3D printer
Introduction
According to Wikipedia, retrieved 11:56, 14 October 2011 (CEST), 3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material. 3D printers are generally faster, more affordable and easier to use than other additive manufacturing technologies. 3D printers offer product developers the ability to print parts and assemblies made of several materials with different mechanical and physical properties in a single build process. Advanced 3D printing technologies yield models that can serve as product prototypes.}}
The two most popular 3D printing techniques are:
- fused deposition modeling, also called Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). A typical example are low cost models like the Rapman
- Selective laser sintering: “an additive manufacturing technique that uses a high power laser (for example, a carbon dioxide laser) to fuse small particles of plastic, metal (direct metal laser sintering), ceramic, or glass powders into a mass that has a desired 3-dimensional shape” (Wikipedia, , retrieved 11:56, 14 October 2011 (CEST))
The opposite of additive manufacturing is substractive manufactoring, e.g. using milling machines that take away material from an initial form.
Cheap 3D open source printers
“We didn’t know it, but it turns out that sitting around a table with folks while the MakerBot Cupcake CNC is puttering away and doing its thing and making objects appear where there were none before is really a great community activity! One of the gatherers mentioned that it felt like a geek campfire and it did!” (Pre Pettis, retrieved 17:30, 25 June 2009 (UTC))
Below are the fabbers most popular in June 2009. See also the links in the general section above. All organizations and companies providing designs and selling parts or fully assembled tools do have web sites with a lot of information.
- Fab@Home 3D printer
- Fab@Home, is a project dedicated to making and using fabbers - machines that can make almost anything, right on your desktop. This website provides everything you need to know in order to build or buy your own simple fabber, and to use it to print three dimensional object. Hardware designs and software on this website are open source. This printer can include a dual syringe tool for printing two materials simultaneously.
- The fab@home page lists several Vendors for buying parts.
- The NextFab store sells assembled systems at $3700 (single syringe, clear chassis) and $4175 (two synringe, color chassis). Shipping with FedEx to Switzerland would cost $452.
- Designs are available from the Design Library
- Reprap 3D printer
- RepRap, a British project, is short for Replicating Rapid-prototyper. This 3D printer builds the parts up in layers of plastics. It can be assembled from parts bought in various places.
- RepRap Project (Wikipedia)
- Introduction to Reprap, retrieved 17:25, 24June 2009 (UTC).
- RepRap Official Blog
- Designs can be shared on thingyverse.
- Spare parts: See reprapsource. German company that sells spare parts.
- RepRap derivative - BitsfromBytes
- Bits from Bytes. Sells RepRap kits (£750 / CHF 1270).
- That's the device we acquired. We got it in January 2010 and was assembled by end of Feb 2010 Read the RapMan article. - Daniel K. Schneider Nov 2009/Feb 2010.
- RepRap derivative - A1 Technologies
- A1 Technologies. Sells Rapman systems (£750 / CHF 1270).
- RepRap derivative - Cupcake (MakerBot Industries)
- Cupcake is a 3D printer that works with four kinds of plastic, e.g. ABS (Lego-like) and HDPE (milk-jug like). The founder of this company also is involved in the RepRap research project. So it's another derivative of Reprap
- MakerBot Industries sells CupCake (a 3D prototyper). It includes a Plastruder and an Arduino compatible microcontroller.
- CupCake CNC Basic Kit Product page ($750). A fully assembled tool costs $2'500.
- CupCake CNC overview.
- MakerBot Industries Blog
- CandyFab
- CandyFab Project home page
- CandyFab kits should be available in fall 2009 from Evil Mad Science. The CandyFab 6000 prototype is shown to the right (click to enlarge).
- CandyFab Wiki
- CandyFab (Wikipedia)
- CandyFab Forum
- 3D printing links
- 3D Printing (Explaining the Future, oct. 2011). Includes a review of both commercial and open source printers.
- Three dimensional printing Laboratory (MIT,last update 2000)
Links
On wikipedia
- 3D printing
- additive manufacturing
- selective laser sintering
- fused deposition modeling
- laminated object manufacturing