What about 3D printing a 3D printer...hhhhmmmm...the clone wars!

I'm looking forward to being able to print out replacement for plastic car parts that crap out, so long as the new one lasts longer than the one before it anyway.

As some else already said, huge impact for us in the medical arena. Replacement parts made to fit each individual made on demand I think would be just the starting point.

Invaluable for rapid prototyping. If you're a patternmaker, you better get in line at the unemployment office - but you'll be behind all the buggy whip makers.

I agree...someone earlier said dental implants...I am a periodontist and place hundreds of implants per year and I have seen no implant mfgr using 3D printing yet. Everyone in dental is fixated on Cad/Cam currently.

A friend who is an orthodontist holds several patents on using 3D printing for orthodontic brackets. My guess is he'll be retired soon.:D

You can buy your own printer at Home Depot.

Reprap.

http://reprap.org/

Dollo

The Dollo 3D Printer Can 3D Print a Replica of Itself in Just 18 Hours – Coming to Kickstarter | 3DPrint.com

Self replicating machines are how we will colonize Mars.

We'll drop off some starter machines and material and they'll build the equipment needed to construct habitats that can be fully operational long before we drop off people.

If the price of them would only get more realistic I'd get one.

I've had exposure to 3D printing both academically and professionally. It's interesting to see different technologies developing for different materials and end goals. Some non-metallic motorsport applications:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453118090.jpg

Looking forward from engine bay, the black air distribution duct would be nigh impossible to make in traditional composite tooling, but it's an easy part to print in "carbon SLS" material which is also used in wind tunnel models, aero bits, air and cooling ducts (cold side only), etc.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453118249.jpg

Part of a brake duct package. The aforementioned carbon SLS type material can't be used directly (although they're improving) in this area. Instead the CFRP duct gets laminated on 3D printed female mould which is removed post-cure then you have an otherwise impossibly difficult inside-moulded part. Obviously this concept is not new, investment moulding has been around for centuries, but only now with new material and new applications. Supposedly our company "pioneered" this technique 10+ years ago, and even now not every so-called "3D printing" specialists know about this use.

One method I found really interesting is the inkjet-paper based one. It's not the sexiest material/technique nor is it the most functional, but for sake of "3D printing", it's true to definition and quite good in high resolution colour stuff (e.g. geographical models). I think the picture below is a DIY attempt but you get the picture (haha, get it?):
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453119412.jpg

This is an interesting application to print metal parts using a MIG welder that Michigan Tech (my alma mater :cool: ) came up with a couple of years ago. Build your own for $1200, cheaper if you already have a MIG.

Open Source Metal 3D Printer

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XZIVJ1Rb48I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I remember seeing some prototypical work with 3D printing at Airventure in the early 90s.

The laser sintered metal powder printers are pretty amazing. Greater than 90% density (right up there with castings) and can be done with 'aerospace' metals.

In fact, nasa 3D scanned one of the Saturn 5 turbo pumps, then printed it, and fired it. Several runs infact!

Rocket Fuel Pump Tests Pave Way for 3-D Printed Demonstrator Engine | NASA

Sparks fly as NASA pushes the limits of 3-D printing technology

You will see a major revolution in how we make goods for ourselves once this tech becomes cheap....companies that make stuff should beware.

Ti6Al4V can be printed directly now:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/brRg-vxSqGU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

In the late 1990s I went to visit a foundry in southern California that specialized in 3D printing technology. Their niche was rapid prototyping. The 3D technology was used to create silicon molds that they would use to cast metal forms with. I saw single cylinder engines that were test models for new engines from many American and especially Japanese car manufacuturers. I might have seen a prototype thay may exist for marine propulsion also, for a very large customer.

Check out 3ders.org or 3dprint.com for the latest info on 3DP. Local Motors has produced functioning cars and medical and aerospace are already using it in end use parts.

Apologies is advance is this has been mentioned already.

Or you could go to a conference I'm involved with organizing : http://forums.pelicanparts.com/go.asme.org/3dprinting

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

I've been using a LulzBot 3D printer for prototyping for almost two years now. I need a plastic part in a particular shape, I describe it to the computer, I tell the printer to "go," and a while later, hey presto, I have a part. It's not magic, and it's not fast, and it's not as perfect and precise as the high-dollar pro machines, but it's been more than enough to prove concepts, build operable prototypes, and get me rolling on some entrepreneurial ventures.

This is a Hop-Hopper, a magical homebrewer's device which automates the addition of hops to beer during the boil. I used 3D printing to develop prototypes, and I've been working with an injection molding shop to refine the concept to improve manufacturability. The current setup has a steel base plate that rests on the side of the brew kettle, with a printed reduction gear and rotor assembly. 3D printed prototypes have been involved in producing a couple of dozen batches of beer so far.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453484066.jpg


So yeah, 3D printing is real. :)

Dan