Thread: 3-D Printing
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Quote:
Originally Posted by island911 View Post
3D-printed parts are rarely anywhere near as strong as what they replace.
They can actually be quite strong, but it requires using the right alloys and specialized equipment that is often proprietary. GE is investing billions into 3D printing complex shapes like turbine and compressor fan blades for turbofan and turbojet engines. It allows them to create complex shapes not possible with machined parts.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wdfifteen View Post
A 3-D printer sounds like a great toy to play with. I’ve been thinking about a small milling machine, but maybe I’ll get a printer instead.
It would be fun, but to be useful you have to invest real money. To get the accuracy to scan and reverse engineer parts you're still over $10k just for the scanner, and most of those are size limited.
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Old 02-14-2018, 10:05 AM
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