THE best scratchbuilding tool EVER

[Jay!]

Can you even imagine all the things you could make?

http://www.versalaser.com/english/index.html

*select image/vector editor of choice*
*draw*draw*draw*draw*
...
*print to styrene*
*print to brass*
*print to glass*
*print to rubber*





Okay, so who wants to "loan" me $10,000?

[RallyRaider]

Awesome technology, but I wonder if you could still call a model or master made this way "scratchbuilt"? Now, how long it will be until 3D printers like these become affordable?

[mike@af]

I think I'd rather have a small CNC Mill for that price.

[freakray]

Originally Posted by GTmike400

I think I'd rather have a small CNC Mill for that price.

[Jay!]

Yeah, but....

It uses a "LASER"!!

[RallyRaider]

Originally Posted by GTmike400

I think I'd rather have a small CNC Mill for that price.

Could you get one for that price? Make it a grand and we'd be in business!

[Ferrari TR]

10K$ for 2D !
I'll think I'll be shopping for a 'wetjet' or something equally beefy.

[flyonthewall]

I'll take two!

[willimo]

Originally Posted by flyonthewall

I'll take two!

Hooray!

[mike@af]

Originally Posted by RallyRaider

Could you get one for that price? Make it a grand and we'd be in business!

Yes you can Phil. I've seen 5 axis mills for wheels and other large parts for about $40Grand. You could get a small 3 axis mill for about $10,000, and maybe less. The program costs about $800-$2500. So yes, you could start setting up a small mill for about $10,000 and even less.

[freakray]

Meh, you can tell the engineers from the rest

Laser is great for some things, but you can't beat the versaility of a well run CNC centre for the real stuff.

Not to mention, laser cutting systems rely on an inert gas bath around the cutting tip, that means AR or N depending on the set up, not to mention the laser tips and other peripehrals.

Nah, thinking about it, I think I'll stick with the CNC.

[SchuberT]

A local college here in Oregon is experimenting with this new process called "Rapid Prototyping" where a printer actually prints objects in 3D. It's pretty cool how it works. The printer will make layer after layer of whatever you've drawn up with AutoCAD, whatever, and each layer is glued together to make the final product. The results are pretty cool, and many are pretty strong. One of the coolest things I've seen produced was a large ball bearing that had the balls printed INSIDE the rings; they weren't inserted after printing.

I could be wrong about it being new, but I just heard about it this year.

[Colov99]

3D printers have been around for a while. Some use a lazer(could be wrong) to change powder like material into a hard plastic. I saw these at a trade show a few years back. There are others that go back and forth and lay down the matiral one layer at a time. They have been around for a while they just keep getting better.

[D_LaMz]

Does this printer cut out only flat things or do you cut out a lot of stuff and glue them to make this

[mike@af]

Originally Posted by SchuberT

A local college here in Oregon is experimenting with this new process called "Rapid Prototyping" where a printer actually prints objects in 3D. It's pretty cool how it works. The printer will make layer after layer of whatever you've drawn up with AutoCAD, whatever, and each layer is glued together to make the final product. The results are pretty cool, and many are pretty strong. One of the coolest things I've seen produced was a large ball bearing that had the balls printed INSIDE the rings; they weren't inserted after printing.

I could be wrong about it being new, but I just heard about it this year.

Ford uses rapid prototyping. Rapid prototyping uses a pool of liquid plastic to start from, unlike a mill that uses a blank. Its controlled by a coordinate program, CNC. Instead of carving, it uses a laser to "light" the "photocellular" like plastic to a phase of solidity. Its really cool how it works.

Another version of rapid prototyping is like CNC printing. It starts at the bottom and sprays on a new layer plastic each pass, much like a printer except its a 3 axis, not two, and uses plastic as ink. Even though the parts are plastic/polystyrene/thylene/urethane/etc they are incredibly strong...and expensive.

All cool technology.