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| 3D printing |
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| Arbalist:
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-desktop-3d-printing-still-sucks/ |
| S. Heslop:
"Yes, 3D printing stands to completely transform the way we make, replace, and transport products and will disrupt nearly every major industry." i'm really having a hard time writing anything about 3d printing without it becoming snarky. i think its almost useless on the hobby end, but i dont hold it against anyone that wants to play around with it. but there are so many... tech hipsters out there that get real self-aggrandizing about it, proudly proclaiming that their cnc hot glue guns are going to lead us into a utopian future of expensive and lumpy extruded plastic and pirated action figures the things really hit all the right beats for those kinds of people; open source, arduino controlled, touching on piracy (or the promise of piracy), a continuation of the old cnc fad, and the whole self-important tech-fetishism thing i think the only way i could see these things being used outside of rapid prototyping is as a marketing gimmick |
| PeterE:
That was kind a harsh, I agree. The reason for my venture into the 3D printer "world" is to investigate whether it is good enough to produce the base for 1:87 (H0) scale model accessories for those things that are difficult to create in more than one piece. Particularly double-curved surfaces like small boat hulls and other relatively complex details that are fiddly to make by hand. Think hulls, small phone booths, stacks of things, etc etc. The advantage with 3D printing is it requires a cad file as source nad the result will be as many bits as desired. The thing about piracy may well be a risk, but there is also a community around the OpenSource projects that shar designs with the particular purpose of tweak a design to your own specific needs. That means that I can use a design and by then upload it to the community page I can say "Thanks for letting me use it, here is my version". If the printed result is supposed to be base for business it is of course handled in a completely different manner and the original CAD file will most certainly not be available on line. The printed result is not very smooth, but that is not a concern on my part as I anyway need to finalize the part and give it a surface finish that suits the use and purpose. I don't believe for a minute that I can get a completely smooth finished part of my slef-built thingy. I am building it to test my precision and abilities and get a working thing out of that exercise. I think this also makes it clear that I am not a tech hpister - I am a eBusiness System Manager handling a major company's eShop activities as a proffession and daily work. At home I actually do enjoy all kinds of activities using hand and machine tools, wood or metal. BR /Peter |
| RobWilson:
I for one think its a marvelous technology, it brings Plastics an engineering material into the home shop , yes the 3DP technology is in its infancy , SO WHAT ! , I can remember when there were no home shop welders , NO STICK ,MIG and hell no TIG . Look now cheap as chips . Plastics are fairly difficult to work with , yerh bar stock is easy but has anyone out there got a plastic injection moulding machine ?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that will be a no then ! 3DP means complex shapes can be made at home by anyone . As the the argument about making toys , yoda's heads and the likes is all they are good for , well thats fine if that all your imagination can only come up with is making wee doodads , me I can see all sorts of uses , pattern making for one , plastic patterns are moisture resistant for one . And what about the machine build , the learning involved is that not part of the fun . To me if it gets kids off frigging with an xbox controller and making plastic gears its all good . And the printing the plastic gun argument :loco:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, WTF ! , get a grip To me the 3DP haters are narrow minded and stuck in the past . At the end of the day its HERE TO STAY , :thumbup: to me its another tool/machine ,medium to be exploited . Rob |
| Arbalist:
Another good article from someone who uses 3D printers for a living. http://gizmodo.com/why-3d-printing-is-overhyped-i-should-know-i-do-it-fo-508176750 |
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