reprap

[hobiesound]

anyone ever tried or even build one of these machines?

Can't really think of any uses for audio other than fabrication of knobs (sans brass inlay and set screw) but i'm thinking about building one of these, just for the fun of it. They can be modified to facilitate pcb fabbing with either a dremel or attaching a pen with etch resist.

greetings,

Thomas

 

[12volts]

A linky would be nice so everybody can have a look, go on, you know it makes sense :O)

Frank B.

 

[hobiesound]

google,  guys! .............seriously. 

reprap.org but it's been more down than up the past few days...

here's a introduction video for more info. Basically it's a self replicating machine. At least that's the goal. The first one could print 50% of it's own parts. Since it's an evolutionary process you can upgrade your reprap by printing updated parts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMhG4fWQnlE

greetings,

Thomas

 

[gemini86]

That's what I want, is to read apost that then gives me a job to do... 

 

[Marik]

Nowdays there are 3D scanners, which are capable of making a 3D image of any part, converting it into CAM file and then cutting out of any material of your choice (of course, machine limitations apply). You could do anything you wish--Neumann capsule backplate reversing--no problem, an exact bronze copy of your face--take a deep breath... So the reprap is just a toy, limited to a plastic replication.

Best, M

 

[hobiesound]

So the reprap is just a toy, limited to a plastic replication.

the raprap is just a few years old and indeed still limited to plastic parts and indeed it's basically just a toy. But i'm thinking in a bigger picture. They are working on being able to deposit different materials than plastics. Like for instance grounded granite mixed with epoxy for really solid objects. And the parts for said extruder could theoretically be printed by the reprap in the future.

i'm really impressed by the whole thouht process behind it. I know there are 3d scanners and i know there are cnc lathe's and routers but that's not why i brought it up.

think about it, what if everyone or every community had a 3d printer capable of printing nearly everything. Factories would be obsolete. You either design a part yourself or buy the plans online and only print what you need at the cost of the electricity/material/design.

take a deep breath .... the future is nearer than we think.

greetings,

Thomas

 

[grantlack]

helped a friend build a makerbot cupcake cnc... it's genuinely terrible.  while there's something to be said for getting your feet wet with a pre-packaged build to see its faults, imho the sum of those faults make it pretty useless even as a toy.  in my estimation, one would be best served by first building a cnc and then investigating the swap between spindle and laser/plastruder/pinwheel/food processor etc.  i'd be shocked if the skeinforge software couldn't be adapted to suit a larger (read: useful) build surface, and by starting out with a sturdy machine you'd make a successful print less of a crap shoot.

 

[gemini86]

So the reprap is just a toy, limited to a plastic replication.

the raprap is just a few years old and indeed still limited to plastic parts and indeed it's basically just a toy. But i'm thinking in a bigger picture. They are working on being able to deposit different materials than plastics. Like for instance grounded granite mixed with epoxy for really solid objects. And the parts for said extruder could theoretically be printed by the reprap in the future.

i'm really impressed by the whole thouht process behind it. I know there are 3d scanners and i know there are cnc lathe's and routers but that's not why i brought it up.

think about it, what if everyone or every community had a 3d printer capable of printing nearly everything. Factories would be obsolete. You either design a part yourself or buy the plans online and only print what you need at the cost of the electricity/material/design.

take a deep breath .... the future is nearer than we think.

greetings,

Thomas

Let's be honest, there's not way to rapid proto ANYTHING for as cheap as factory mass production. As well as the fact that printed objects do not have the same strength properties as solid aluminum billets, or steel for that matter, ans yes, sometimes things DO need to be made from those materials.

3D printers are really great for prototyping, or building a working prototype, or in some rare cases good for small manufacturing runs, but will never be able to do what factories do.

It would be cool to have one to make me a bunch of old school RCA knobs...

 

[keefaz]

It would be cool to have one to make me a bunch of old school RCA knobs...

Yes, it could be cool for custom push button caps, fantasy vu-meter bezel shapes, custom led lighting guides for bargraph display maybe (dunno if it works with acrylic material)

 

[Marik]

3D printers are really great for prototyping, or building a working prototype, or in some rare cases good for small manufacturing runs, but will never be able to do what factories do.

It is not the 3D printer what makes the part, but CNC machine. The printer just takes an image (CAD drawing), which later gets converted into CAM and then programmed into the machine. So if you have a good and robust CNC machine you can do anything that factory does. I saw production HAAS and Hardinge machines in people's garages...

It would be cool to have one to make me a bunch of old school RCA knobs...

http://www.leedsradio.com/parts-knobs.html

Best, M

 

[Marik]

think about it, what if everyone or every community had a 3d printer capable of printing nearly everything. Factories would be obsolete. You either design a part yourself or buy the plans online and only print what you need at the cost of the electricity/material/design.

Indeed, this is scary! What's next?--cloning things on atomic level? cloning life?

Best, M

 

[abechap024]

This makes me excited...it makes sense, what they say about all of us just having mini factories in our own homes.

 

[gemini86]

A concerned CNC can't stamp steel or extrude aluminum. That was my only point.

EDIT: thanks again auto-correct.