3D metal printer

Gerald

Gerald

Hero member
Seen this on TV yesterday evening. Very impressive seeing a simple printed part come out in less than 15 minutes.
I'd imagine that a more complex part (12 valve triple head :D) would take a little longer.

https://www.engineering.com/3DPrinting/3DPrintingArticles/ArticleID/15335/SPEE3D-Puts-Supersonic-Speed-in-Metal-3D-Printing.aspx


 
Okay ...... watched it again. I thought I missed something first time ..... turns out they left out all the machining etc. I thought 3D meant it printed out the finished product ........ turns out you take the equivalent of a casting and you machine it as needed. Forging or annealing wouldn't be a problem.

Neither would machining, forging or annealing of a chunk of metal be a problem. Not sure what is so special about this ......
 
Early stages of a new technology.
Like comparing a Model T with a Veyron.
Give it time and this will replace many technologies.

There's talk of 3D printing stuff on space missions instead of carrying loads of spares, 3D printing human parts, food etc.
 
Its great for prototyping, if it fits then make a proper one. It all used to be plastic, now various metals. There will be a lot of unemployed people floating about in the, not too distant future with all this change.
 
Vince said:
There will be a lot of unemployed people floating about in the, not too distant future with all this change.
Click to expand...

I remember when I was at school our teacher said that with greater automation in the future, society would have so much more 'leasure' time.
What a wonderful world it would be!

I am not sure he properly thought it through!
 
Add AI and it's a brave new utterly different world coming soon. I am betting very few will be prepared or have a clue whats coming and way sooner than most think. I keep hearing that there will be new jobs replacing the old jobs, just like when the car replace the horse. I very much doubt that, it will be like night and day. Machines making machines, controlled by machines.
 
This whole 3D printing thing is evolving quickly now.  I first got things 3D printed in about 1999 for a job at work, it was just a powder process but gave you something you could hold or use for a mould.  A few weeks back I was at the Sydney manufacturing expo which was quite depressing. In terms of machinery there were only some laser cutters/markers, waterjet cutters (very clever 5-axis mind you), and 3D printers.  No lathes or mills at all, and only one cutting tooling stand (Sutton). The show itself was perhaps 1/4 the size it was last time I went about 10 years back.  The only growth area was the safety/ohs section which was extra-depressing.

The whole 3D print thing is so full of shysters and bullshit PR it's not funny (the vid that started this thread a good example), but it can not be ignored.  It will certainly change things that is for sure, it needs to because there are basically no new machinists coming along, at least in Australia.  The worry for me is that it makes anything possible, even the dumbest design can be made.  A significant part of my job is being the conduit between the people who needs things made, and the guys that make it, refining ideas into something that works and can be manufactured.  Engineering graduates will regularly come up with things which can not be made with a lathe or a mill in a conventional way, but with a 3DP any shape you like can be printed.

We are certainly using printed parts at work outside of vacuum, <$10k desktop plastic printers are quite good now and produce quite useable products, we have a couple.  But the good metal printers are $5-800k and have significant running costs and also are out of date quickly.  The great thing for me for the moment is that none of the materials they produce are fit for high vacuum use, so they still need to be made from extruded or forged products.  But it's changing and needs to be kept abreast of.
 
breganzane said:
Engineering graduates will regularly come up with things which can not be made with a lathe or a mill in a conventional way
Click to expand...

Fuck me dead!  ::)  What are they teaching engineering students these days?

When I did my engineering degree, we had to do a series of practical workshop subjects. Learning the basics of design, machining, welding, etc. The university had a well equipped workshop that we were encouraged to use for our own projects. I made a bunch of parts for my old Triumph Bonneville. It was the university workshop that kept that old pile of crap going!

We also had to do a "sandwich" year of working in an engineering industry before completing the final year of study. Even the Vietnamese students who had come from the rice paddys of post-war Vietnam, and had never seen so much as a screwdriver before, came out with a basic understanding of how things are made and assembled.
 
I started my apprenticeship at 16 years old.

The majority of the training was machining and workshop in the first 10 months, then power station plant and multi-trade mechanical, electrical and instrument skills - the vast majority practical, hands on!

There was also college studies to complete and I did go on to higher education later.

Our modern apprentices are on average smarter than my generation (most are grammar school kids) but the amount of practical work they do is much less. For instance they do 1 week on lathes, I believe I did 11 weeks. They do projects instead of practical, mostly on computers.
All so modern, but they are left sadly exposed in the workshop. The reason for this is that we are not allowed to modify components any more, either we buy new bits from the supplier or parts are manufactured elsewhere. But in reality the skills are indeed required.

I have had to organise lathe training for some of the younger technicians this year because their skills are so poor.
It is quite frankly embarrassing!

Many of the modern apprentices go on to be engineers and managers eventually after a foundation degree. They don't want to get their hands dirty. Just a few actually like hands on work.

So UK industry is left short of skilled workers! Meanwhile in places like Germany I believe vocational training is held in high regard and very successful.
 
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