Going to put companies out of business?

Thats because you are not using a 3D monitor <g>

Ian

Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) is already being used to make precision components out of high-strength heat resisting alloys. The days of experiments with plastics are well behind us.

That said, the Roll-Royce Heritage Trust stand at the recent Bristol Model Engineering and Hobbies Exhibition featured a fascinating exibit. It was a cut-away model of a small radial piston engine which showed all the main moving parts - crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons etc. A small handle on the back allowed the crankshaft to be rotated and the movement of the parts to be studied. The astonishing thing was that this was made, from plastic by ALM, not as a series of parts for subsequent assembly, but as a finished, assembled unit! How the piston/cylinder and crankpin/connecting rod clearances were achieved defies belief.

The company that made it were exhibiting their ALM machines at Farnborough and used this little engine as a demonstration model. When they heard that RRHT were coming to Thornbury, they made an example available for display on the stand.

Engineering manufacturing processes are not just changing, they have already changed. I don't think that I would put money into a foundry now. The company that made these ALM 'printers' as they call them, is apparently of the opinion that, soon, "every home will have one". Imagine producing a set of GWR cylinder/smokebox saddle assemblies with all the ports and passageways in situ (and perhaps the pistons, valves and rods already in place). The mind boggles.

Geoff

Interested to read your comments about THIS latest development in 3D printing:

 http://tinyurl.com/9l5kpky

Greetings, Hansrudolf

Edit: trying to produce a link -ok seems to work!

Edited By Versaboss on 21/09/2012 22:09:40

Hansrudolf,

I promise to read it properly, tomorrow [it does look very interesting]

.... But my immediate reaction was:

"Now they're going to build Androids, not just Robots."

MichaelG.

The original title of this thread was "Trying to put companies out of business "

After reading the link above I think it's more like trying to put Lab Rats out of business.

All of the inorganic systems mentioned already are available now to the home user, look up Shapeways or Moddler for bureau services, printed straight into metal - no problem sir, bronze perhaps?

In the bespoke jewellery business which is where I live it is not uncommon to design a piece on cad, have the customer approve the model, bang the file off to a bureau and cast straight from the returned plastic model.

I have a home type 3d printer on order and fully intend to use it that way and I'll be very suprised if it doesn't make a few bits for my models as well.

Andy

At "under £9K" plus £13 material cost, to make a totally useless plastic facsimile of an adjustable spanner, could I ask WHY? this could be injection moulded for a fraction of the cost, and a lot faster too. That Denford are promoting this kit shows it will be sold to schools so budding "designers" can make things that look like real things (but aren't), and are also totally useless. The biomedical uses for this machine are groundbreaking and have huge potential. As far as model making is concerned, I would have thought that a model made with one of these machines is a worthless plastic (or metal) facsimile of the real thing, like real model making, but with all the skill taken out of it! It's (as Bill Hicks said)" Pornography with the pornography cut out of it!

Phil

Because it has the Denford name on it and they only sell in a cartel to education authorities.

End of story.

Bet it cant make jam!

Not at home at the moment but it works ok on my Android tablet.

Russell.

Russell,

First, my apologies for being rather abrupt in that note.

Second ... You will see that David Clark worked his customary magic.

He has edited your post to reduce the size of the of the video frame.

MichaelG.

Interesting topic this, I can confirm one thing that additive layer manufacturing is not going to put any company out of buisness in the next 5 years despite the sales pitch, It will however allow lots of companies to start up selling snake oil.There are a few however that will trully break ground with their application of 3d printing

I can see my own daughter making her on products using one to make toys or stuff in the next 5 years or so .

Edited By mike mcdermid on 22/09/2012 20:33:34

Edited By mike mcdermid on 22/09/2012 20:37:57

I'm seriously think about reprap. You can already buy Raspberry Pi cases made on a rapid prototyping machine. I can think of dozens of uses for one.

Neil

Quote from the bioprinting article "new use to something very old that we all have at home, which is the inkjet printer."

Seems like the writer is ........very young.

Check out the SumPod basic, £250 for the fully soldered kit, just needs assembling. I've got mine on order, hoping to get it in the next few weeks.

had a reprap Huxley from Easter, took 2 weeks to assemble and wire up, 3 weeks to suss out the computer speak and set up the laptop and about 10 weeks to get repeatable results....

That said, it is the most amazing piece of kit I have used to date.....you are only limited by the size 140x140x140mm and your cad programme - "Tinkercad" designed for kids but accurate to 0.1mm is brilliant, was using Solidworks originally but is too sophisticated for the Huxley slicing software.

Bazyle,

Perhaps we could persuade these clever youngsters to think back another generation of hardware ... a 9 pin Dot Matrix printer would make a lovely sub-miniature panel-beating machine !

MichaelG.