Over the last few months and as lately as this week I have come across several items about 3D printing of objects. The most recent concerned some guitars and a prosthesis for an injured hand, along with a rifle. A little research revealed a number of raw materials including stainless steel that can be used for the process. Now I am aware of a number of cottage industries that are producing model railroad parts and shells. I also notice that the equipment to perform the work has gotten cheaper as time has passed. Other than printing in metal, how does the finished shell stand up as far as strength when compared to the current methods of producing a locomotive shell? I have also noted some random comments on the slight roughness of some of the material as versus the standard method using plastics, and has this issue been resolved? I also wonder how long it will be before this moves from the basic one person cottage industry to seeing some of the major model manufacturers start cranking out products on an assemble line. I am thinking this process would be cheaper in the long run because of eliminating the production of molds and their related costs. Whether the savings would get passed on to the consumer is another thing.
If you would like to see a good example of what's happening already, check out this link: http://www.shapeways.com/shops/JamesTrainParts James is also on Trainboard. i have already done the 2 post-rebuild water tenders and I am starting on a DD35. (All N scale) Marvelous stuff.
I don't know if any specific major model manufacturers are using these. I'd not be surprised to learn some are already equipped. We all know the generic operations of Shapeways, and there are a couple of others I have heard either exist or came and went by now. If not, probably next year, as the latest generation equipment comes into greater use, with better material formulas, and much finer capabilities. The cottage industries are actually spinoffs, as the 3D equipment makers are seeking broader markets. This concept was first introduced with uses in mind such as micro-computing, aerospace and medical applications.
Bowser bought a 3D printer a while back. I'm not expecting major manufacturers to get too much into 3D printing. First of all, the quality is still a ways off to compete with injection molding. Second, unless a company want's to invest resources into lost wax or similar casting, they won't be able to compete with the cottage industry that 3D printing is going swing the doors wide open for. It's going to be interesting to see how 3D printing reduces the role of the major manufacturer and also to see how they respond. Jason
i'd buy a 3d printer any time. unfortunately getting someone to do all the cad drawing at reasonable prices is difficult.
I'm hoping it gets much better in the near future.I was astonished yesterday.I was a totally printed combat 1911 in Stainless steel,it looked fantastic.The "grain" was visible,but on a gun,it just looked like machining.If this technology gets better and cheaper in the near future,I could see myself buying one..
Actually the quality is already here. New equipment and materials rolled out earlier this year which stepped far ahead of where we've been. But it is not yet available to smaller industries, due to initial cost. This is all big time venture capital stuff. Another wave is getting ready to hit, if as described, perhaps early to mid-next year. When it trickles down to where hobbyists will see the results is the only question. It was only a few years until the first personal use capable machines became available. This round might happen more quickly.
It is interesting to see the responses. I see this field as one of those that is making some very quick advances and was astonished to see stainless steel as one of the materials along with gold, silver, and platinum. Even wax patterns for lost wax casting. As pointed out it takes skill with a computer to input the data correctly to have a product come out right. For myself I cannot justify one since I will not ever be in business again. I have retired twice and have no desire to go at it again and producing things for others would be the only way to recoup the costs. What I do see is a line up of these machines on an assembly line in China, or India, producing parts for Atlas or Bmann or anyone else in the field. I see the mold making art diminishing as an occupation in a few years as the computer whiz takes their place and injection molding becoming old technology. I have no idea how many machines would have to be lined up on a factory floor to equal the output of injection molding but something tells me the process run on three shifts a day can probably do it. Molds do wear out eventually while a computer program can be saved for use years later. I haven't found any data as of yet on the service life of a 3D printer which would be an as yet unknown factor. In a quick post script I just found that the current life expectancy of a 3D printer is between five and ten years.
OR...They still do injection molding,but use one rapid prototyping machine to make molds in metals like stainless steel,which would last forever,and be almost impossible to make by conventional machining methods..When I clicked on that link to look at that stainless 1911 last week,I expected a crude,simple looking,stoneage gun.What I saw was a beautiful,modern,well finished combat piece comparable to any mid price range piece..Really impressed..
John, that greatly depends on the material used to produce the product and the amount of corrosion caused by the material. For instance I assume plastics would be fairly benign, whereas metals would be far more corrosive, depending on their hardness. My grandson is experimenting with a 3D printer that is using titanium. He says that titanium is quite corrosive to the printer. He hadn't determined the printer's useful life in terms of product cycles, but felt that it would not be more than two or three at this stage of printer technology development. Furthermore, I believe that 3D printers would be economical only in the one-off or very low quantity specialty market. The capital investment required to purchase the number of printers needed to equip a high volume assembly line capable of competing in today's retail marketplace probably would be beyond any manufacturing company's financial capabilities. EDIT...I think Lou's concept of prototyping and mold making probably is the best use of 3D printers for the near term.
I agree with this at the moment. I've been researching these things with a passion over the last year - I really REALLY want my own 3D printer but just can't afford the high resolution ones right now. I do plan on purchasing a decent "low-res" printer in the very near future. The high resolution printers take too long to produce a single model so the mass runs probably aren't a good fit right now. However I recently saw a tech that could gain some serious traction where the high quality print outputs we need (as n-scalers) will print in minutes versus the "hours" by what's in use today. Theoretically I could print out 15 of my Little Joe models in an hour with it, maybe 18 if I arrange the models optimally. And this would be on a consumer priced hi-res printer. Technology has always proven that where there's a will there's a way, and my personal philosophy is if you can think it, you can do it. So I wouldn't be surprised if we had an "almost instant" print mechanism in the next decade. These are indeed exciting times for the tinkerers out there!! Mike
Well okay, technically the quality has been here for 10 years. That's when I got my first prints from a Prefectory Machine. But those are $100,000. Now that some patents have expired, we are seeing the future on 3D printing for our applications, mainly resin cured by light. We are probably going to be on the tails of jewelry makers which will good and bad. The bad being build size where we may struggle to get space for even a 40' box car. HP is supposed to announce their intentions sometime after their fiscal year which is this month. That could play a big part in home 3D printing. Jason
I first saw a 3d printer about 17 years ago when I was working for McDonnell Douglas. It was a stereo lithography type. The parts I saw looked very nice, but then it was a VERY expensive version. The thing that bothers me is the strength of the product for critical applications. Like the gun, the pressures involved are very high and I can't see how they can produce a part with the strength. In our case, it made parts for prototype models and proof of concept. I am sure these issues are being addressed, but it makes me wonder. That being said, I just saw that Dremel has a home version 3d printer about to be released. Interesting stuff. Trey
While looking for life expectancies on 3D printer I also came across that China is currently producing them and so far has the largest one made as of this time. Typically there when something may boost their economic well being the government tends to be backing a lot of the development. And if they think they can corner the market stand back.
Trey,I looked long and hard at that gun,and it looks like a solid mass..It looks like there are machined surfaces on it,if they're as printed,the finish is magnificent.I have to immagine the metal is deposited by some sort of electrical discharge,like electroplating,which produces a solid coating one particle at a time.Actually,if you have any doubts,here it is..
I have had an Afinia 3d printer for almost two years now. The quality is acceptable for larger items, HO scale buildings, but smaller items, like windows, are marginal at best. I have also printed small items at shapeways for three years. I have an SLA printer on order, but it probably won't get here for a month or two. Many of the items I have printed can be viewed at nvrr49.blogspot.com.
I am eagerly awaiting the time when 3D printers can produce prototype pole line cross-arms. View attachment cross arm.pdf
Wow, that does look pretty nice. I have to admit, I have done next to no research on the capabilities. I guess my production background makes me suspicious just from what I know that it takes to produce parts the old fashioned way. Then again look at the leaps we made in aviation in a short time. In my grandfather's lifetime we went from first flight to the the space shuttle. Thanks for the picture. Trey
Look at the leaps and bounds we've made on everything..I was head of all things mechanical at a huge direct mail marketing company from 1980-1990.I used to work on two production laser printers we had..Now,they were relatively fast,they did 2 sheets a second,but they were probably 18 feet long,weighed at least a ton,and cost Over $1,000,000.00!!! If you really look that gun over,there's a little roughness on the front of the grip frame under the trigger guard..Also,if you look closely,he printed i the first line of the Second Amendment..Why he named it "REASON",I have no idea..Kinda ruined the whole thing for me,LOL!!Something comparable to that would be in the $1200.00-$1800.00 range.As is,a lot of these guns you see now are metal matrix,this may actually be better..
