Will 3D Printing Change the World? | Off Book | PBS - General

3D Printing is of special interest to me because I own a printer, but I thought you guys might enjoy this too [video=youtube;X5AZzOw7FwA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5AZzOw7FwA[/video] edit; Also thought of some links for your browsing enjoyment Massive repository of objects: [url]http://www.thingiverse.com/[/url] Official site of reprap project: [url]http://reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page[/url] And a whole slew of companies I consider good printer vendors/producers: [url]http://www.lulzbot.com/[/url] Has the best "ready-to-run" with no calibrations printer on the market. Mendelmax base, sized down [url]http://trinitylabs.com/[/url] Longtime vendor of MendelMaxes now producing their own printer, the Aluminatus, with some of the highest speeds in the industry and one of the biggest build volumes among repraps [url]http://www.makerstoolworks.com/[/url] Site of the original designer of the MendelMax, now producing the MendelMax 2.0 which is a huge improvement over the 1.5 [url]http://www.ultimaker.com/[/url] Produces one of the best kits on the market, slightly exceeds mendelmax in quality and speed but smaller build volume and an old pic of my printer before I added motors and electronics (mendelmax 1.5+) [IMG_THUMB]http://i.imgur.com/RGBly.jpg[/IMG_THUMB] I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have edit 2; Cheap printer links Makibox: [url]http://makibox.com/products[/url] $200 base model. Currently "vaporware" as orders have been placed and examples exist but none have reached customers yet. Many people in 3D printing have no idea how they got this price Printrbot: [url]http://printrbot.com/[/url] The kickstarter sensation. Known as "wobblebot" by many since it is slow and sparse in features, but is pretty good for a kit. Printrbot jr starts at $500 I believe

Hey you know I might buy one of thes [img]http://puu.sh/2lgeJ[/img] oh

[QUOTE=SockFC;39987423]Hey you know I might buy one of thes [img]http://puu.sh/2lgeJ[/img] oh[/QUOTE] I posted links to the reprap project for that reason. Sub $1000 builds are easy, sub $500 sacrifice features. I'll add some more links to cheap printers in the OP [editline]21st March 2013[/editline] also you guys have no idea how bad I want to setup a paste extruder for chocolate and cake dough

Funny, I just started assembling the Printrbot with my dad today. Can't wait to use it

How accurate would a DIY 3D printer be compared to one that you could buy? Does a DIY one need to be calibrated often? (do commercial printers need calibration..?) Nice video, btw.

What do you think of these? [url]http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/formlabs/form-1-an-affordable-professional-3d-printer[/url] Do you think they have potential to be something affordable by consumers?

Built myself a MendelMax too. Currently designing a Rostock variant. [thumb]http://i.imgur.com/wApMhaZ.png[/thumb]

I wonder how hard intellectual property laws will try to hit this.

One day we're going to look back and laugh at this video "Ha, that's what it used to cost?" "That's how long it used to take?" etc. etc. It'll be like computer evolution but for our generation, which is really awesome since we're at the very start of this mew technology

I don't see how you could prevent creating weapons without outlawing ammunition. Cool invention though. Can't wait to see where this takes us in 20 years. [editline]21st March 2013[/editline] If you have an invention idea, you don't have to spend your life saving in order to get a prototype made. You could just spend 30 bucks and print it yourself.

[QUOTE=Matto;39989626]How accurate would a DIY 3D printer be compared to one that you could buy? Does a DIY one need to be calibrated often? (do commercial printers need calibration..?) Nice video, btw.[/QUOTE] DIY printers can print just as well as kits. Oftentimes, DIY printers within the scope of the "reprap" project will print faster and nicer than commercial ones, but do require more work to operate, and yes, require calibrations Commercial printers usually have massive print volumes and self-calibration. They can also usually easily swap colors through the use of cartridges. A DIY printer will require more calibration, and will have to be maintained, but you get better results for it! Another thing about commercial printers is that material costs are huge- it costs my school $250 for a 1kg spool for out Dimension BST1200ES. It costs me $45 for a 1kg spool. Bit of a difference, yes? :v: [QUOTE=Fatman55;39989899]What do you think of these? [url]http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/formlabs/form-1-an-affordable-professional-3d-printer[/url] Do you think they have potential to be something affordable by consumers?[/QUOTE] SLA is neat. It produces better results but is much slower and you can't reuse some resins after running a print, so even a small trinket can be like $30-$40! I think these will become more affordable and common. SLA and FDM (resin and goopy plastic) are both deadends imo- SLA is limited due to resin costs and FDM is limited on practicality and use. They will however be huge in industry, but not in a home environment. I think molecular printers will take that role. Sorry for the late response but I've been busy with schoolwork and I'm leaving to seattle tomorrow. I won't be on until later at night, have interviews at TLG for aerospace internships. Also, to the fellow assembling the printrbot; If you have a part break that you can replace with plastic, PM me and I'll get a replacement out to you for free. Same with mendelmax guy. Us reprappers have to stick together! Also, [url]http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=reprap[/url] is an amazing resource for questions whether or not you own a printer. You can even ask what design to buy or what costs are and such. [editline]22nd March 2013[/editline] Also, should I maybe create a 3D printing discussion in GD? I think there could be a lot of interest here and I could probably whip up a decent OP on sunday and I might run a raffle on an object