3D Scanning

[sfcpiet]

I find this 3D printing stuff interesting, but, my print capabilities amounts to me cutting a potato in half, cutting in a design, dipping it in paint and printing it out on paper, then I scan it to see how it worked out.

Whereas with 3D, it seems you scan it first???

Chris,

You could almost consider it a photo copy...

3D scanning has been around for quite some time, but truely affordable scanners are fairly new on the market, excellent for replicating existing stuff.

Otherwise, the process is the same as for conventional manufacturing, ie, design, drawing, laying down tool paths... only it doesn't involve buying a chunk of billet alloy or steel, you fill up and switch on the printer and feed it your data, much the same as you'd feed the CNC mill. Another big advantage is that when a printer crashes, it won't cause a high-$ catastrophe like when a CNC mill crashes! Annoying, but it won't drive you into bankruptcy.

piet