
approach when it comes to fabricating. We've paid little attention to
plastics, but AM with plastics is vastly cheaper and faster than AM
with metals, and it is sweeping the table in making prototypes, test
models, casting patterns, and many other industrial functions.
So we sat up and took notice when we learned that Volvo Trucks, and
others, are using AM and ABS plastics for production tooling. Now
they're hitting close to home.

Volvo Trucks has reduced turnaround times of assembly-line
manufacturing tools by more than 94% since incorporating AM technology
at its engine production plant in Lyon, France. Pierre Jenny,
manufacturing director at Volvo Trucks, says that the company has
reduced the time taken to design and manufacture certain tools,
traditionally produced in metal, from 36 days to just two days in
thermoplastic ABSplus using its Stratasys Fortus 3D Production System.
Strength and stiffness aren't just about materials

But how to plastics stand up to the rigors of production metalworking?
A lot better than you might think. It's a matter of applying some
basic engineering principles to get the stiffness and strength one
needs for the task.

We dragged out our dusty Engineering Statics textbook to run some
numbers. You can do this with stiffness or strength, but the results
are similar either way.

Steel's bending stiffness is around 30 million pounds - we won't
bother with units here, because we're just doing a comparison. ABS
plastic is on the order of 300,000 pounds. At first glance, steel
appears to be 100 times stiffer.

But the stiffness of a beam - or a metalworking finger clamp - varies
with the cube of its depth. So, to get the stiffness of a 1-in. square
steel clamp, an ABS clamp only has to be around 4.6 in. deep, for the
same 1-in. width. The ratio is a lot better for ABS versus aluminum.

That sounds like a bulky clamp, and it is. As you can see from the
photos, for unspecified tools, they have a massive appearance. But so
what? And the AM plastic can be made into much better structural
shapes than a plain rectangle. In terms of material usage, the ABS
clamp can be much more efficient, because you don't have to machine or
weld the structural shapes. You just draw the shape you want in CAD
and push a button. Often, you can make a tool in one piece that used
to require several.

Volvo's Jenny has worked out the cost on a per-cubic-inch basis. That
may sound like an odd way to compare tool costs, but not so much when
you think about how easy it is to make that plastic into any shape you
want with AM. The all-in cost ratio is roughly 100:1. Metal tools at
Volvo Truck cost 100 times more per cubic inch than plastic ones.

No doubt, more readers are now sitting up and taking notice. So you
have a process that saves 94% of the time to make tools, and their
finished cost, on a cubic-inch basis, is 1/100th as much.

Jenny says "Stratasys 3D printing has made an incredible impact to the
way we work. The capability to produce a virtually unlimited range of
functional tools in such a short timeframe is unprecedented and
enables us to be more experimental and inventive to improve production
workflow."

[subhead]
Improvements in Three Months

Within three months of buying their AM machine, Volvo Trucks had
already 3D printed more than 30 different production tools. These
include durable but lightweight clamps, jigs, supports, and even
ergonomically designed tool holders that produce a more organized
working environment.

"We're working in the heavy-industry sector, so reliability is
naturally critical. So far, every piece that we have 3D printed has
proved to be 100% fit-for-purpose," adds Jean-Marc Robin, technical
manager, Volvo Trucks. "This is crucial from a practical aspect, but
also instils trust among operators and quashes any traditional notion
that everything has to be made from metal in order to function
properly."

According to Robin, developing production tools using AM also enables
the equipment design team to be far more responsive, including coping
with last-minute design changes.

"The fast and cost-effective nature of additive manufacturing means
that we are far less restricted than we were even six months ago,
allowing us to constantly improve our processes," he says. "We now
have operators approaching our 3D print team with individual requests
to develop a custom clamp or support tool to assist with a specific
production-line issue they might be having. From a time and cost
perspective, this is unimaginable with traditional techniques."

We used a finger clamp as an example for our stiffness comparison
because it's close to a worst-case. The majority of tools for gauging,
aligning, and other fabricating and assembly jobs don't have to bear
such heavy stress loads. Having the ability to make a jig or fixture
in hours, rather than weeks, suggests that a lot more time-saving
tooling can be made in plastics - tools that might not even be
considered if they were made with traditional methods.

Stratsys is a multinational company, one among many builders of AM
machines, but they have put some real thought and development into
industrial tooling. The Volvo Trucks example is just one of many. It's
worth a visit to their website to see what other possibilities are
emerging. It just might spark an idea for a tool you've wanted to
have, but just couldn't justify the cost or the time to make it.

-- end --

Not a public news paper. And so what - some do and some don't.
Those don't will fall behind.

Martin

On 4/20/2015 8:37 PM, jon_banquer wrote:
On Monday, April 20, 2015 at 6:16:01 PM UTC-7, Martin Eastburn wrote:

GM design are doing 3-D printers for model cars. The clay models
are gone. Over night comes a new rev. Cad drawings are in the works.


http://www.wsj.com/articles/one-thin...pes-1401473645

Sigh. I have been doing CADCAM for 10 years here. I did CadCam in the
70's. In the 80's I was designing PCB's and Modeling. In the 90's I
was designing IC's and PCB's and Systems. So Cad has been in my life
before the IBM PC and was run by custom machines and XEROX and IBM.
Yes we did very large CADCAM on IBM mainframes. Only two of us on the
west coast had machines capable - Lockheed and ourselves. We shared our
equipment when theirs went down.

But no I never heard of cad or modern or high-tech (JEDEC and IEEE life)
etc.

You just don't know. You think and you stink.
Martin

On 4/20/2015 10:24 PM, jon_banquer wrote:
On Monday, April 20, 2015 at 8:07:23 PM UTC-7, Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
Martin Eastburn fired this volley in
:

Over hyped by those who want to hear it said.

We appreciate YOUR comments, Martin, whether or not we agree, but WHY do
you keep falling prey to responding to that moron? He's not worth the
breath to say "NO" to.

Lloyd


Time to deal with reality, Loud:

You simply don't have the CADCAM or modern, high-tech, CNC machining job shop skills I have and you never will.

On Monday, April 20, 2015 at 8:36:40 PM UTC-7, Martin Eastburn wrote:
Not a public news paper. And so what - some do and some don't.
Those don't will fall behind.

Martin


So you're saying you don't find the Wall Street Journal article to be credible?

On Monday, April 20, 2015 at 8:31:58 PM UTC-7, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2015 22:07:19 -0500, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:

Martin Eastburn fired this volley in
:

Over hyped by those who want to hear it said.

We appreciate YOUR comments, Martin, whether or not we agree, but WHY do
you keep falling prey to responding to that moron? He's not worth the
breath to say "NO" to.

Lloyd

Excuse this lengthy post -- I try to avoid doing this, but I've been
researching this subject and some readers will find it interesing. In
the issue of FAB Shop coming out in a week or so, I wrote three
articles on AM (additive manufacturing); one is on metals for AM,
another is on a big mold shop that's using it to make premium
injection molds from maraging steel, and the third is on plastic AM
tooling at Volvo trucks. This is the latter. No, neither Volvo nor
Stratasys are among our advertisers. g

AM is overhyped in the consumer press, and some of the trade press is
doing the same, not doing their homework. We're being careful about
our reporting on it and, if you study it carefully, you'll see that
it's creeping up on us from several directions. Under the hype is some
amazing stuff. The auto manufacturers, big and small, are all over it.

I almost got myself into trouble here with the cube/square issue on
which Ned corrected me, but I didn't quite:

=========================================
[headline]

A Pitch for Plastic

[deck]

When a major truck manufacturer starts using ABS plastic to make jigs
and fixtures, it's time for an attitude adjustment about using
plastics in additive manufacturing for fabricating tasks.

[byline]

By Ed Huntress, Editor

[text]

FAB Shop recognizes the many applications for additive manufacturing
("AM," or "3D printing") in industry, but we've taken a cautious
approach when it comes to fabricating. We've paid little attention to
plastics, but AM with plastics is vastly cheaper and faster than AM
with metals, and it is sweeping the table in making prototypes, test
models, casting patterns, and many other industrial functions.
So we sat up and took notice when we learned that Volvo Trucks, and
others, are using AM and ABS plastics for production tooling. Now
they're hitting close to home.

Volvo Trucks has reduced turnaround times of assembly-line
manufacturing tools by more than 94% since incorporating AM technology
at its engine production plant in Lyon, France. Pierre Jenny,
manufacturing director at Volvo Trucks, says that the company has
reduced the time taken to design and manufacture certain tools,
traditionally produced in metal, from 36 days to just two days in
thermoplastic ABSplus using its Stratasys Fortus 3D Production System.
Strength and stiffness aren't just about materials

But how to plastics stand up to the rigors of production metalworking?
A lot better than you might think. It's a matter of applying some
basic engineering principles to get the stiffness and strength one
needs for the task.

We dragged out our dusty Engineering Statics textbook to run some
numbers. You can do this with stiffness or strength, but the results
are similar either way.

Steel's bending stiffness is around 30 million pounds - we won't
bother with units here, because we're just doing a comparison. ABS
plastic is on the order of 300,000 pounds. At first glance, steel
appears to be 100 times stiffer.

But the stiffness of a beam - or a metalworking finger clamp - varies
with the cube of its depth. So, to get the stiffness of a 1-in. square
steel clamp, an ABS clamp only has to be around 4.6 in. deep, for the
same 1-in. width. The ratio is a lot better for ABS versus aluminum.

That sounds like a bulky clamp, and it is. As you can see from the
photos, for unspecified tools, they have a massive appearance. But so
what? And the AM plastic can be made into much better structural
shapes than a plain rectangle. In terms of material usage, the ABS
clamp can be much more efficient, because you don't have to machine or
weld the structural shapes. You just draw the shape you want in CAD
and push a button. Often, you can make a tool in one piece that used
to require several.

Volvo's Jenny has worked out the cost on a per-cubic-inch basis. That
may sound like an odd way to compare tool costs, but not so much when
you think about how easy it is to make that plastic into any shape you
want with AM. The all-in cost ratio is roughly 100:1. Metal tools at
Volvo Truck cost 100 times more per cubic inch than plastic ones.

No doubt, more readers are now sitting up and taking notice. So you
have a process that saves 94% of the time to make tools, and their
finished cost, on a cubic-inch basis, is 1/100th as much.

Jenny says "Stratasys 3D printing has made an incredible impact to the
way we work. The capability to produce a virtually unlimited range of
functional tools in such a short timeframe is unprecedented and
enables us to be more experimental and inventive to improve production
workflow."

[subhead]
Improvements in Three Months

Within three months of buying their AM machine, Volvo Trucks had
already 3D printed more than 30 different production tools. These
include durable but lightweight clamps, jigs, supports, and even
ergonomically designed tool holders that produce a more organized
working environment.

"We're working in the heavy-industry sector, so reliability is
naturally critical. So far, every piece that we have 3D printed has
proved to be 100% fit-for-purpose," adds Jean-Marc Robin, technical
manager, Volvo Trucks. "This is crucial from a practical aspect, but
also instils trust among operators and quashes any traditional notion
that everything has to be made from metal in order to function
properly."

According to Robin, developing production tools using AM also enables
the equipment design team to be far more responsive, including coping
with last-minute design changes.

"The fast and cost-effective nature of additive manufacturing means
that we are far less restricted than we were even six months ago,
allowing us to constantly improve our processes," he says. "We now
have operators approaching our 3D print team with individual requests
to develop a custom clamp or support tool to assist with a specific
production-line issue they might be having. From a time and cost
perspective, this is unimaginable with traditional techniques."

We used a finger clamp as an example for our stiffness comparison
because it's close to a worst-case. The majority of tools for gauging,
aligning, and other fabricating and assembly jobs don't have to bear
such heavy stress loads. Having the ability to make a jig or fixture
in hours, rather than weeks, suggests that a lot more time-saving
tooling can be made in plastics - tools that might not even be
considered if they were made with traditional methods.

Stratsys is a multinational company, one among many builders of AM
machines, but they have put some real thought and development into
industrial tooling. The Volvo Trucks example is just one of many. It's
worth a visit to their website to see what other possibilities are
emerging. It just might spark an idea for a tool you've wanted to
have, but just couldn't justify the cost or the time to make it.

-- end --



"AM is overhyped in the consumer press, and some of the trade press is
doing the same, not doing their homework"


One big reason 3D printing is over-hyped in that much of the commercial trade press that covers the 3D printing is pay for play.

slow eddy is very much apart of the problem and not the solution.

On Mon, 20 Apr 2015 23:31:53 -0400, Ed Huntress wrote:
....
Excuse this lengthy post -- I try to avoid doing this, but I've been
researching this subject and some readers will find it interesing. In
the issue of FAB Shop coming out in a week or so, I wrote three
articles on AM (additive manufacturing); [...] the third is on plastic
AM tooling at Volvo trucks. [...]

Ed, thanks for the informative (although not deep) article.
I imagine you'll later post a link? Some quibbles follow.

Volvo Trucks has reduced turnaround times of assembly-line
manufacturing tools by more than 94%
I regard "reduced by x%" as problematic and would instead say
"has cut 94% of turnaround time" or "has reduced turnaround
time ... by more than a month" since you work the 94% figure in
later in the article

But how to plastics stand up to the rigors of production metalworking?
First "to" should be "do"

You have Stratasys a couple of times, Stratsys once:
thermoplastic ABSplus using its Stratasys Fortus 3D Production System.
....
Jenny says "Stratasys 3D printing has made an incredible impact to the
....
Stratsys is a multinational company, one among many builders of AM

On Mon, 20 Apr 2015 23:31:53 -0400, Ed Huntress
wrote:

if you study it carefully, you'll see that
it's creeping up on us from several directions.
=======================
Indeed! Making considerable inroads in the medical/dental
fields, and the traditional industrial casting industries.

Medical is more direct such as prothesis [artificial limbs],
Dental is indirect, i.e. wax molds for false teeth.

Considerable inroads in jewelry such as class rings through
computerization of the lost-wax model for casting.

Big application in the tradition casting industries is the
generation of the patterns. In the past manufacture of the
forms required considerable lead time and highly skilled
pattern makers.

Also increasingly used to make model/prototype, possibly in
several pieces. This is then used to make silicone rubber
mold for urethane castings. Very cost effective for short
runs.

If you are interested in industrial 3d see
http://tinyurl.com/lwu2kar
http://tinyurl.com/ly8s6dy
among many MOOC offerings

for home hobby see youtube for large number of how to
videos.

I am in the final stages of getting a small 3d printer
running. Looks like http://tinyurl.com/kk96hrb

FWIW: These are stand alone programs. and you don't need 3d
printer to try out.

Several FOSS programs for 3d cad available
http://tinyurl.com/avm82jf
http://tinyurl.com/olns8d5
There are many others


Also AutoDesk has free only-line app to generate 3d .stl
files. http://tinyurl.com/l8rwonj

One common control program for home/hobby 3d printers
(and the one I use)
http://tinyurl.com/k4jo8zp

Enjoy


--
Unka' George

"Gold is the money of kings,
silver is the money of gentlemen,
barter is the money of peasants,
but debt is the money of slaves"

-Norm Franz, "Money and Wealth in the New Millenium"

On Tue, 21 Apr 2015 14:05:39 +0000 (UTC), James Waldby
wrote:

On Mon, 20 Apr 2015 23:31:53 -0400, Ed Huntress wrote:
...
Excuse this lengthy post -- I try to avoid doing this, but I've been
researching this subject and some readers will find it interesing. In
the issue of FAB Shop coming out in a week or so, I wrote three
articles on AM (additive manufacturing); [...] the third is on plastic
AM tooling at Volvo trucks. [...]

Ed, thanks for the informative (although not deep) article.
I imagine you'll later post a link? Some quibbles follow.

Volvo Trucks has reduced turnaround times of assembly-line
manufacturing tools by more than 94%
I regard "reduced by x%" as problematic and would instead say
"has cut 94% of turnaround time" or "has reduced turnaround
time ... by more than a month" since you work the 94% figure in
later in the article

But how to plastics stand up to the rigors of production metalworking?
First "to" should be "do"

You have Stratasys a couple of times, Stratsys once:
thermoplastic ABSplus using its Stratasys Fortus 3D Production System.
...
Jenny says "Stratasys 3D printing has made an incredible impact to the
...
Stratsys is a multinational company, one among many builders of AM

g Thanks, Jim. That was the unproofed draft. My proofreader caught
those items. I'll probably leave the 94% as-is, but I get another look
at it before it's published.

It's Stratasys. They're a big player in plastics AM. EOS is the big
player in metals AM.

As for the link, I'll try to remember. But you can Google "Fab Shop"
and you'll find our link a few items down. The full name of the
magazine is Fab Shop Magazine Direct.

www.fsmdirect.com

Regarding "depth": I'm still on the fence about how far to go with
plastics. If the tooling applications really take off, I'll dig
deeper. For now, I'm focused on the metals applications: dry
sintering, liquid-phase sintering, partial-melt sintering, and laser
and electron-beam melting. The metals story is much more complex.
First, I have to explain the materials story, and then the AM
processes. Finally, post-processes, suh as hot-isostatic pressing.

It's a very contentious subject, with the major players arguing like
hell over what can and can't be done. The reliable way to treat it for
now is with some case-history-type coverage, pointing to actual users
and listening to what they're doing. Thus, Volvo.

Here's a brief editorial I wrote a couple of months ago, about how and
why we're covering AM:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/fabs...5/index.php#/3

--
Ed Huntress

On Tue, 21 Apr 2015 09:19:10 -0500, F. George McDuffee
wrote:

On Mon, 20 Apr 2015 23:31:53 -0400, Ed Huntress
wrote:

if you study it carefully, you'll see that
it's creeping up on us from several directions.
=======================
Indeed! Making considerable inroads in the medical/dental
fields, and the traditional industrial casting industries.

Medical is more direct such as prothesis [artificial limbs],
Dental is indirect, i.e. wax molds for false teeth.

Considerable inroads in jewelry such as class rings through
computerization of the lost-wax model for casting.

Big application in the tradition casting industries is the
generation of the patterns. In the past manufacture of the
forms required considerable lead time and highly skilled
pattern makers.

Also increasingly used to make model/prototype, possibly in
several pieces. This is then used to make silicone rubber
mold for urethane castings. Very cost effective for short
runs.

If you are interested in industrial 3d see
http://tinyurl.com/lwu2kar
http://tinyurl.com/ly8s6dy
among many MOOC offerings

for home hobby see youtube for large number of how to
videos.

I am in the final stages of getting a small 3d printer
running. Looks like http://tinyurl.com/kk96hrb

FWIW: These are stand alone programs. and you don't need 3d
printer to try out.

Several FOSS programs for 3d cad available
http://tinyurl.com/avm82jf
http://tinyurl.com/olns8d5
There are many others


Also AutoDesk has free only-line app to generate 3d .stl
files. http://tinyurl.com/l8rwonj

One common control program for home/hobby 3d printers
(and the one I use)
http://tinyurl.com/k4jo8zp

Enjoy

It looks like you're in for some fun, George. Keep us informaed.

--
Ed Huntress

On Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 7:06:41 AM UTC-7, James Waldby wrote:

Ed, thanks for the informative (although not deep) article.

slow eddy is out of his league and doesn't have the needed CADCAM skills or the needed hands on 3D printing experience. However, for the right money slow eddy is happy to regurgitate whatever Stratasys gives him in the pay for play rag he works for.

On Tue, 21 Apr 2015 08:44:22 -0700 (PDT), jon_banquer
wrote:

On Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 7:06:41 AM UTC-7, James Waldby wrote:

Ed, thanks for the informative (although not deep) article.

slow eddy is out of his league and doesn't have the needed CADCAM skills or the needed hands on 3D printing experience. However, for the right money slow eddy is happy to regurgitate whatever Stratasys gives him in the pay for play rag he works for.

===================
Some free information on SolidWorks and Dell workstations
for 3d design. http://tinyurl.com/puzuna6

Also the later versions of intellicad will generate the
required [for 3d printing] .stl files. free trial download
available
FWIW: if you have a older version, be sure to back up the
registery files before installation of the newer [trial]
version so you can return to old version if desired.

http://tinyurl.com/p3nhjda
several other Intellicad vendors available including
http://tinyurl.com/pt26eao

For existing public domain designs see
http://tinyurl.com/5b7yyz
and
http://tinyurl.com/ohpkx2m
many more on web


--
Unka' George

"Gold is the money of kings,
silver is the money of gentlemen,
barter is the money of peasants,
but debt is the money of slaves"

-Norm Franz, "Money and Wealth in the New Millenium"

No, It won't let me read the article to see one way or another.
And a person or that one isn't going to make the fact true for all.

A person has a person view. If you follow that person then 2. Maybe
more. Not 200,000,000 views.

I have a number of professional journals that have 3-D this and that
and have continued coverage.

Martin

On 4/20/2015 10:53 PM, jon_banquer wrote:
On Monday, April 20, 2015 at 8:36:40 PM UTC-7, Martin Eastburn wrote:
Not a public news paper. And so what - some do and some don't.
Those don't will fall behind.

Martin


So you're saying you don't find the Wall Street Journal article to be credible?

Nice information and such.
3D candy and food as well as metal in 3D.....

This is the one I have:

http://www.3dsystems.com/3d-printers...ineers-desktop

Martin

On 4/21/2015 9:19 AM, F. George McDuffee wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2015 23:31:53 -0400, Ed Huntress
wrote:

if you study it carefully, you'll see that
it's creeping up on us from several directions.
=======================
Indeed! Making considerable inroads in the medical/dental
fields, and the traditional industrial casting industries.

Medical is more direct such as prothesis [artificial limbs],
Dental is indirect, i.e. wax molds for false teeth.

Considerable inroads in jewelry such as class rings through
computerization of the lost-wax model for casting.

Big application in the tradition casting industries is the
generation of the patterns. In the past manufacture of the
forms required considerable lead time and highly skilled
pattern makers.

Also increasingly used to make model/prototype, possibly in
several pieces. This is then used to make silicone rubber
mold for urethane castings. Very cost effective for short
runs.

If you are interested in industrial 3d see
http://tinyurl.com/lwu2kar
http://tinyurl.com/ly8s6dy
among many MOOC offerings

for home hobby see youtube for large number of how to
videos.

I am in the final stages of getting a small 3d printer
running. Looks like http://tinyurl.com/kk96hrb

FWIW: These are stand alone programs. and you don't need 3d
printer to try out.

Several FOSS programs for 3d cad available
http://tinyurl.com/avm82jf
http://tinyurl.com/olns8d5
There are many others


Also AutoDesk has free only-line app to generate 3d .stl
files. http://tinyurl.com/l8rwonj

One common control program for home/hobby 3d printers
(and the one I use)
http://tinyurl.com/k4jo8zp

Enjoy

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 04:59:54 +0000 (UTC)
(Edward A. Falk) wrote:

snip
I fixed an unfixable tool with 3d printing:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crea...er-tool-where/

I've been at several jobs where using 3d printing to build
prototypes was standard practice.

Nice write up. And anyone else needing this part can just use your
files and find a 3d printer.

I've fixed similar stuff through the years and probably would have
fixed your item too. But it wouldn't have been so done so perfectly

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 9:04:15 AM UTC-7, jon_banquer wrote:
http://3dprint.com/59177/makerbot-layoffs/

More over-hype being exposed. 3D Systems stock is getting slammed and the worst isn't over yet:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/3106...o-many-excuses

"As the previous research warned, though 3D Systems was approaching a valuation that might appear attractive, the company needed to prove it could operate within targets. The latest results continue a trend suggesting the previously cobbled together businesses aren't functioning correctly. Investors should remain very cautious regarding the statements of improving results for the first few weeks of Q2. It is very common for a company that has orders pushed out to see positive results in the following weeks, but none of the comments from 3D Systems suggest a real rebound in the business.

The mounting excuses for missing estimates are not acceptable. Investors need to stay away from the stock until the company can achieve goals despite currency headwinds or economic issues."

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:50:24 -0700 (PDT), jon_banquer
wrote:

On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 9:04:15 AM UTC-7, jon_banquer wrote:
http://3dprint.com/59177/makerbot-layoffs/

More over-hype being exposed. 3D Systems stock is getting slammed and the w=
orst isn't over yet:
snip

Will 3d printing replace injection molding? Of course not.
Will 3d printing revolutionize prototype production, pattern
making, and limited production? Will consumer 3d printing
introduce a new generation to the concepts of modern
manufacturing? It already has.

Some observations:

(1) Try not to confuse the valuation of the stock of the
American companies that manufacture 3d printers with the
value of the technology.

(2) A new technology seldom abruptly replaces an existing
technology/methodology. It generally acts synergistically
with the existing technologies, and may gradually replace an
obsolete technology, e. g. shapers and planers.

(3) A FWIW -- note that many of the YouTube examples of 3d
industrial use and development are foreign, and are our
largest competitors, e. g. PRC, Japan, Germany, and
increasingly Korea and Brazil. ==It's get hot or go home
time for American companies.==

Much of the consumer level products were developed as public
domain products, including the control boards/circuits
http://tinyurl.com/ygxhzk as well as the basic physical
machines http://tinyurl.com/ybfxw9n . While this gave an
enormous boost to the development of these products and
methodologies, particularly the FFF [fused filament
fabrication] genre, it also meant that the low cost
manufacturers could dominate the business. Indeed, what we
are seeing is that the PRC is able to produce assembled and
tested 3d consumer grade printers for less than the U. S.
retail cost of the required components.
http://tinyurl.com/qb4sxkl To be sure, these are like most
consumer PRC produced machine tools in that these require
some TLC to be fully functional.

The domestic US companies that pioneered the consumer 3d
printer are in the same position that the US companies that
pioneered the personal computer were. Some domestic
companies, which of course use many imported components such
as the control boards and steppers, include
http://tinyurl.com/bk5o9wq

The technology is developing rapidly, and the 3 axis
orthogonal consumer machines are now being challenged by the
delta machines. http://tinyurl.com/ct7wztz PRC produced
units are available. http://tinyurl.com/obpop5s
http://tinyurl.com/k39dc2j
http://tinyurl.com/k6cmx4e

FFF has industrial applications
http://tinyurl.com/pssq5vv
http://tinyurl.com/ob87m42
http://tinyurl.com/pzmxv59
printing houses
http://tinyurl.com/pt4dmyg
printing casting patterns
http://tinyurl.com/l6gws9q
http://tinyurl.com/mbwb2bl

This also extends to extension of the technology to other
computer controlled consumer priced machines
http://tinyurl.com/o7bwfe7





--
Unka' George

"Gold is the money of kings,
silver is the money of gentlemen,
barter is the money of peasants,
but debt is the money of slaves"

-Norm Franz, "Money and Wealth in the New Millenium"

On Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 11:52:43 AM UTC-7, F. George McDuffee wrote:
On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:50:24 -0700 (PDT), jon_banquer
wrote:

On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 9:04:15 AM UTC-7, jon_banquer wrote:
http://3dprint.com/59177/makerbot-layoffs/

More over-hype being exposed. 3D Systems stock is getting slammed and the w=
orst isn't over yet:
snip

Will 3d printing replace injection molding? Of course not.
Will 3d printing revolutionize prototype production, pattern
making, and limited production? Will consumer 3d printing
introduce a new generation to the concepts of modern
manufacturing? It already has.

Some observations:

(1) Try not to confuse the valuation of the stock of the
American companies that manufacture 3d printers with the
value of the technology.

(2) A new technology seldom abruptly replaces an existing
technology/methodology. It generally acts synergistically
with the existing technologies, and may gradually replace an
obsolete technology, e. g. shapers and planers.

(3) A FWIW -- note that many of the YouTube examples of 3d
industrial use and development are foreign, and are our
largest competitors, e. g. PRC, Japan, Germany, and
increasingly Korea and Brazil. ==It's get hot or go home
time for American companies.==

Much of the consumer level products were developed as public
domain products, including the control boards/circuits
http://tinyurl.com/ygxhzk as well as the basic physical
machines http://tinyurl.com/ybfxw9n . While this gave an
enormous boost to the development of these products and
methodologies, particularly the FFF [fused filament
fabrication] genre, it also meant that the low cost
manufacturers could dominate the business. Indeed, what we
are seeing is that the PRC is able to produce assembled and
tested 3d consumer grade printers for less than the U. S.
retail cost of the required components.
http://tinyurl.com/qb4sxkl To be sure, these are like most
consumer PRC produced machine tools in that these require
some TLC to be fully functional.

The domestic US companies that pioneered the consumer 3d
printer are in the same position that the US companies that
pioneered the personal computer were. Some domestic
companies, which of course use many imported components such
as the control boards and steppers, include
http://tinyurl.com/bk5o9wq

The technology is developing rapidly, and the 3 axis
orthogonal consumer machines are now being challenged by the
delta machines. http://tinyurl.com/ct7wztz PRC produced
units are available. http://tinyurl.com/obpop5s
http://tinyurl.com/k39dc2j
http://tinyurl.com/k6cmx4e

FFF has industrial applications
http://tinyurl.com/pssq5vv
http://tinyurl.com/ob87m42
http://tinyurl.com/pzmxv59
printing houses
http://tinyurl.com/pt4dmyg
printing casting patterns
http://tinyurl.com/l6gws9q
http://tinyurl.com/mbwb2bl

This also extends to extension of the technology to other
computer controlled consumer priced machines
http://tinyurl.com/o7bwfe7





--
Unka' George

"Gold is the money of kings,
silver is the money of gentlemen,
barter is the money of peasants,
but debt is the money of slaves"

-Norm Franz, "Money and Wealth in the New Millenium"


Have you ever done 3D printing for a living or is 3D printing a hobby for you?

On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 9:04:15 AM UTC-7, jon_banquer wrote:
http://3dprint.com/59177/makerbot-layoffs/

This looks very promising:

Video 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpH1zhUQY0c

Video 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTJq9Z5g4Jk


https://lnkd.in/bZ6uzzb

"Jon, I'm usually a huge 3d printing skeptic but i agree. Carbon3D's technology could be a game changer. Not only does it offer an order of magnitude improvement in speed, but if it truly prints continuously, it completely alters the concept of print resolution.

At the same time, I see no evidence for this manufacturing paradigm shift towards a distributed model relying heavily on 3dp, which 'maker' types believe in."

F. George McDuffee fired this volley
in :

The technology is developing rapidly, and the 3 axis
orthogonal consumer machines are now being challenged by the
delta machines.

The thing that gets missed often is that in 'industrial duty', the
machines (including delta types) capable of handling a wide range of
resins on one machine were available as production units as long ago as
1989. I have a cohort in military weapons development who's had one that
long.

The 'fad' part (and consumer part) just caught on, but it's already a
mature(ing) technology. It won't replace a whole bunch of methods;
rather, it adds one more to the stack of capabilities.

Lloyd

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 12:01:54 -0700 (PDT), jon_banquer
wrote:

Have you ever done 3D printing for a living or is 3D printing a hobby for you?

Hobby -- been retired for 7 years now.

Still getting my FFF printer [PRC assembled kit] dialed in
(had to rebuild the extruder hot end assembly retainer), but
so far so good.

Any suggestions for creating the required .stl files from
AutoCad or IntelliCad .dwg files, as I already know these
programs (and have a legit copy of Intellicad)? Any tricks
for converting a wire frame to a manifold model you can pass
on?

Any (constructive) comments you would care to make about
tinkercad http://tinyurl.com/l8rwonj,
Openscad http://tinyurl.com/avm82jf,
or FreeCad http://tinyurl.com/cphdgzw?
One of my concerns is avoiding sharp inside corners [stress
risers], and for appearance would like to radius outside
corners.

FWIW you don't need a 3d printer to experiment. One of the
FOSS printer control programs will allow you to dry run a
program. http://tinyurl.com/k4jo8zp Most likely the others
will also, but I haven't tried these. For a sample of the
"stuff" even the consumer/hobby printers can make see
http://tinyurl.com/5b7yyz [custom grips anyone?]


--
Unka' George

"Gold is the money of kings,
silver is the money of gentlemen,
barter is the money of peasants,
but debt is the money of slaves"

-Norm Franz, "Money and Wealth in the New Millenium"

On Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 1:20:50 PM UTC-7, F. George McDuffee wrote:

Hobby -- been retired for 7 years now.

I can tell.

Do you wear hearing aids ? They are made on a massive array of 3-D
printers. Each design is custom. I want to say that 16 sets of hearing
aids are made at a printing. The resin molds are made inside the ear
and was once cast in investment and done one or two at a time,
then take a week to refine them and populate with electronics.

I have a picture of a metal jet engine that was made by 3-D printer.
They expect to get it working and hope to discover this and that - and
make changes. Better than simulation, it works or it doesn't. Doesn't
have to drive a plane just produce power for a short time.

Artificial arms, legs are being made with 3-D printers. It is dropping
the cost for more to have them.

Martin

On 4/28/2015 2:01 PM, jon_banquer wrote:
On Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 11:52:43 AM UTC-7, F. George McDuffee wrote:
On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:50:24 -0700 (PDT), jon_banquer
wrote:

On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 9:04:15 AM UTC-7, jon_banquer wrote:
http://3dprint.com/59177/makerbot-layoffs/

More over-hype being exposed. 3D Systems stock is getting slammed and the w=
orst isn't over yet:
snip

Will 3d printing replace injection molding? Of course not.
Will 3d printing revolutionize prototype production, pattern
making, and limited production? Will consumer 3d printing
introduce a new generation to the concepts of modern
manufacturing? It already has.

Some observations:

(1) Try not to confuse the valuation of the stock of the
American companies that manufacture 3d printers with the
value of the technology.

(2) A new technology seldom abruptly replaces an existing
technology/methodology. It generally acts synergistically
with the existing technologies, and may gradually replace an
obsolete technology, e. g. shapers and planers.

(3) A FWIW -- note that many of the YouTube examples of 3d
industrial use and development are foreign, and are our
largest competitors, e. g. PRC, Japan, Germany, and
increasingly Korea and Brazil. ==It's get hot or go home
time for American companies.==

Much of the consumer level products were developed as public
domain products, including the control boards/circuits
http://tinyurl.com/ygxhzk as well as the basic physical
machines http://tinyurl.com/ybfxw9n . While this gave an
enormous boost to the development of these products and
methodologies, particularly the FFF [fused filament
fabrication] genre, it also meant that the low cost
manufacturers could dominate the business. Indeed, what we
are seeing is that the PRC is able to produce assembled and
tested 3d consumer grade printers for less than the U. S.
retail cost of the required components.
http://tinyurl.com/qb4sxkl To be sure, these are like most
consumer PRC produced machine tools in that these require
some TLC to be fully functional.

The domestic US companies that pioneered the consumer 3d
printer are in the same position that the US companies that
pioneered the personal computer were. Some domestic
companies, which of course use many imported components such
as the control boards and steppers, include
http://tinyurl.com/bk5o9wq

The technology is developing rapidly, and the 3 axis
orthogonal consumer machines are now being challenged by the
delta machines. http://tinyurl.com/ct7wztz PRC produced
units are available. http://tinyurl.com/obpop5s
http://tinyurl.com/k39dc2j
http://tinyurl.com/k6cmx4e

FFF has industrial applications
http://tinyurl.com/pssq5vv
http://tinyurl.com/ob87m42
http://tinyurl.com/pzmxv59
printing houses
http://tinyurl.com/pt4dmyg
printing casting patterns
http://tinyurl.com/l6gws9q
http://tinyurl.com/mbwb2bl

This also extends to extension of the technology to other
computer controlled consumer priced machines
http://tinyurl.com/o7bwfe7





--
Unka' George

"Gold is the money of kings,
silver is the money of gentlemen,
barter is the money of peasants,
but debt is the money of slaves"

-Norm Franz, "Money and Wealth in the New Millenium"


Have you ever done 3D printing for a living or is 3D printing a hobby for you?

On Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 7:22:03 PM UTC-7, Martin Eastburn wrote:

Do you wear hearing aids ?

Nope.

On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 9:04:15 AM UTC-7, jon_banquer wrote:
http://3dprint.com/59177/makerbot-layoffs/

**** just got real:

http://seekingalpha.com/news/2461806...us-4_4-percent

On 4/29/2015 12:21 PM, Martin Eastburn wrote:
Do you wear hearing aids ? They are made on a massive array of 3-D
printers. Each design is custom. I want to say that 16 sets of hearing
aids are made at a printing. The resin molds are made inside the ear
and was once cast in investment and done one or two at a time,
then take a week to refine them and populate with electronics.

I have a picture of a metal jet engine that was made by 3-D printer.
They expect to get it working and hope to discover this and that - and
make changes. Better than simulation, it works or it doesn't. Doesn't
have to drive a plane just produce power for a short time.

Artificial arms, legs are being made with 3-D printers. It is dropping
the cost for more to have them.

One of my customers back in the States built a robotic unloader for a
false fingernail injection mold. Each nail had to be secured with a
small suction cup while being trimmed. They designed the vacuum
manifolding for 3D printing. All they had to do was tap a 10-32 for the
hose barb and slip on the suction cups. They supplied a spare, and if
needed, additional spares could simply be printed, tapped, and shipped
direct to the customer.

Jon

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 21:21:56 -0500
Martin Eastburn wrote:

snip
Artificial arms, legs are being made with 3-D printers. It is dropping
the cost for more to have them.

A local article ran in our paper about this late last year:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...oler_gets.html

"CEDAR SPRING, MI - The robotics team from West Catholic High School
gave a 4-year-old Cedar Trails Elementary student the right hand she
never had on Thursday, Dec. 19.

"I'm going to paint them (nails) pink," said Harmony Taylor with a big
smile as she pulled on each finger of her customized Robohand and
strolled around the school media center, getting a feel for the device
and using it.

Using it, she easily picked up the gift bag from the West Catholic
students who made the device. It included a bottle of pink nail
polish..."


--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

On Wed, 29 Apr 2015 09:33:39 -0400, Leon Fisk
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 21:21:56 -0500
Martin Eastburn wrote:

snip
Artificial arms, legs are being made with 3-D printers. It is dropping
the cost for more to have them.

A local article ran in our paper about this late last year:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...oler_gets.html

"CEDAR SPRING, MI - The robotics team from West Catholic High School
gave a 4-year-old Cedar Trails Elementary student the right hand she
never had on Thursday, Dec. 19.

"I'm going to paint them (nails) pink," said Harmony Taylor with a big
smile as she pulled on each finger of her customized Robohand and
strolled around the school media center, getting a feel for the device
and using it.

Using it, she easily picked up the gift bag from the West Catholic
students who made the device. It included a bottle of pink nail
polish..."

According to a government source, there were over 12,000 articles
published about AM/3D printing a few years ago. The number now is
higher. The general press has gone ga-ga over it.

Thus, some people are "disappointed" that it hasn't revolutionized
manufacturing. But the only people who would feel that way are people
who have no understanding of manufacturing technology. I didn't read
the original post in this thread so I don't know who is saying they're
"disappointed," but the only people to whom that applies are people
who don't know how things are made -- or people who let themselves get
sucked in by the gushy articles in the general press.

For the rest of us, it's pretty damned exciting, because it's not hard
to see where the low-hanging fruit is for AM. George pointed to a
number of things -- prototypes, casting patterns, and so on. I wrote
an article recently about Volvo Trucks making their production tools
out of 3D-printed ABS plastic. Custom prostheses, in both plastics and
metals (ceramics are coming soon, too), like your example, are being
made right now. It's revolutionizing prosthetic dentistry.

Where it gets really interesting for us is in the new AM processes for
metals. This is a story that's evolving from month to month. There are
several production applications in daily use, including the
often-cited example of fuel nozzles for aircraft turbines. These are
parts that can't be machined in one piece, and the traditional
multi-part assemblies are a sore spot for the manufacturers. With AM,
they make the whole thing as a single part. This suggests something
like what happened when EDM got involved in making aircraft parts.
They wanted deep,square holes. EDM gave it to them. They wanted lots
of other odd geometry. More EDM.

So the first metal AM applications are likely to be for things that
are difficult or impossible to machine. I wrote a piece on metals for
AM this month, and there is a perfect example illustrated in the
article. Take a look at this injection mold:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/fabs.../index.php#/18

Those cooling passages are built right in. They result in a mold that
can cycle 40% faster. So it's 40% more productive than a conventional,
machined mold.

There are a lot of other tooling applications coming along, and not
just for difficult-to-machine parts. Some of them are just for custom
tooling that you need this week, rather than two or three months from
now.

The limitations are several. A big one, right now, is the types of
metal that can be 3D printed. That injection mold is made of maraging
steel -- an odd choice for a mold, one might think, but it's explained
in the aricle.

What I'm watching for now is an evolution that will allow AM of D2,
A1, H13, and other tool steels. I don't think it will be long in
coming, based on what the manufacturers are saying. And companies like
NanoSteel and Oerlikon are developing special powders for AM that may
not be the same as traditional tool steels, but which give similar or
better performance.

So how one looks at AM depends on what one knows about existing
processes. It's exciting for those who know. It may be disappointing
for those who don't.

--
Ed Huntress

On 4/29/2015 7:28 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Wed, 29 Apr 2015 09:33:39 -0400, Leon Fisk
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 21:21:56 -0500
Martin Eastburn wrote:

snip
Artificial arms, legs are being made with 3-D printers. It is dropping
the cost for more to have them.

A local article ran in our paper about this late last year:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...oler_gets.html

"CEDAR SPRING, MI - The robotics team from West Catholic High School
gave a 4-year-old Cedar Trails Elementary student the right hand she
never had on Thursday, Dec. 19.

"I'm going to paint them (nails) pink," said Harmony Taylor with a big
smile as she pulled on each finger of her customized Robohand and
strolled around the school media center, getting a feel for the device
and using it.

Using it, she easily picked up the gift bag from the West Catholic
students who made the device. It included a bottle of pink nail
polish..."

According to a government source, there were over 12,000 articles
published about AM/3D printing a few years ago. The number now is
higher. The general press has gone ga-ga over it.

Thus, some people are "disappointed" that it hasn't revolutionized
manufacturing. But the only people who would feel that way are people
who have no understanding of manufacturing technology. I didn't read
the original post in this thread so I don't know who is saying they're
"disappointed,"

It was ban-queer, of course - who else? 3D printing, DOHC engines -
ban-queer can never stop humiliating himself.


but the only people to whom that applies are people
who don't know how things are made -- or people who let themselves get
sucked in by the gushy articles in the general press.

For the rest of us, it's pretty damned exciting, because it's not hard
to see where the low-hanging fruit is for AM. George pointed to a
number of things -- prototypes, casting patterns, and so on. I wrote
an article recently about Volvo Trucks making their production tools
out of 3D-printed ABS plastic. Custom prostheses, in both plastics and
metals (ceramics are coming soon, too), like your example, are being
made right now. It's revolutionizing prosthetic dentistry.

Where it gets really interesting for us is in the new AM processes for
metals. This is a story that's evolving from month to month. There are
several production applications in daily use, including the
often-cited example of fuel nozzles for aircraft turbines. These are
parts that can't be machined in one piece, and the traditional
multi-part assemblies are a sore spot for the manufacturers. With AM,
they make the whole thing as a single part. This suggests something
like what happened when EDM got involved in making aircraft parts.
They wanted deep,square holes. EDM gave it to them. They wanted lots
of other odd geometry. More EDM.

So the first metal AM applications are likely to be for things that
are difficult or impossible to machine. I wrote a piece on metals for
AM this month, and there is a perfect example illustrated in the
article. Take a look at this injection mold:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/fabs.../index.php#/18

Those cooling passages are built right in. They result in a mold that
can cycle 40% faster. So it's 40% more productive than a conventional,
machined mold.

There are a lot of other tooling applications coming along, and not
just for difficult-to-machine parts. Some of them are just for custom
tooling that you need this week, rather than two or three months from
now.

The limitations are several. A big one, right now, is the types of
metal that can be 3D printed. That injection mold is made of maraging
steel -- an odd choice for a mold, one might think, but it's explained
in the aricle.

What I'm watching for now is an evolution that will allow AM of D2,
A1, H13, and other tool steels. I don't think it will be long in
coming, based on what the manufacturers are saying. And companies like
NanoSteel and Oerlikon are developing special powders for AM that may
not be the same as traditional tool steels, but which give similar or
better performance.

So how one looks at AM depends on what one knows about existing
processes. It's exciting for those who know. It may be disappointing
for those who don't.

On Wed, 29 Apr 2015 07:37:58 -0700, Rudy Canoza
wrote:

On 4/29/2015 7:28 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Wed, 29 Apr 2015 09:33:39 -0400, Leon Fisk
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 21:21:56 -0500
Martin Eastburn wrote:

snip
Artificial arms, legs are being made with 3-D printers. It is dropping
the cost for more to have them.

A local article ran in our paper about this late last year:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...oler_gets.html

"CEDAR SPRING, MI - The robotics team from West Catholic High School
gave a 4-year-old Cedar Trails Elementary student the right hand she
never had on Thursday, Dec. 19.

"I'm going to paint them (nails) pink," said Harmony Taylor with a big
smile as she pulled on each finger of her customized Robohand and
strolled around the school media center, getting a feel for the device
and using it.

Using it, she easily picked up the gift bag from the West Catholic
students who made the device. It included a bottle of pink nail
polish..."

According to a government source, there were over 12,000 articles
published about AM/3D printing a few years ago. The number now is
higher. The general press has gone ga-ga over it.

Thus, some people are "disappointed" that it hasn't revolutionized
manufacturing. But the only people who would feel that way are people
who have no understanding of manufacturing technology. I didn't read
the original post in this thread so I don't know who is saying they're
"disappointed,"

It was ban-queer, of course - who else? 3D printing, DOHC engines -
ban-queer can never stop humiliating himself.

Aha. Well, people should do what they do best, and that's the best
part of Jonnie Bonkers' advanced skill-set.

--
Ed Huntress

On Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 7:38:01 AM UTC-7, Rudy Canoza wrote:

It was ban-queer, of course - who else? 3D printing, DOHC engines -
ban-queer can never stop humiliating himself.

Unlike loser/liars like slow eddy and Jonathan Ball I've spent over two decades being paid for my knowledge and skills of both which just kills both of them. :)

On Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 8:11:42 AM UTC-7, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Wed, 29 Apr 2015 07:37:58 -0700, Rudy Canoza
wrote:

On 4/29/2015 7:28 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Wed, 29 Apr 2015 09:33:39 -0400, Leon Fisk
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 21:21:56 -0500
Martin Eastburn wrote:

snip
Artificial arms, legs are being made with 3-D printers. It is dropping
the cost for more to have them.

A local article ran in our paper about this late last year:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...oler_gets.html

"CEDAR SPRING, MI - The robotics team from West Catholic High School
gave a 4-year-old Cedar Trails Elementary student the right hand she
never had on Thursday, Dec. 19.

"I'm going to paint them (nails) pink," said Harmony Taylor with a big
smile as she pulled on each finger of her customized Robohand and
strolled around the school media center, getting a feel for the device
and using it.

Using it, she easily picked up the gift bag from the West Catholic
students who made the device. It included a bottle of pink nail
polish..."

According to a government source, there were over 12,000 articles
published about AM/3D printing a few years ago. The number now is
higher. The general press has gone ga-ga over it.

Thus, some people are "disappointed" that it hasn't revolutionized
manufacturing. But the only people who would feel that way are people
who have no understanding of manufacturing technology. I didn't read
the original post in this thread so I don't know who is saying they're
"disappointed,"

It was ban-queer, of course - who else? 3D printing, DOHC engines -
ban-queer can never stop humiliating himself.

Aha. Well, people should do what they do best, and that's the best
part of Jonnie Bonkers' advanced skill-set.

--
Ed Huntress


Spoken like the worthless pay for play ad copy writer slow eddy truly is.

What slow eddy does best is regurgitate press releases from those who advertise in the worthless rags he works for.

On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 9:04:15 AM UTC-7, jon_banquer wrote:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/3116...efore-the-fall

"I believe that infant technologies like CLIP could change the dynamics of the market, and increase both demand and scalability of 3D printing. Because Carbon3D is a competitor to 3D Systems, it's hard to think of any alternative other than to short 3D Systems.

Not only has the business environment worsened, but the company doesn't have a viable business model any more. Management is more focused on reducing costs, while creating hype around stereolithography, which is almost due for a 30-year anniversary. The industry was ripe for disruption, and 3D Systems never came away with the breakthrough needed to take 3D printing from some niche opportunity into main stream. It lost.

I don't believe in comeback stories, as I'm fairly confident that the VC-backed Carbon3D is going to compete with the intent of taking the whole market over. They have the patents, and they are working with some of the finest VC guys in Silicon Valley. I also anticipate Carbon3D to utilize standard business practices to rapidly scale production for its 3D printer units. Carbon3D doesn't have to price products for profit maximization, so it has some flexibility to adjust price points to be more directly competitive with industry-stalwarts. Needless to say, DDD has really high gross margins, so there's plenty of room for Carbon3D to fight with pricing."