I think the technology is very cool. Printing a car is a bit of a silly “what if” exercise, IMHO. They did it because they could, and it got LOTS of press. I’d guess the raw material prices would make it very expensive plus some parts wouldn’t be able to be made from this process. High volume production wouldn’t be economical. Small lot production (1 to 25 parts) would make sense. The InvisiLine braces are made this way. Each bite retainer is made to order for a specific individual and intended for a 2 week wear period. Each bite retainer is just a little bit closer to perfect alignment. Perfect application for 3D printing
I, too, think the future is in making molds to then make parts. Molds for Fiberglass or carbon fiber could be made and then the wet or dry composite laid in, vacuum bagged and autoclaved. 2 day body panels, dashboards or suspension arms.
They clearly did it for the press coverage. A better way to get your foundling companies name out cannot be found.
How it evolves is anybody’s guess. I think it’ll become a regular manufacturing process for many deliverable parts. It might make molds. It might make both. Or it might just fade away and become a future historian’s curiosity. Nobody knows.
Why does everyone insist on talking about dental work? I just paid my bill. I lamented to my dentist that a SD dentist just built a million dollar cabin by ours so there must be more money in it than I thought. He said well he must have inherited it. Why he’s still working I dunno. Either broke or greedy. I’ll have to tell him to get a printer-that’s where the real money will be in dental work. Just print me up a new set will ya, I’ll be back after lunch.
@the same mountainbike: “It might make molds” I work for a top-tier auto supplier. We have been using 'Rapid Prototyping" with 3D-printing for more than 10 years to do just that for testing.
The auto industry (at least Chryco) has been using 3d Printers to make mock-up parts for prototyping since the late 80’s. Back then the machines cost as much as a small house.
Interesting video but what a stupid interviewer. “Can the availability of printed guns cause an increase in crime?” Where do they get these guys? Yep, open up a new bank and its just going to encourage more bank robbers. More cars on the road and you’ll have more get-away cars and more car thieve. What logic.
Sure, let me buy a $350 machine and $100 in plastic plus the barrel and firing pin to make a gun that HiPoint makes for $249. Even if I make one for someone else, it is still $200 in materials and $50 for my time. Yeah, that is an ignorant argument.
This “printable gun” issue has raised serious issues. The program was offered on the internet (I don’t know if it’s been removed) and law enforcement agencies went ballistic, including the NSA. It would completely and totally eliminate the possibility of traceability of firearms.
Those who make their livings outside the law would be very willing to spend that kind of money to totally eliminate any possibility of traceability. My guess is that they probably are already. This is pocket change for a drug-running organization, affordable to even to the neighborhood runners. These guys have larger “rounding errors” than this.
When there are already $50 illicit “Saturday Night Specials” around (which are still more reliable than 3D printed guns), I fail to see how 3D-printed guns are going to be any cheaper or more readily available. Maybe somewhat less traceable, but there’s already a whole underworld of black market goods out there.
In urban areas that’s true, however the law enforcement community really doesn’t like the idea of making gun availability quite as easy as it will be if these machines become commonplace in industry… and they already are. Can’t fault them for being concerned.
The drug cartels already buy custom made remote controlled submarines to bring drug shipments in. They could easily make these printed guns in volume and give them out to their network like candy. And not a single one would be traceable.
An 80% lower, a jig to help finish the lower, lower parts kit, upper parts kit and I’ve got a non serial numbered AR-10/15 that’s perfectly legal to own(at this time anyways). Can’t legally sell it, as it’s made for my personal use only.
80% lower for about $80, Jig for about $150, upper and lower parts kits vary by name brand and materials used.
My impression of the technology as it pertains to cars is that it’s very much like fiberglass was in the '50s/'60s. A lot of good things were done with it including the Meyer’s Manx, Corvettes and the customs of Ed Roth and other greats. It was ultimately determined that its weaknesses made it impractical for all but the most expensive cars, but it certainly became a part of the landscape. In other industries, primarily boating and surfboards, it became the staple. Remember that Bruce Meyers was a boat and surfboard maker before he made the first Manx.
But I could be wrong. Carbon fiber laminations have made great strides in the last decade, and their inherent strength and light weight just might end up making them affordable for unibodies once designs adapt fully to the technology and the molding technology advances to where the cost to produce a unibody in CF becomes close to the cost to make it out of metal.
It’s entirely possible that technology to “print” a matrixed material will evolved hat will make this technology able to lay down material in very thin walls, which might make it economically practical for near-finished body parts. Perhaps someone will figure out how to add fibers, making at able to create near-finished structural parts.
I grant you that I sometimes (often?) get overly enthusiastic about new manufacturing technologies. But it keeps my neurons firing. It’s a harmless addiction. Rather than look at a new technology’s weakness, I tend to look at its promise. This technology has potential IMHO.
When they do 1 piece rims, aren’t they already using a similar technology to the 3d printer? I’ve watched videos of them cutting large billet aluminum blocks into rims.
That’s strictly a milling technology, but if one considers that the parameters in the milling machine are driven by bits & bytes rather than a machinist (I’ll pretend punched tapes never existed for these purposes), than I guess you could say there’s a definite connection.
It may even evolve to the point where computer models will download straight to the printer, like is currently used to create prototypes, only it’ll be able to make almost-finished panels or structural parts strengthened with introduced fibers.
Man, I sure wish I could be involved in this technology. I might feel young again. At least for a moment, until I walked into my first design meeting and realized how much I’ve lost.
It doesn’t take long to get out of touch. That’s why we keep hiring young people. Speaking of the old smell of gas, I love the smell of a manufacturing plant. I hope when they start using the new technology, it doesn’t ruin the smell. I remember after four years, finally walking into a plant again and how great it smelled and all the machinery clattering away.