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3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

economist.com

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Re: 3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

#31

Post by rbranson »

steveklabnik wrote: post #22
yxhuvud wrote: post #16

This claim seem about as believeable as the claim that computers would create the paperless society.

The biggest thing that people forget when dreaming about 3D printers is that it doesn't making something from nothing: the materials have to come from somewhere. Even once we get a printer that's easy enough for 'normal' people to use (hard) and a way for them to design the prints that go in the machine (hard) and we make them small and reliable enough that it's acceptable for normal people (hard) you _still_ have to…

I think we are moving away from ownership and towards a more utility/service-oriented society, so I don't think a 3D printer in every home will ever become a reality.

Re: 3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

#32

Post by steveklabnik »

DanI-S wrote: post #29
StavrosK wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I expect it to be similar to what happened with the printing press and computers in that you'll be able to download (/pirate) actual objects. The revolution will be huge.

I'm looking forward to my open source kitchen utensils!

No need to look forward: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1111

Re: 3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

#33

Post by podperson »

nickpinkston wrote: post #2

Good to see the Economist covering 3D printing - it's still amazing to me how much most people, even close to manufacturing, aren't familiar with it at all. FWIW though - the 90% they're referring to is the delta between machining solid parts and printing them. It should be added that this is a rare use-case for 3D printing. Usually it competes more directly with injection molding technologies that often have better…

I was a bit curious about the 90% figure, but a good deal depends on what point in the adoption process we're talking about, e.g.

Use 3D printing instead of milling or whatever for prototype.

Use 3D printing instead of whatever for mass production.

Use 3D printing at point of use.

Simple example: I bought a porcelain teapot a few weeks ago. A few days later we broke the lid. So I bought a new teapot. (The old teapot with the broken lid is sitting on a window sill above the kitchen sink, waiting for glue. A tube of glue costs a substantial fraction of the price of the teapot.)

3D printing could eventually lead to a tectonic shift away from planned obsolescence and disposable culture (which, let's face it, is purely an artifact of mass production).

Re: 3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

#34

Post by nickpinkston »

podperson wrote: post #33
nickpinkston wrote: post #2

Good to see the Economist covering 3D printing - it's still amazing to me how much most people, even close to manufacturing, aren't familiar with it at all. FWIW though - the 90% they're referring to is the delta between machining solid parts and printing them. It should be added that this is a rare use-case for 3D printing. Usually it competes more directly with injection molding technologies that often have better…

I was a bit curious about the 90% figure, but a good deal depends on what point in the adoption process we're talking about, e.g. Use 3D printing instead of milling or whatever for prototype. Use 3D printing instead of whatever for mass production. Use 3D printing at point of use. Simple example: I bought a porcelain teapot a few weeks ago. A few days later we broke the lid. So I bought a new teapot. (The old teapot…

Yea, I'm very much with you. Our goal (at my startup CloudFab) is that by making things for ourselves - or at least closer to what we want - that it'll mean less marketing driven consumer culture and people will want to keep their self-designed goods.

FYI - we can print in ceramics now - so that lid is replaceable if you've got a file ;-)

Re: 3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

#35

Post by nickpinkston »

iwwr wrote: post #26
StavrosK wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I expect it to be similar to what happened with the printing press and computers in that you'll be able to download (/pirate) actual objects. The revolution will be huge.

You wouldn't download a car, would you?

Too late - someone did: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/11/first-3d-printed-car...

Re: 3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

#36

Post by steveklabnik »

bobds wrote: post #30
iwwr wrote: post #6

The cheapest professional machines run into $50K unit prices. A RepRap will set you back under $1K, but it's not very useful at the moment.

They come a lot cheaper than that. The biggest cost is the proprietary materials they use, I'm guessing it would easily add up to more than the cost of the printer over time. Servicing costs should also be pretty high. I've compiled a list of most cheap printers (slightly out of date, I am going to add more soon): http://punkmanufacturing.com/wiki/ As far as usefulness, the open-source printers are not that different…

Most of those materials are reverse engineer-able, though. This has a significant impact on the big manufacturer's bottom lines... they derive most of their profit from materials, just like regular printers.

I'll just leave this here: http://open3dp.me.washington.edu/

Specifically: http://open3dp.me.washington.edu/2009/10/plaster-based-powde...

See how cheap that is? Crazy...

Re: 3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

#37

Post by burgerbrain »

michaeldhopkins wrote: post #18
Kliment wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, that's not entirely true. The lattice structures are internal to the object, and substitute for solid infill. Commercial FDM 3d printers use a crosshatch instead of solid fill, and the reprap toolchain has that as well as a number of cool ones like hexagonal infill. So you have lattices instead of solid walls in the microstructure. With powder printers, such as the metal printers described in the article, you c…

Did you design your printers or buy them? You should write this up and submit to HN.

It sounds like he probably has 3 RepRaps.

Re: 3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

#38

Post by marshray »

jobeyonekenobi wrote: post #5

For me, the point of interest comes from locking down a blueprint distribution model. Everyone can print certain items depending on their access to raw materials/power/specification of fab, but depending on how much they pay for the 'blueprints' will be the difference between generic and premium branding with every tiny difference in between.

Why would someone pay more for "premium branding" on something they print on their own machine?

Granted I don't understand why people pay more for branded clothes either.

Re: 3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

#39

Post by marshray »

rbranson wrote: post #31
steveklabnik wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The biggest thing that people forget when dreaming about 3D printers is that it doesn't making something from nothing: the materials have to come from somewhere. Even once we get a printer that's easy enough for 'normal' people to use (hard) and a way for them to design the prints that go in the machine (hard) and we make them small and reliable enough that it's acceptable for normal people (hard) you _still_ have to…

I think we are moving away from ownership and towards a more utility/service-oriented society, so I don't think a 3D printer in every home will ever become a reality.

That's what IBM once thought about computers too.

Re: 3D printing could reduce raw material needs by 90%

#40

Post by pgroves »

>Mr Schmitt says it should be possible for a robot builder to specify what a servo needs to do, rather than how it needs to be made, and send that information to a 3D printer, and for the machine’s software to know how to produce it at a low cost.

This is where I will shamelessly plug my startup, DesignByRobots. The overview of the technology is here: http://designbyrobots.com/2011/01/17/first-post/

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