21–26 of 26 posts
In that particular Stephenson's universe post offices were places with large direct-manufacturing chambers which produced items from provided blueprints. The book wasn't otherwise that good - however, the idea of not receiving physical items but their manufacturing descriptions certainly left an impression.
Is it just me or would the material strength of 3D printed items have to become exponentially better for them to become a success for any kind of serious use? I mean they mention car parts in the article - that would require more than an evolution in part endurance, it would have to be a revolutionary increase? I guess you can use them to make molds for stronger parts but you cannot make the strong part itself. Would…
>"Is it just me or would the material strength of 3D printed items have to become exponentially better for them to become a success for any kind of serious use?" Today I used a polymer extrusion printer to create a prototype in the lab. I used PLA, one of the two most common polymers for this type of 3d printing, and it is a very strong model. It's as strong as any injection molded instance of the same object would b…
Except that anything large enough or detailed enough to be worth printing takes many hours to run. Not a great "stop by and get something printed" use case. I think the best type of business here is a "upload your file and receive the part in the mail in 2 days".
Nice to see an established player be forward thinking with repect to a technology that could be disruptive to their core business.
Is it just me or would the material strength of 3D printed items have to become exponentially better for them to become a success for any kind of serious use? I mean they mention car parts in the article - that would require more than an evolution in part endurance, it would have to be a revolutionary increase? I guess you can use them to make molds for stronger parts but you cannot make the strong part itself. Would…
> Is it just me or would the material strength of 3D printed items have to become exponentially better for them to become a success for any kind of serious use? Well, right now with today's technology you can 3D print multishot guns and rifles. http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/6/4304164/video-of-defense-di... http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/20/4348360/lulz-liberator-gun... http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/4/4588162/worlds…
I would think car parts have to last considerable longer under stress.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> but it doesn't make sense for it to be on a retail floor then It's showmanship and a selling point. many 3d printers smell aweful too. Doesn't mean they're not still a spectacle.
Generally speaking, 3d printing doesn't smell that bad. In a well ventilated area many people can't even pick up on the smell at all. It's certainly no worse than the an unfamiliar smell you may encounter in an automotive garage. To say it's awful is a tad much. If you are talking about the most common types of 3d printers on the market today, polymer extrusion printers, the smell is entirely dependent on the polymer…
From a OSHA perspective, I believe abs printers at least should be externally vented.