3D printers. I think I'll buy one.
 

I had a couple prototype parts made with a Makerbot recently, they turned out... OK.

Had a stereolithography print made and picked it up today. Pretty impressed what the Formlabs laser-gel printer can do. MUCH higher resolution.

This might just be a serviceable part, until we can go for plastic-injection. I wish I could have seen it before he did some finish-sanding on it...



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1421533777.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1421533799.jpg

By comparison, here's the first Makerbot print.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1421533824.jpg

At my former aerospace employer we used to make a ton of prototypes with stereolithography (SLA). It was only suitable for short term flight testing, and even then it would sometimes break. Fused deposition molding (FDM) is very similar but makes for more robust parts.

This technology is very cool. Often we have inventors approach us with ideas that are halted because of upfront tooling costs. I can't work for free but wish them well. Even STL was out of reach for many. Now these 3D printers may allow these folks a shot at getting their dream launched and that is a great thing.

Tooling costs were a major problem with me, as well, especially with no way of knowing which design iteration would work well on the widest range of guitars. This was a project started way back in 1998. Making them by hand was a PITA, so I made very few for certain customers. They all had to be custom fit.
With the 3D printing we can test various designs for compatibility, and see what simple modifications the end user can do to adjust fitment, etc.

Just so you know, These are not your HP (Plug & Play) printers.

Huge maintenance and hassle. (ask me how I know)

Do you want to learn G-code?

Do you want to know about the amorphous and hygroscopic nature of the various plastics?

Do you want to be unclogging nozzles and cleaning extruders?

Last I checked, there were guys on Craigslist pimping out their 3D printers for cheap. -you pay for just the build time.

Seems you would be smart to let others deal with the time-suck of printer management, so that you can focus on your business/customer side of things.

The Formlabs machine is pretty cool. I'm glad to see that they made it to market. Last I heard, they were being sued by 3D systems, but looking back now, the suit was dismissed with prejudice. Good news for us.

If any of you would like to have parts made by the 3D printing process, you can use printing services like Shapeways. They'll happily make you just one (or even one hundred) of your part at a reasonable cost and ship it right to your door. They have a selection of materials to suit various needs too. We use them for R & D projects here at work, and I've had no-longer-available plastic parts made for my old VWs too. If you're not making loads of parts, using these services is a good cost-effective way to utilize this technology.

Shapeways - 3D Printing Service and Marketplace

Semi hijack, there's a good documentary on 3d printer startups on Netflix. Called "Print the Legend".

Back to Wolfe.

I bought a Lulzbot Taz 3 a year ago for some startup work. This technology is really nifty, but requires a LOT of babysitting. There are all kinds of interesting problems, from calibration to bed adhesion to printing certain shapes that just ... don't want to be printed.

Or in other words, I second what Island911 said. If you can find someone else to manage the actual prints for you, it may well be better in the long run.

They are selling Makerbot at Samsclub.

Print The Legends was a good show. It has some info about the aforementioned Formlabs3D systems lawsuit.
I haven't seen the Makerbot at Sam's Club, but I did hear that Stapes is sellig tnhem as well. And Home Depot has a Dremel unit for $999.

Be cool to make small models of people's cars for them, or pets, or their homes.

or buildings...

World's first 3D-printed apartment building constructed in China - CNET

I use shapeways, and have always been pleased with their product. Unfortunately they're not especially fast, but their production estimates are usually fairly accurate.
Shameless plug for my humble shapeways shop:
Graham's Parts on Shapeways

I have had very good luck with my Prusa i3 kit. Has an 8x8x8" build volume. I have been making parts for the last year and a half with good luck. Usable bike and car parts, an RC quad copter, and even some prototypes for the office at a fraction of the cost of commercial prints.

Once the unit is set up, fiddling is a minimum. These days i can CAD up a part, have it printing in minutes, and ignore it until its done.



Ive bought a second kit for parts and started building a bigger machine.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...psqpcrx16e.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...psg72fokql.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...psfohixo1p.jpg

Here's the car we 3-D printed. It turned out pretty good. ;)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1421854202.jpg