Interesting fabrication technology

[Myford Matt]

Saw this in the Guardian:

technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2044607,00.html (you'll have to cut and paste, for some reason the URL button didn't like this link)

... and followed it at their website:

fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Give it a few years and it might be a nice 'cheapish' way to make casting moulds.

MM

[paul]

Nice one Matt. I'm sure I read about something like this many many years ago in a Sci-Fi book. The concept of being able to e-mail someone a solid object is very appealing (akin to 'teleporting').... the trouble is I can think of lots of 'unintended' uses!!

I'm off to look for stuff about the real teleport experiment from a year or two back.....

[dscott]

We have something similar at work, which prints out layers of ABS plastic and slowly builds parts that you have drawn into a computer, this is the complex part as this often takes far longer than carving it out by hand. Except for the ball within a ball within a ball with your name on the inside one. Great use for the machine!!!
By the time they become cheap enough for everyones desk there will be nowhere to have any of the patterns cast, that have been made on it.

David.

[David Thompson]

Try this link
home.att.net/~castleisland/home.htm
It's all about rapid prototyping methods of many different kinds.

I have had turbine parts made (for my work) using the rapid prototype system which uses a kind of ink-jet printer to print in wax, layer upon layer, from CAD data. The wax pattern is then used in conventional lost-wax casting using Inconel, steel, stainless steel etc. There are people on the internet offering this sort of service for bespoke jewellry, if you can design it in 3D CAD and send them the file. Not cheap.

David

[Myford Matt]

Thanks David - I tink the point about this technology is that it may well become (relatively) 'cheap'.

Cheers

Matt