3D printers are getting pretty big, eh? Let's talk about it!

[Sepulverture]

I'm not terribly active on the forums anymore, and a quick search didn't reveal anything about the topic so let's have a constructive conversation!

With 3D printing becoming more common, and set to become a common place tool in every day life, it seems that it's a great opportunity for concept artists of both 2D and 3D disciplines to find work.

- I would like to pose a few questions and see what kind of cool discussion we can start on this awesome new technology.

- What are the best software packages for designing for 3d printing?

- Does anyone on the forums have experience in 3d printing?

- What do you think are the best ways to start gearing your self-study or formal study towards getting work in 3D printing design and production art?

I myself have very little experience doing 3D work, but I can see there being a huge and expanding demand for artists skilled in using design software that is geared towards this market. Great opportunities are in store for those who get educated in the field early.

This is a growing industry, and could provide a lot of our users with great opportunities for honing their craft, getting work, and fulfilling dreams a step at a time, so it would be really cool to get constructive discussion going on this, eh?

Here are a few articles that a quick google search turned up. Just food for thought.

Introduction to 3D printing

Wikipedia's entry on 3D printing

ReplicatorG - A free, open source 3D printing application

What is 3D printing? A beginner's guide to the desktop factory

A Popular Mechanics article about how to get started in 3D printing (viewable after viewing an advertisement)

Again, I realize there may be existing posts on the topic, but a cursory search didn't return anything, and considering that this promises to be a huge market for exactly the kind of people who frequent these forums I think that multiple postings and discussions is warranted.

Best regards, and hope for interesting discussion!

[Velocity Kendall]

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/s...-2012112250095

THREE-dimensional printers are obviously a complete waste of time, it has emerged.

These can now be made more efficiently
As ‘crowd-funding’ website Kickstarter was sued for its promotion of a 3D printer, experts said the technology may be the stupidest, most over-hyped piece of shit since 3D films.

Technologist Tom Logan said: “They are great if what you really want is an intricate lump of plastic.

“So by all means, print a scale model of a hobbit. And then paint it. And then be proud of yourself.

“Have you seen the printed ‘bike’? It’s actually worse than the first bike ever made. Imagine what riding it could do to your balls.

“The thing about a bike is that the tyres need to be made from something that is not as hard as the thing you used to make the handlebars.

“What you’ve got there is a statue of a bike.”

He added: “I can’t wait for the 3D film that is basically just CGI representations of things made by a 3D printer. And I sense James Cameron may be way ahead of me.”

But Logan admitted that 3D printers could change everything, as long as we all want to live in a world where only eight people have a job and we all want to buy things that are not very good.

[-Tragedy-]

VK, nice link.
They have a point about it putting people out of jobs and a lot of it being shitty pieces of plastic.

Anyway, a chef friend of mine who likes to tinker has build his own 3D printer: Prusa Air V2.
It's open-source and he uses his to print more printers to sell on eBay.

The cool thing is though, he snapped the hinge on his laptop... 10mins of googling he had the blueprints of the piece, modelled it in Auto CAD and started printing.
I thought that was cool.

I give him my 3D models I make in Maya to print so I can paint them.
Just for shits 'n gigs.

The thing is though, even with 3D printing taking off, it's still in its early stages so it's expected to be a bit of a flop to begin with.
I saw a video recently of one that not only prints the pieces but also builds it for you! So who knows where it will go...

In regards to people losing their jobs, yeah; I'm sure many will.
However the machines will still need operators to maintain them and there'll probably be more of a demand for 3D modellers and engineers in that area.
Same as the automotive industry how machines are taking more and more control in the manufacturing process.

[iambanana]

I haven't really found much use for those desktop printers, like the MakerBot. They just aren't accurate enough, and require so much maintenence and guesswork. SLS machines, on the other hand, are the shit. They're expensive as hell but they're actually super useful for prototyping. I've used them for everything from disposable cutlery to musical instruments to lamps.

[Kuroyue]

Guys, you know there's gonna be a 3D printing pen soon, right?

[arenhaus]

3D printers are just a tip of the iceberg which is about to burst through the calm surface, I suspect.

The current printers that produce lumps of plastic are just a prototyping tool or a toy, but they aren't going to be alone. First, the cost of 3D printers has been crushing down at sonic speed. Second, their capabilities are improving; they can use a variety of plastics in the same model, for instance. Third, and most important: there are other machines which produce accurate parts from 3D input, and one of the experimental ones is a desktop fabricator which can work metal - cut, turn, drill, etc. etc. etc. and has two manipulators that handle the part as it is being processed.

This is a prototype of a universal machine that can make and assemble a lot of useful things, not just "intricate pieces of plastic". Think a small assembly line that you can put in your garage.

And even if you only limit it to plastic, think again. You can always mould your intricate piece of plastic and cast it out of metal.

[iambanana]

Or just print it from a metallic powder, for that matter. Its a brave new world.

[Velocity Kendall]

yeah when it can print any of 100 different compounds, ie is connected to The Feed, and make very fine structure, itll be useful. at the moment its useful to people who make toys or prototypes i guess, but its easier to just 3d mill things or laser sinter them, or make them from sculpy or filler and wet and dry paper.

[The Fez]

The reality is that 3D printing is already being used in large scale manufacturing to develop efficient, hybridized tooling components:



The advantage of 3D printing is that complex components can be built simultaneously rather than having to be built separately and then combined (and in ways that would be IMPOSSIBLE in traditional manufacturing). Hypothetically, you can print components with hollow interiors and internal mechanisms to save material, and nearly 100 percent of the "waste" is reusable after the printing phase is complete.

Granted, the technology is probably 15 years away from taking off, but, in my opinion, the advantages are undeniable. When some graduate student isn't using a 3D printer to actualize their masturbatory computer generated bullshit, printers are actually genuinely useful for manufacturing purposes.

[Black Spot]

I'm more scared of this http://defensedistributed.com/

[The Fez]

Naw dog that's awesome. It's just one more step on the inevitable path toward being able to digitize guns out of thin air in an instant, which is something everyone wants.

[Doug Hoppes]

Is it feasible for creating creatures and printing them out (to set up lighting like a still life setup)?

[Velocity Kendall]

sure.

[Sepulverture]

It wasn't that long ago that computers themselves were incredibly limited in their capabilities. Now we have super computers transmitting terabytes of information daily in the palms of our hands.

As costs continue to go down, and people take more interesting it won't be long until we start seeing a single machine using multiple component powders to print items from multiple materials simultaneously, no different from a color printer of today.

[arenhaus]

Is it feasible for creating creatures and printing them out (to set up lighting like a still life setup)?

Sure, but it'd probably be quicker to make a rough maquette out of clay, cotton-and-glue, or some other way.

[Kamber Parrk]

I'm more scared of this http://defensedistributed.com/

Heh! with the paramilitarization of American law enforcement, give me a second or two with a piece of piano wire in a darkened Starbucks parking lot, and I'll have a whole Ford Crown Vic full of ARs and 30 round mags to do whatever I want with!

(Your Brit cops with their absurd Bobby hats, neon yellow vests and taser guns are simply adorable lil teddy bears!)

[JFierce]

Honestly I never thought about 3D printers printing guns. That's .... a pretty terrifying thought if it can print some high tech fire power in the future. Shit like THAT will make the internet regulated as fuck. "We need to know what everyone downloads ever to prevent someone from printing weapons of mass destruction".

An exaggeration but I could see it happen lol.

[Care]

its pretty fucking awesome.

The technology is going to be a major disruptor for copyright already the pharma giants are trying to censor and prevent 3d printers.

They are able to print drugs, they will one day be able to print custom medical solutions for individuals,

They printed parts of the components for a huge 100 story skyscraper that was built in 15 days in dubai.

They have HUAGE possibilities for the future.

[Sepulverture]

Indeed, they do have great future applications.

There are some scary things about them, but then again don't all new technologies have scary aspects?

As to the concept of job loss, the same thing could be said for any of the countless amazing new revolutionary technologies. Society will adapt to the new technology and adapt the technology to it's needs, opening up new avenues of employment.

I wonder what future applications 3D printing will have, and how it will affect the job market after society adjusts to having this new ability at it's disposal.

[Velocity Kendall]

(Your Brit cops with their absurd Bobby hats, neon yellow vests and taser guns are simply adorable lil teddy bears!)

if you say so

[Care]

most important thing, is that its here, and in the past, technology once created doesnt generally get discarded for ethical reasons.... tho i guess there is nuclear.....

[Kamber Parrk]

if you say so

(Heh! Chris Dorner wasn't even with the two elderly Asian women delivering newspapers.)

[Velocity Kendall]

OK you... win?

[Kamber Parrk]

OK you... win?

Only if I can get a good machinist to turn plastic Hellfire missile components into metal ones (like Jay Leno's plastic printed car parts. . .)

http://www.popularmechanics.com/prin...20759?page=all

[Velocity Kendall]

i suppose there are all sorts of WMDs advanced matter printers could assemble, biological, chemical explosive, big knives, whatever... get Anonymous to prevent the use of proscribed weapon system designs through hacking the fuck out of anyone that tries to print a bomb or death ray or neuraliser...

send a printer to jupiter, make it print out some more printers then put them to work..

[Sepulverture]

Great article Kamber

[Care]

well i mean.... if u think 3d printing is bad news, nanoviruses are around the corner..... some seriously complicated shit is about to go down.

[-Tragedy-]

I'm just going to leave this here...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...r?ref=category

[Waipunga]

Well not being a computer boffin these things both terrify and amaze me. Then again 15 years ago we knifesmiths around the world were told that metal was archaic and that ceramic was the new beaut thing and was going to sweep us all aside.........hmmmmmmmm....... did not happen.

The attraction of all of these wonderful tools is that anyone can have one in their homes and make anything they need. Really? OK .....hands up, who had and actually uses the following:
Ice Cream maker
Bread Maker
Juice maker
Electric carving knife
etc etc etc

and guess what: we still go down the road, buy our bread, ice cream, juice etc from our local supplier and oh yes the electric carving knife is stuffed as some enthusiast cut through the cord.

Point? We are gloriously lazy........................................... let some other poor sod do the work. :-)

[Velocity Kendall]

Steve I believe it was you who sent me this?

http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/...nt-lunar-base/

Giant NASA spider robots could 3D print lunar base
Would heat iron nanoparticles to create solid, ceramic-like blocks.