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edesignuk

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Mar 25, 2002
19,232
2
London, England
From BBC Article:
It may sounds like science fiction, but the printer you buy in the future could be able to produce a real-life object from images on your computer.

Several companies are working on developing low-cost three-dimensional printers which could eventually find their way into the home.

The machines work by placing layers of a powdery material on top of each other to create a real-life model of a digital image.
Full Article.
 

etoiles

macrumors 6502a
Jun 12, 2002
834
44
Where the air is crisp
she:"I think we are running out of cups for the party tonight"
he:"don't worry, I'll print out some more..."

My whole family would get little plastic toys for Christmas if I had one of these :D
 

Mr. Anderson

Moderator emeritus
Nov 1, 2001
22,568
6
VA
As someone who does 3D animation this would be so cool to print out actual models of my creations on the computer. The potential is incredible. :D

D
 

Mr. Anderson

Moderator emeritus
Nov 1, 2001
22,568
6
VA
Only thing is you'd still have to paint them, but that would be fun to do as well....

I hope these become cheap enough that you might be able to go to Kinkos one day with your 3d model and get it 'printed'.

D
 

tazo

macrumors 68040
Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Only thing is you'd still have to paint them, but that would be fun to do as well....

I hope these become cheap enough that you might be able to go to Kinkos one day with your 3d model and get it 'printed'.

D

I wonder if you would still have to buy that dumb print card :rolleyes: ;)
 

big

macrumors 65816
Feb 20, 2002
1,074
0
Architecture...

I could design a building and have a scaled model

forget your cardboard!
 

uhlawboi80

macrumors 6502
Sep 8, 2002
350
0
houston
i was about to say...screw animation, the ability to just print out an architecture model instead of using fiber board etc to spend days making a small repilca would be a god send!
 

MrMacMan

macrumors 604
Jul 4, 2001
7,002
11
1 Block away from NYC.
Originally posted by Abstract
Ah geez, perverts are going to start printing out 3-D models of females. :( Or worse, Lara Croft.

And is that really a *bad* thing?

I mean this would keep perverts *away* from people and just gluded to their printers.

:(
 

mvc

macrumors 6502a
Jul 11, 2003
760
0
Outer-Roa
Originally posted by MrMacman
And is that really a *bad* thing?

I mean this would keep perverts *away* from people and just gluded to their printers.

:(

More likely glued to their printouts :p
 

Mr. Anderson

Moderator emeritus
Nov 1, 2001
22,568
6
VA
So you'd have an off white model of the female form....big deal. I'm sure when laser printers and color laser printers came out everyone was talking about how much it would be used for printing out pictures of naked women.....I don't think it happens all that much.

Of course there are exceptions, but the potential uses for this are huge! I can't wait.

D
 

big

macrumors 65816
Feb 20, 2002
1,074
0
uhlawboi80, do you practice Architecture? If so, do you use a Mac, and what program??
 

sonofslim

macrumors 6502a
Jun 6, 2003
742
0
they're already using high-end models in medical and other applications. a friend of mine was telling me about getting one installed in the lab he works in, and to calibrate/test it they "printed" (or whatever the active verb is -- fabricate?) some objects that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to make -- solids embedded within unbroken solids, linked rings without seams, etc. i guess it's a lot of fun to use a physical paradox as a paperweight.
 

mactastic

macrumors 68040
Apr 24, 2003
3,681
665
Colly-fornia
Originally posted by big
Architecture...

I could design a building and have a scaled model

forget your cardboard!

Dude! That kind of thing would have saved me soooo many sleepless nights in lab cutting little pieces of museum board with an x-acto knife, would have saved me several knife injuries too. We did have a sort of a 3d printer but it was subtractive rather than additive, some kind of laser that ate away at a foam shaped block. Not very effective or pretty though.

Anyone who does architecture on the mac should check out Vector Works for designing. Very nice for everything from mass-modeling to construction documents. Also check out this site which is dedicated to mac-based AEC designers.
 

alia

macrumors 65816
Apr 2, 2003
1,038
626
Tampa, FL (Orlando, 2003 - 2023)
I read an article in discover magazine in 1994 that talked about 3D faxing. A laser scanned an object, and then, at the other end, it was build using layer after layer of a clear polymer resin. It was pretty dang cool. They showed pictures of the output. I think it was being developed by a medical technology company for doctor's to use in studying bones and other such things. The applications are endless though. It's cool to finally hear more about this technology. I'm sure it's advanced amazingly since the mid 90's.

:)

Alia
 

altivec 2003

macrumors regular
Feb 8, 2003
135
0
Texas
Re: 3D Printers under development in the U.S

Originally posted by edesignuk
Full Article.
There was an article like this in the NY Times Circuit Section several months ago. It is really cool but it will probably be forever until it is cheap enough for the consumer. I bet it would be pretty popular in toy companies also, but I don't know how they make their models now anyway. They probably would have molds which are most likely better for mass-production. Anyhoo, the technology is coo.
 

Mr. Anderson

Moderator emeritus
Nov 1, 2001
22,568
6
VA
Re: Re: 3D Printers under development in the U.S

Originally posted by altivec 2003
They probably would have molds which are most likely better for mass-production. Anyhoo, the technology is coo.

Ah, but if you use a ceramic compound for making the 3D model (like they said was an option) what's to say you can make the molds with this tech? Any simple boolean subtraction function could get you one easily. ;)

D
 

King Cobra

macrumors 603
Mar 2, 2002
5,403
0
Thelast paragraph of the article:

"We don't feel our technology is expensive," said Mr DeHart. "Our entry level system starts at $30,000 and that system can support all powder types and all the geometric models."

Mr. A, I hear what you were saying about using the current laser printers for naked photos. But when 3D printers come out, somebody will want to find a hack for rubber contraceptives.
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One can probably imagine the cost of plaster cartridges...then freak out.
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