Star Trek replicator - almost a reality for modelers

[tmsmalley]

Remember when Capt Picard wanted some tea, he'd say to the Replicator
"Earl Gray, hot" and voila, out would pop a cup of hot tea?

From this video it appears that day is coming - I can see applications for modelers too. The craftsmen/purists will cringe, but you gotta admit, it's pretty cool!

See the video at
Video:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/lin ... 1328213802

[JWLaRue]

...the heck with purists. They

...the heck with purists. They can keep on making buggy whips.

We're building operating subs that occasionally have some complex structures in them. This is a technology that we should be embracing.

I've been watching this technology for a while and it actually is possible to build one of these systems yourself. Check out the fab@home web site (wiki) at: http://www.fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

-Jeff

[mylo]

Oh man..... design a part

Oh man..... design a part out on CAD and then "print" it to perfect spec.


Heaven on Earth.


Mylo

[bigdave]

Very cool, but Tim, have

Very cool, but Tim, have you ever tried Earl Gray??
It tastes like perfume!! BD.

[Guest]

I still think a CNC

I still think a CNC mill is better suited for our application.

I mean, if you make your sub from goats cheese, it isn't going to make you too popular at a sub regatta when it starts to age.

Andy

P.s. Agree about Earl grey, foul stuff, which gives me a headache and the aroma reminds me of disinfectant for some reason. Normal tea for me, make it so.

[JWLaRue]

There are some applications that

There are some applications that even a CNC mill cannot easily do. For example, here's a 3D CAD drawing:



...that I then used to make this part][/url]

...for my Type II U-boat. All I need to do now is to do some surface finishing.

-Jeff

[subdude]

Say, thats some fine looking

Say, thats some fine looking 3D CAD work there... wink wink, nod nod

[Guest]

Agreed, you would have a

Agreed, you would have a hard time making that in once piece on a mill. But you could certainly make it in individual pieces, then silver solder it together.

Having said that, for a piece like that, I'd bench fit it, and turn the bosses on a lathe.

Time you take into account all the CADwork set-up etc. I reckon it would be just as fast if not faster to do it by hand.

Be a lot stronger too........!

[Rogue Sub]

If you want more info

If you want more info on this thing or want to build one...

http://s181686668.onlinehome.us/phpBB2/ ... highlight=

[JWLaRue]

Hi Andy,

Having done it both

Hi Andy,

Having done it both ways, I can honestly state that building it in pieces takes significantly longer. Here's photo showing both parts:



Jim Butt took my basic drawings with key measurements and turned it into a 3D drawing in a matter of some 30 minutes. .....hence his "wink, wink" comment

....and getting the part made with a 3D printer essentially takes no time.

-Jeff

[anonymous]

Not impressed sorry. I can

Not impressed sorry. I can build from scratch by hand! LOL!!

Steve

[tommydeen]

Im impressed.. but I am

Im impressed.. but I am stuck doing the old fashion way. years ago i bought a copy of quick cad from auto desk.. and....im glad it was only 40 bucks. couldent figure it out to save my life. what a wast of time. it took me away from building subs and the anger level went sky high
Tom

[anonymous]

It looked very good apart

It looked very good apart from the quality!

Why build something badly by hand when a machine can build it badly for you? Seems a bit pointless.

MMmmmmm now where's that goat!


Davy

[mylo]

I think that the technology

I think that the technology needs to advance further before I would consider it for model building.
- Lower Price
- Higher quality parts.

As it stands now, it's still a 50lb VCR the size of a suit case. I'll wait until it's a DVD player.

Mylo

[JWLaRue]

To be fair, the part

To be fair, the part that I had made/grown was intended as a prototype, therefore it was not done on the high resolution 3D printer. If the part was made on the better printer, you'd see something that was ready to paint.

-Jeff