Talk About It
First of all lets clarify what is meant by 3D printing, well in a nut shell it is a way of fabricating objects made on computer, for for instance if you created a mug using computer aided design, within a few hours you could have the real thing sitting in front of you. It is possible to watch your very creations come to life in true Star Trek fashion, before your very eyes.
To go into more detail, currently printers are fairly slow, limited and not tremendously precise. A home 3D printer will just set up back about ten thousand pounds, but this is not costly considering the first commercially available printers cost at least ten times that amount. 3D printers presently are capable of fabricating objects using silicon and certain types of metal, other substances that have been tested are plaster, play-doh and even chocolate!
Desktop 3d printing Now Accessible
A home 3D printer is about the size of a Microwave and connects directly to a desktop computer running software that controls its work. It then creates objects layer-by-layer by compressing material from a mechanically-controlled squirt. Unluckily printers are somewhat limited in the sense they still generate a fairly rough end product and the time scale it takes to print an object is considerable.
Despite the technical implications, there are huge possibilities for the future of 3D printing. All ground breaking technology starts somewhere, for example in the case of the PC, mainframes had existed for years, but personal computing only took off in the late seventies. A cut-priced self-assembly computer called the Altair 8800, launched in 1975, sparked the rapid development of personal computing. In similar circumstances self assembly 3D printers hope to spark the same rapid development in rapid prototyping.
There are a number of different 3D printers accessible on the market today, all with slightly different advantages, disadvantages, quirks and features. Some interesting projects include an open source 3D printer which has successfully been used to fabricate better parts to replace existing parts on the printer itself. The final goal of 3d printers is to perfectly replicate themselves, allowing much more cost efficient manufacturing.
The future for 3d printing solutions seems very promising, it is the fastest growing part of the rapid-prototyping industry with revenues this year expected to be approximately a billion US dollars. Many industries are showing huge amounts of interest and are seem great potential in different applications where they could utilize three dimensional printing. The US army have experimented using fast prototyping to create parts for broken tanks, guns and other hardware in combat situations. Businesses believe a rapid prototyping machine could prove inestimable in showing factories how to assemble parts remotely, for example in China. Even NASA has requested a high resolution machine to manufacture crucial parts in space.
In Consequently what is stopping you being part of a truly revolutionary technology, which could become one of the major breakthroughs of the twenty first century? 3D printing has merely been science fiction until recently, where it is now most certainly science fact. What can we expect to see in the not so far away future? Well one ultimate goal is printable organic parts, for example replacement organs, identical skin grafts and even limbs, to combat victims of illness, disease and war.
If you want to learn more about 3D Technology, 3D printing innovative ideas and affordable 3d printing you should immediately visit our web site.
Tags: 3D, 3D Design, 3D printing, design, printing
Posted in Technology · January 21st, 2010 · Comments (0)
Contemporary rapid prototyping 3d printing technology can be referred to as method of getting virtual 3D prototype printed onto a 2D object. 3D printing falls in the category of ‘rapid prototyping’ technology. The function usually performed by 3D printers is that of printing consecutive layers on the previous ones for building up a 3D object. It is easier, more affordable, and faster to use 3D printers as comparatiely to other technologies reffred to additive fabrication.
Technologies: Primarily, production of a prototype required a lot of man-hours, tools, and experienced labor. For instance, after creating a novel Street Light Luminaire digitally, drawings used to be sent to accomplished craftsmen where the paper design used to be followed with utmost pains and a 3D prototype used to be formed in wood through the utilization of the entire shop that is full of costly tools and working machinery. One can easily make out that this process consumed a lot of time. Moreover, the skillful labor was not all that cheap. These shortcomings necessitated the need of rapid prototyping.
3D printing has a variation called Inkjet Printing System. It involves binding of fine powder layers (resins, cornstarch, or plaster) by the way of printing a gum from inkjet print head as per the shape of every cross-section as spotted by the CAD file. This is the only technology allowing full color prototypes to be printed. It is believed to be the quickest method.
Alternately, liquids are fed by these machines. Photopolymer is one of such kind. These machines make use of UV (ultraviolet) flood lamp. It is mounted in print head for curing each layer on its deposition. FDM (Fused deposition modeling) makes use of nozzle for depositing molten polymer layer by layer, on the support structure. The other method is Selective Fusing of Print Media in the granular bed. Here, the media that has been unused supports thin walls and overhangs in the piece which is being produced, thereby reducing need for temporary ancillary supports for the work piece.
Ultimately, 3D Micro fabrication technique having a photo polymerization of 2-photons might be used to make ultra small features. Here, the preferred 3D object gets traced out by a completely concentrated laser in a gel block. The curing of gel into a solid takes place only in places where laser had been focused, owing to photo excitation’s non-linear nature. The gel that is left out gets washed away.
Resolution: Resolution is measureddetermined in terms of layer thickness. The X-Y resolution is given in dpi. 100 microns is the characteristic layer thickness. The X-Y resolution is compatible with laser printers. Diameter of the particles, i.e. 3D dots is around 50-100 microns.
Applications: Standard applications are inclusive of design visualization, metal casting, CAD/prototyping, architecture, geospatial, education, healthcare, retail/entertainment, etc. Off late, 3D printing technology is being used in artistic expressions. Its biotechnological applications include bio-printing, computer-aided Tissue engineering, and organ printing.
Self-replication: The common purpose behind using 3D printing technology is its capability to replicate itself. RepRap is one such printer. It has the ability to print plastic parts and circuit boards. It is believed to print metals in future.
If you want to learn more about 3D Technology, 3D printing innovative ideas and cheap 3d printing you should immediately visit our web site.
Tags: 3D, 3D Design, 3D printing, design, printing
Posted in Technology · January 14th, 2010 · Comments (0)