3-D Printing; the next digital Industrial Revolution

mobbsey · Post by **mobbsey** » 06 Jan 2013, 21:06

Catweazle wrote:It all sounds a bit Stalinist, but it's true.

No, it was standardisation which enabled the second phase of the industrial revolution and the expansion of the railways -- e.g. see the impact of Joseph Whitworth

2 As and a B · Post by **2 As and a B** » 07 Jan 2013, 07:09

There would need to be a serious revisiting of IP law if standardisation of parts were to be implemented.

Such standardisation might also lead to stagnation of innovation as well however due to finance imbalances and market inertia, as in the market penetration difficulties any new PC operating system faces, for example; the course for invention would be set in stone, barring any truly radical alternative.

mobbsey · Post by **mobbsey** » 07 Jan 2013, 08:53

2 As and a B wrote:Such standardisation might also lead to stagnation of innovation as well however due to finance imbalances and market inertia

What complete tosh!

It's the threats of action under IP law which act as a bar to innovation today, especially in the mismatched use of IP courts between the largest companies and small developers/inventors. And the developments of corporations and speculators who specifically trade in patents and registered designs -- and then act like trolls who scare, intimidate and ultimately extort money from others when they try and develop similar products -- is perhaps the most egregious example of this process.

More significantly, technology is becoming something that intrinsically involves the use of IP courts in the design process -- as we've seen in the latest wave of mobile devices of late -- which will always act against those without the deep pockets to fend off such actions.

Intellectual property is the greatest fraud to have ever been perpetrated against "the common good"; and thankfully I think it'll be the one of first obstacles to human redevelopment to be removed once politicos seriously take on the issue of ecological limits.

Long live open standards and free designs!... ¡Viva la Revolución!

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 07 Jan 2013, 12:03

And I read about a guy 3D printing houses.

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 07 Jan 2013, 16:11

Just trying to get my head around how much the "ink"cartridges for these printers are going to cost.

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 07 Jan 2013, 16:19

Not very good compared to vinyl...yet!

sam_uk · Post by **sam_uk** » 10 Jan 2013, 00:20

vtsnowedin wrote:Just trying to get my head around how much the "ink"cartridges for these printers are going to cost.

If you get yourself a 'filabot' to go with the printer, just the cost of the power to melt and extrude the recycled plastic: http://filabot.com/

2 As and a B · Post by **2 As and a B** » 16 Feb 2013, 14:41

mobbsey wrote:
2 As and a B wrote:Such standardisation might also lead to stagnation of innovation as well however due to finance imbalances and market inertia
What complete tosh!

It's the threats of action under IP law which act as a bar to innovation today, especially in the mismatched use of IP courts between the largest companies and small developers/inventors. And the developments of corporations and speculators who specifically trade in patents and registered designs -- and then act like trolls who scare, intimidate and ultimately extort money from others when they try and develop similar products -- is perhaps the most egregious example of this process.

More significantly, technology is becoming something that intrinsically involves the use of IP courts in the design process -- as we've seen in the latest wave of mobile devices of late -- which will always act against those without the deep pockets to fend off such actions.

Intellectual property is the greatest fraud to have ever been perpetrated against "the common good"; and thankfully I think it'll be the one of first obstacles to human redevelopment to be removed once politicos seriously take on the issue of ecological limits.

Long live open standards and free designs!... ¡Viva la Revolución!

That's an interesting view. Could you give an example of what might be 'invented' without patents? Or say how something that was developed with protection of patents that would have been developed without them?

Standuble · Post by **Standuble** » 07 Mar 2013, 19:39

I can't believe I've only just heard about this! I'm trying to gather information about the field and I am curious whether they have been able to successfully replicate liquids? If they could print immediately usuable crude without needing to have it extracted or refined (more expensive to create than it is to extract from oil wells but skipping the whole issue of getting it to the consumer so benefits increase in the long run) then I could see it subverting Earth's predicament...at least to an extent. Though I can see EROEI making it pointless. Would you be able to get enough input energy from renewables in order to make a sufficient amount and quality?

featherstick · Post by **featherstick** » 07 Mar 2013, 20:25

Wouldn't you know it?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21639015

Standuble · Post by **Standuble** » 07 Mar 2013, 20:51

featherstick wrote:Wouldn't you know it?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21639015

Can they print the gunpowder for the bullets though? Won't be much good if they can't print or buy the ammo.

featherstick · Post by **featherstick** » 08 Mar 2013, 21:23

Standuble wrote:
featherstick wrote:Wouldn't you know it?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21639015
Can they print the gunpowder for the bullets though? Won't be much good if they can't print or buy the ammo.

In the UK you can buy handloading components without any checks, I believe.

skeptik · Post by **skeptik** » 10 Apr 2013, 11:18

Catweazle wrote:
2 As and a B wrote:I'd be interested to know what the mechanical and chemical strengths of the products are compared to traditional methods of production.
They've got a way to go before making serious structural pieces. I recently read about the method of "printing" stainless steel.

They print a layer of glue, then spread stainless steel dust over it, then the next layer of glue and so on. Once the 3D part is finished it has the strength of wet sand, so it is put into a furnace where molten bronze wicks up into the porous 3D part to give it some strength. Not exactly a "print a part" workflow.

3d printing with metal, titanium & aluminum demo by EOS @ MDM 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApmGFDA6ow

3D Printed Semi-Automatic AR-15 GUN can FIRE off 600 ROUNDS of BULLETS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZRUpmMIQy8

---getting there! Though in the gun demo they used a regular breach and barrel.

Catweazle · Post by **Catweazle** » 11 Apr 2013, 09:32

skeptik wrote: 3d printing with metal, titanium & aluminum demo by EOS @ MDM 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApmGFDA6ow

3D Printed Semi-Automatic AR-15 GUN can FIRE off 600 ROUNDS of BULLETS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZRUpmMIQy8

---getting there! Though in the gun demo they used a regular breach and barrel.

That laser sintering is much more useful than the method I saw. Excellent for custom made parts.

Post by **adam2** » 11 Apr 2013, 09:57

Indeed, the process shows much promise.
Still not suitable for highly stressed parts such as some components of a gun.
And as above I bet that it cant make the ammo ! and whilst it is possible to make your own it is very innvolved and still requires specialist materials.
Also not suited for machines with moving parts that are made of a number of materials, such as a small electric motor.