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Title: 3D printing potential
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URL Source: http://by150w.bay150.mail.live.com/ ... e623-11e1-b4fb-002264c2075c&fv
Published: Aug 15, 2012
Author: Nick Hodge
Post Date: 2012-08-15 05:47:54 by Tatarewicz
Keywords: None
Views: 117
Comments: 6
Some things are too phenomenal to tell you about... I have to show you. 3D Printer Isn't that cool? It's a 3D printer. And while this one is demonstrating how easy it is to replicate a Renaissance sculpture, they can be used to create almost any object imaginable... Jay Leno uses one to print hard-to-find parts for the dozens of classic cars in his collection.Jay Leno 3D Printer One was used to print out over 31,000 individual facial features for the upcoming animated 3D film ParaNorman. A Japanese company is even using 3D printers to make lifelike models of your unborn child. No more grainy ultrasound pictures on the fridge. Like I said, they can be used to make anything. Design It, Build It With this new advancement, all you need is an electronic design to make something a reality. If you have a 3D printer, all you need is the digital design of any object to make it. Break the throttle lever off the side of your lawnmower? Print out a new one. Plastic rod broke off the toilet handle? Print a new one. Leave your GPS mount in a rental car? Print a new one. All you have to do is download the design and print a new piece — the same exact way you'd download and print a form. Need a custom part or want to design something brand new? With computer-aided design (CAD), this new industry is turning every garage tinkerer into a modern-day Edison. While millions of parts will be available for download, 3D printing will open the door to inventions and processes we once thought impossible. Engineers can decrease design time exponentially as they'll be able to print and modify designs in their living rooms, rather than having to wait for prototypes from custom manufacturing shops. Engineer Michael Guslick, for example, has already designed, printed, and tested parts for a AR-15 rifle, meaning he can print one out without a serial number from his garage. Think of the implications there. And that's just one of the ways this technology will forever alter the way we think about manufacturing on a global scale. It's why stocks in the 3D printing industry have performed like this over the past year: 3D Printing Stocks So what else can 3D printing do? Made in China Well, Wired magazine says it represents no less than “the next Industrial Revolution.” The Economist says it will “disrupt every field in touches.” Business Insider calls it “the next trillion-dollar industry.” And I personally think it will put an end to seeing so many “Made in China” labels... Why manufacture something in China, pay workers, and then ship it around the world... When you could just 3D print the object next to its end market? It could completely cancel the need for plastic parts, trinkets, knobs, and thousands of other items to be made with exploited labor. And it's starting right now. U.S.-based companies are already 3D printing children's toys that would otherwise be made in China. The University of Southern California has pioneered a way to 3D print an entire house — which would eliminate drywall, switches, fixtures, and more that would typically come from overseas. And related stocks are only going to continue their upward trajectory as the cost of this technology comes down and gets into the hands of millions. A few years ago, a 3D printer cost thousands of dollars. Today you can get one in your house for $500. As with Apple, you'll want to own this industry before its products are in the hands of millions of consumers. I'll have a report out shortly to help you do that. Nick Hodge follow basic@nickchodge on Twitter Nick is an editor of Energy & Capital and the Investment Director of the thousands-strong stock advisory, Early Advantage. Co-author of the best-selling book Investing in Renewable Energy: Making Money on Green Chip Stocks, his insights have been shared on news programs and in magazines and newspapers around the world. For more on Nick, take a look at his editor's page. Poster Comment: Printer probably be made in China.
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#2. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
Being an old line designer, I'm not up on how the parts become usable where only Metal can function. Investment Casting them is the only conversion I'm aware of. Anybody got some inside knowledge?
3D printing of metal objects is already a somewhat of a reality, though the one I saw on youtube required some followup work. First they 3D print a mold of the desired object but it's made of a substance that's porous and fragile. That object is then placed in an oven where it soaks up liquid metal over a 24 hour period. Ideally, 3D printing would spray liquid metal the same way as the resin products, but we're not there yet.
Sounds like Investment Casting (Lost Wax Process) > Investment casting is an industrial process based on and also called lost-wax casting, one of the oldest known metal-forming techniques.[1] From 5,000 years ago, when beeswax formed the pattern, to today’s high-technology waxes, refractory materials and specialist alloys, the castings allow the production of components with accuracy, repeatability, versatility and integrity in a variety of metals and high-performance alloys. Lost foam casting is a modern form of investment casting that eliminates certain steps in the process. The process is generally used for small castings, but has been used to produce complete aircraft door frames, steel castings of up to 300 kg (660 lbs) and aluminium castings of up to 30 kg (66 lbs). It is generally more expensive per unit than die casting or sand casting, but has lower equipment costs. It can produce complicated shapes that would be difficult or impossible with die casting, yet like that process, it requires little surface > BTW, Bill Ruger Pioneered that in firearms. I've used it myself.
#6. To: ndcorup (#5)
You obviously know more about this than I do. If 3D printing can be brought into the metals sector, then that would expand the 3D printing potential substantially.
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#4. To: ndcorup (#2)
Being an old line designer, I'm not up on how the parts become usable where only Metal can function.
#5. To: Pinguinite (#4)
Investment casting ---- http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/Investment_casting much more detail here
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