3D printer, think of the possibilities!!

[Igard]

I'm probably a little behind here on the technology, but I only just found out about these things.

Probably cost a fortune to buy a 3D printer, but think what we could do with it in terms of model building!

Could there even be a future in model kit manufacturing using this? No more injection marks, no more flash or imperfections. Possibly no more sprews?

Wow!

ZCorp's 3D Printer replicates a wrench

If I win the lottery, I'm getting one! 

[Ziz]

Right now they're good for prototyping or creating masters, not really affordable or fast enough to use as mass production.  You also need to know 3D CAD software to generate the file the printer needs to create the part.

[Igard]

Right. I was so blown away by this, I thought it might be a prank video! Figured they would cost some serious money too.

3D CAD can be learned and it's getting easier. In the vid, they scan the wrench into the 3D software. Looks like they do it pretty fast, but there's probably more going on there.

The materials can't cost that much, as they let the guy keep the wrench at the end of the vid.

[The Nylon Gag]

These are fairly common in the custom machining world, even American Chopper have one. The original was a system called 3D stereo Lithography, this was used by the Formula 1 teams to create the complex cross sections of the wing elements, the system involved a very thin layer of resin being solidified with a lazer that was controlled by 3D CAD solftware then the liquid resin being raised by 0.005" and another layer of resins being solidified and so on and so on until the object was complete, the resin drained and bingo. The 3D printers are about $25000. but the cartridges are cheaper than HP ones.  Only kidding.

A very cool system, OK what would be your dream model for a one off model from this thing.

I would love a 1/3 scale Fully anamatronic Figure of General Grevious.

What about you guys?

Gaganator

[Fruit]

Allen Tam, a member of PM, actually had his model that he designed in CAD, the Hummer in 1/3 scale (?), and the print did come out impressive.

I'm a bit sad if this will be what the future of modeling will be 

[JMac]

We have an OBJET 3D printer at work, well an older one at least. Very cool, we've built al kinds of working devices ( like adjustable wrenches, gear sets) already assembled and they work after a little clean up and wash.

[Elm City Hobbies]

What I don't understand is how a simple 3D scan of an adjustable wrench can give the 3D software program enough to go on, so that the "printed" wrench is workable out of the printer.

I assume that something like that, there would have to be some hands on work done with the 3D CAD to complete the parts that couldn't be scanned, in order to make the copy completely workable.

Jay Leno has one in his garage, and was showing some of the things they made with it, one was this triangular cage with gears that meshed together...he said they just scanned the original (which was there on the bench) and printed it out.....I just don't see how the scan only, could get into the nooks and crannies for a complete 3D scan of the object in order to have the copy workable.

[Igard]

Also, if the 3D object files are available on the internet, you could simply download the model kit. Imagine printing out each sprue. However, the model industry would then have to cope with online piracy...

Some funny comments on youtube saying they would print guns and rocket launchers! 

I'd probably get the most detailed kits I could find, the Fine Molds MF 1/72 for example, and scale them up before printing them even larger! 

[Black Sheep 1]

However, the model industry would then have to cope with online piracy...

You mean they don't do that right now? 

[Igard]

I don't know anything about piracy in the model building industry right now, but I think if this were to become a new avenue for the industry, it would inevitably increase piracy. Model kits as downloadable files? Torrent sites would be flooded with them.

However, as others have said, it's not feasible right now and possibly may never be due to costs and speeds. I don't know, it seems to me that all technology, as it advances, gets cheaper and faster....

[Ziz]

Eventually the price will come down, just not soon.  Years, at best.

[Fruit]

I don't know anything about piracy in the model building industry right now, but I think if this were to become a new avenue for the industry, it would inevitably increase piracy. Model kits as downloadable files? Torrent sites would be flooded with them.

However, as others have said, it's not feasible right now and possibly may never be due to costs and speeds. I don't know, it seems to me that all technology, as it advances, gets cheaper and faster....

Psst... Model kits are already available as downloadable files, made available by the real distributors  and sadly, by the pirates 

[Igard]

You're talking about card models right? That's a real shame. I'd expect better from the modelling community, but it seems there are always those who would rather take from the industry without giving back.

[Elm City Hobbies]

Lots of piracy in the resin end of the modeling world. One has to look no farther than Ebay for a ton of pirated resin figures and accessories.

Model In (and variations of the name) is one of the biggest ones on Ebay.

They even have the nerve to mis-represent the figures they are selling by showing the original box/label of the actual figure, and what you end up with is a copy of it, usually a very poor one at that.

[Igard]

Wow, I do remember seeing a few months ago a Halcyon Alien 3 facehugger (A very rare model that I'm lucky enough to own) on ebay for something like £40. They had about 3 or 4 of them and the pics showed a completely different colour of 'vinyl' than the one I've got. They had a picture of the original box art too.

It kind of set my alarm bells ringing.