3d Printing.

[Jacen Marx]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aghzpO_UZE

 

This is so cool.

[CrossCuT]

3D printing is a pretty awesome new technology that will likely be the next big thing.

I have read about how scientists would like to eventual develop the technology to act as a terraformer for new habitable planets. Or even on planets like mars where the 3D printer is sent up there and designed to use the natural resources to build shelter and living structures. 

[CatherineM]

I saw where one was used to recreate a bone that had been crushed preventing the need to amputate.

[CatholicsAreKewl]

Imagine a world inundated with 3d printers with artificial intelligence. They can create their own 3d printer army to overtake the human race.

[Ice_nine]

I remember people on the internets flipping out about a gun you can make with these printers.

[Jacen Marx]

I remember people on the internets flipping out about a gun you can make with these printers.

 

Yeah that's dumb.  They clearly aren't thinking haha.  First off these printers are expensive.  The materials to print are expensive.  I doubt they would make an effective gun.  You still need to have something to propel the projectile.  And it would probably be easier to just get a gun the normal way (or through the black market as I assume they are worried about criminals using this).

[Jesus_lol]

Nope, the real stupid thing about making a gun with 3d printers, is that it is by far not the easiest way to make your own firearm.

 

7 dollars of plumbers pipe, a cap and a metal screw are all that it takes to make an effective and relatively safe and reusable shotgun. Also highly concealable.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1wV3lmbSv4

 

Ammunition is easy to find, and target shooters and hunters have been making their own and reloading it for centuries, its quite easy to do.

 

There are other plans on the internet for easy to make pistols, submachine guns(some showed up in Australia recently), etc. Heck, the ww2 Sten submachinegun was designed to be able to be built in a garage, with minimal tools or supplies.

 

These sort of improvised weapons (zip guns) are found in loads of wars or revolutions where one side has limited access to weaponry. Syria has a bunch right now.

 

Even the best 3d printed gun is a single use, single shot small caliber pistol. It is also bulky and would cost thousands to make.

 

The hysteria about 3d printed guns is just painfully ignorant, or manufactured. As long as hardware stores have existed, you can make your own guns that are far better than what 3d printing can offer right now, barrel and all.

[ardillacid]

We should ban hardware stores. 

[Nihil Obstat]

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Edited August 24, 2013 by Nihil Obstat

[Nihil Obstat]

I have a bit of a different perspective on the 3d printed guns issue. I think the 'excitement' is more because of the symbolism of a printed gun, much more so than its effectiveness or lack thereof. The fact that a functioning gun can be printed (even if it only is functional for a half dozen rounds or less), means that ultimately the ability to manufacture and possess firearms ultimately belongs to the average person, not to the government.

So essentially a printed gun is a symbol of casting off dependence on the nanny state. Just my two cents anyway.

[CatholicsAreKewl]

I have a bit of a different perspective on the 3d printed guns issue. I think the 'excitement' is more because of the symbolism of a printed gun, much more so than its effectiveness or lack thereof. The fact that a functioning gun can be printed (even if it only is functional for a half dozen rounds or less), means that ultimately the ability to manufacture and possess firearms ultimately belongs to the average person, not to the government.

So essentially a printed gun is a symbol of casting off dependence on the nanny state. Just my two cents anyway.

 

How the hell does one maintain such political views in Canada?

[arfink]

I like 3d printing, and rapid manufacturing in general. I got a laser cutter, which is classed as a rapid manufacturing machine, because it was more along the lines of what I wanted to do/make, and more in my price range. However there are 3d printers in the under-$10k price range now, and some of them are actually halfway decent. I'd love to have one, but I'm going to wait until the latter half of 2014 to go shopping for one because that's when the Stratasys patents on sintering powdered plastics expires, and the quality of third-party and hobbyist grade 3d printers will skyrocket as this better technology is freed up for the rest of the industry to use.

 

Interestingly enough, 3d printing has been around since the 1980s I believe, but it's only in the past few years that the machines have become widely available and cheaper. A filament-extrusion based 3d printer isn't very useful for industrial applications, and used to cost $40k, but now you can get a very nice extrusion -basedsystem for $1000, and an OK one for $600.

[Era Might]

I like 3d printing, and rapid manufacturing in general. I got a laser cutter, which is classed as a rapid manufacturing machine, because it was more along the lines of what I wanted to do/make, and more in my price range. However there are 3d printers in the under-$10k price range now, and some of them are actually halfway decent. I'd love to have one, but I'm going to wait until the latter half of 2014 to go shopping for one because that's when the Stratasys patents on sintering powdered plastics expires, and the quality of third-party and hobbyist grade 3d printers will skyrocket as this better technology is freed up for the rest of the industry to use.

 

Interestingly enough, 3d printing has been around since the 1980s I believe, but it's only in the past few years that the machines have become widely available and cheaper. A filament-extrusion based 3d printer isn't very useful for industrial applications, and used to cost $40k, but now you can get a very nice extrusion -basedsystem for $1000, and an OK one for $600.

 

Do you see a real consumer application for 3D printing? The consumer application for desktops is obvious...especially with the Internet. Do you see the same practical use for 3D printers? I'm not sure it has the same appeal as desktops / smartphones / etc. A company will have to prove that.

[arfink]

Commercial appeal? Well screw that. I'll take a Star Trek replicator whether someone bills it like that or not. You must not make much, or you'd instantly know that a 3d printer has a gazillion applications for the home, much as an inkjet printer does, but more useful still. A 3d printer would have applications in the wood shop, craft room, or garage. You could make parts to fix just about anything you can imagine. Design your kid a new toy, print it out, boom. Done. Need a different handle on your kitchen widget? Done. Knob broke off the radio in your car? Print a new one.

[arfink]

Also, a 3d printer can't be compared to a smartphone because a 3d printer is a peripheral, not a general purpose computing device. Given that software already exists to turn your smartphone into a 3d scanner using the onboard camera and gyroscopes, you really could use a 3d printer to make a duplicate of anything you find with no prior knowledge of CAD software.

[Era Might]

Commercial appeal? Well screw that. I'll take a Star Trek replicator whether someone bills it like that or not. You must not make much, or you'd instantly know that a 3d printer has a gazillion applications for the home, much as an inkjet printer does, but more useful still. A 3d printer would have applications in the wood shop, craft room, or garage. You could make parts to fix just about anything you can imagine. Design your kid a new toy, print it out, boom. Done. Need a different handle on your kitchen widget? Done. Knob broke off the radio in your car? Print a new one.

 

I don't doubt that it has many applications, but whether it is "the next big thing" is a huge question mark. I'm not convinced we're a society of do-it-yourselfers. Maybe we are, but it will have to be proved. 

[Era Might]

Also, a 3d printer can't be compared to a smartphone because a 3d printer is a peripheral, not a general purpose computing device. Given that software already exists to turn your smartphone into a 3d scanner using the onboard camera and gyroscopes, you really could use a 3d printer to make a duplicate of anything you find with no prior knowledge of CAD software.

 

Exactly...a peripheral, which may limit its potential in the mass market.

Edited August 24, 2013 by Era Might

[CatholicsAreKewl]

Also, a 3d printer can't be compared to a smartphone because a 3d printer is a peripheral, not a general purpose computing device. Given that software already exists to turn your smartphone into a 3d scanner using the onboard camera and gyroscopes, you really could use a 3d printer to make a duplicate of anything you find with no prior knowledge of CAD software.

 

I know much less about this. Does it cost more to get the hardware/software to accurately duplicate items?

 

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/researchers-develop-flexible-metal-for-3-d-printers/?_r=0

^ It seems like they might be using this for 3d printers in the future. Are there any affordable 3d printers that can print metal at this time?

Edited August 24, 2013 by CatholicsAreKewl

[arfink]

Well, that depends on how you define cost. Something a lot of people don't realize is that software costs are a tradeoff between what you want to learn and what you want to pay for. There is extremely good open source software for running 3d printers, in fact, the best on the market is currently open source stuff. The tradeoff is you need to be willing to learn how to use it, it doesn't hold your hand. The good part about this though is that by actually learning how the control software for your printer works, you can really push the limits of your hardware and be in complete control of every aspect, which IMO is a really big deal.

 

Also, as for mass market, I am not old enough to remember it first hand, but I know from my hobby of collecting and using very old computer equipment that the old computers by DEC and IBM and Zilog and Kaypro and such were definitely not mass market computers. Absolutely not. These 3d printers aren't either. They're going to be special equipment for a long while before they "go iPod." Personally I think that's a good thing, the people who really really care about the tech will be able to invest in it and guide it for many more years before it all turns into printing out 3d lolcats, or whatever we'll be doing with them in 2024. :P

 

As for printing in metal, nothing exists for the hobby or home user... yet. At the moment if you want to fabricate in metal you'll find it's much cheaper to go with a CNC multi-axis mill, although complex shapes like replacement joints for implantation (or klein bottles, hehehe) can't be made this way.

[Nihil Obstat]

How the hell does one maintain such political views in Canada?

Resignation to the Divine Will. :P