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yeah, i was going to make the argument that adjusted for inflation pretty much everything is cheaper than it was 30 years ago, but i chose not to. and there is no reason that a 3D printer wont follow the same course as they become more capable and easier to use.
and toyman has a point also, but using a #d printing machine doesnt require the skills that a lathe, or as you call it a mill-drill machine, does. with the #d printer, you just need to be able to run the computer, in fact you dont even need to be able to draw the part, you just need to be able to load a file into the computer and then run the printer. with a lathe you actually need to be able to draw the part, and then rough machine it, and then final machine it.
First, a lathe and a mill are not the same thing. A lathe makes round things, a mill square or rectangular ones, at least in very general terms. And neither require being able to draw the part, just to read a basic blueprint, something that can be learned by a reasonably bright person in about 1/2 hour. Now, actually having the skill to do the machine work once you can read the drawing is more involved. But really, I'm not sure its any more complicated than running a computer.
The part that impressed me from the article is:
Quote:
Apparently the only part of the gun that was not 3D-printed was the magazine.
All of the other handgun’s components — including the rifled barrel and the
springs — were 3D-printed.
I'm impressed that they were able to hold the tolerances necessary to produce a barrel with 3D printing, and that the material had the strenght to handle the pressues of firing. The frame and slide are lower-stress areas. Earlier 3D printed "metal" parts were a matrix of plastic and metal powder, they had to be secondary opped (sintered) burn off the plastic and fuse the metal powder, and I don't know that they were particularly strong. Metal injection molding has been used for a good while for gun parts, and also requires sintering. Does anyone know anything about the process used in this one? Are they actually using a laser to bond the metal particles directly?
I hope you realize how much one of these costs to make. It would be cheaper to higher a gunsmith to hand make you a firearm.
The whole concept went right over your head. The first Viagra was about 2 million bucks, but after that its down to a few cents to make. This is gong to revolutionize the world, from soup to nuts. Or guns to planetary gears.
The whole concept went right over your head. The first Viagra was about 2 million bucks, but after that its down to a few cents to make. This is gong to revolutionize the world, from soup to nuts. Or guns to planetary gears.
It's going to be interesting to see where the technology takes us. Will 3D printing ever be able to compete with conventional manufacturing methods for volume runs of parts? I'm not sure. An AR-15 receiver can be machined on a CNC in about 20 minutes IIRC, not sure you will ever get to that point with a 3D printer. But for prototype or one-off parts, it sure is interesting.
They just released 3D scanners as well. Pretty soon you will be able to grab a wrench from your neighbor, scan it and print one for yourself instead of buying new tools.
Color me skeptical. Bahco wrenches aren't twice as expensive as their Chinese competitors because of the shape, but because they're forged of high-quality steel. In making a good wrench, the shape isn't the hard bit, the materials are.
The whole concept went right over your head. The first Viagra was about 2 million bucks, but after that its down to a few cents to make. This is gong to revolutionize the world, from soup to nuts. Or guns to planetary gears.
The liberals who are worried about people making their own guns, can at least have the satisfaction of knowing that this 3D printing, if successful, will have the biggest impact on CO2 decline ever. The demand for gas will go way down. Some truckers will lose work because their just won't be as many different things to ship to so many different places. Joe and Jane will not need to make a run to the hardware store or the department store for a hammer, knife, pan, spoon, etc, they can stay home and print one.
Don't be so sure of that. The idea that every thing gets cheaper is a relatively new phenomena and it is generally reserved for things like electronics or other resource goods. Most things do not get cheaper. Are houses cheaper now? Cars? Airplanes? No. Anything that takes a lot of physical resources will likely remain expense based purely on how much it cost to build the item. Technical advances to not make raw materials cheaper.
Real estate is not priced purely on cost. Most things are priced on what the market will bear. Certainly cost is basic. Maybe you are saying something else.
actually the reason houses, cars, and airplanes are not cheaper than they were say 30 years ago is because of government regulations for the most part, and because the average consumer wants more packed into those items which also raises the cost. however, cars, airplanes, and houses are long lasting items, that can be constantly rebuilt as needed, and thus are still a relative bargain if people were willing to properly maintain them.
Need to include the fact that govt is profiting from investments in these, especially real estate, but also largely through corporate share purchases. The inflationary practice designed to increase asset values is certainly part of that.
Well the construction usage I find most intriguing, however, 3D printing of body parts will be far more controversial. Think I read where they have kept parts for 4 or 5 months successfully. Imagine this with nano tech. 3D Printers Now Print Human BodyParts | TechHive
quote:
An elderly woman is the first person in the world to be fitted with a 3D-printed body part--a new lower jaw.
According to the BBC, the 83-year-old patient had long suffered from a badly infected lower jaw that was considered too risky to operate on by way of traditional methods. Due to the associated risks, doctors turned to 3D-printing as a viable alternative.
I am also worried about 3D printing, it might lead to problems we can't even think of, yet. Not just in terms of violent crime, but also with pirating, spare parts, etc.
Maybe we need to invent an ethics generator first? Or at the very least FIX the ones that exist now.
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