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The ability to print metal objects could be useful, when one is in the middle of nowhere and needs a gear for an application. It could also be used to "print" guns and other weapons, and this could be a bad thing. But imagine being able to print an extra set of eating utensils when one has too many guests for one's silverware chest. Or a sharp knife for skinning that deer you just brought down with your 3D printed gun. The possibilities are mind-boggling.


If you don't care for reality, just wait a while; another will be along shortly. --A Rose

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speaking of printers , I once worked in a print shop and
they used a chemical etching method to make the print dies for
images.

using a photograph , a plastic sheet was produced that only had
the dark colors printed on it.

the plastic sheet was then placed onto a thin sheet of metal.

then chemicals and light were used and this reacted to eat away the metal that was exposed to the light and this formed a raised print that could be attached to a drum printer.

I dont see why this could not also be used to make metal parts
with , you could stack each etched piece on top of each other and
then fire them in an oven to get the final product.



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Originally Posted By: paul


I dont see why this could not also be used to make metal parts
with , you could stack each etched piece on top of each other and
then fire them in an oven to get the final product.



Sounds complicated. Probably way too complex to do on a DIY basis. It doesn't sound like something you could do under computer control, since the oven step would have to be extra.
Bill


C is not the speed of light in a vacuum.
C is the universal speed limit.
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Quote:
Sounds complicated. Probably way too complex to do on a DIY basis. It doesn't sound like something you could do under computer control, since the oven step would have to be extra.
Bill


but that is how it is done currently.



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They have a printer that uses welding rods. It's not very accurate as of yet, but the concept is solid.
Working in a manufacturing environment, I certainly hope to see economical versions of these in a decade or two. Prototyping costs are insane in my industry, and I would love to avoid those. Every prototype cost avoided, is another potential raise for my employees, and maybe myself.


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I just had an excellent idea , on a 3d printer but it isnt
anything like the current types of 3d printers.

and it actually uses printer paper !

and glue of all things !!

but it only produces a reuseable mold that is used in casting
plastics.

sorry , thats about all Im going to say about it.


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So, now Phys.Org has a report on the various methods used in 3-D printing. The engineering behind the 3-D printing revolution

Paul, one of the methods bears some resemblance to one of your suggestions, but is a little more thought out.

Bill Gill


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I guess you are talking about the one that uses laser light to harden a glue like substance into a shape.

I didnt see anything that uses printer paper in the way that Im thinking about using it.

but Im thinking that metal sheets might be better than paper sheets , for durability for a model.

but I suppose you could just use a roll of aluminum foil to get a durable shape.

either way would create alot of waste material which a power bed printer does not produce.

I guess it would all boil down to the price of the printer and the cost of building material if the final product produced is
similar in quality , and those 3 things would probably be what
would get it sold or not.

I never knew that 3d printing was called
"additive manufacturing"
before today, but the name manufacturing doesnt quite fit in
does it?

maybe they are not referring to an assembly line type of manufacturing where parts are built en masse and then assembled.

using a 3d printer for that type of manufacturing could get extremely time consuming and costly , I would think that using
a 3d printer should be mainly in prototype design and mold making for casting molds to be used in manufacturing.

perhaps "addititive tool manufacturing" would be a better choice.



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Additive Manufacturing is kind of a large term.I'm not sure where it came from. I think they do use it for manufacturing some specialized parts in the aerospace industry. That is for short run specialized items. For the near future I expect that it won't be very good for large scale manufacturing. It is good for prototypes and one off items that are built for special purposes. Some of the uses that have been mentioned are things like medical implants, which can be built to order to fit an individual. That is a kind of manufacturing.

With a little more development they might be able to start building small complex parts that would be hard to build with other techniques. One thing I can think of right off hand would be electronic circuit boards. They tend to have intricate patterns that are made by coating the board with metal, then removing everything that isn't wanted. You might be able to take the bare substrate and print the metal onto the board more easily than removing the excess. I think though that it would take more development to speed the process up. After all they make circuit boards in extremely large numbers right now.

Bill Gill


C is not the speed of light in a vacuum.
C is the universal speed limit.
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