3D glassjet printer

Interessant artikel over het 3D printen van objecten in glas in the Engineer Online:

A team of researchers from Southampton and Cambridge universities is developing very high temperature inkjet-style printers that will print with glass to produce 3D optical or electronic components.

The project is led by Dr Wei Loh, principal research fellow at Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre, who explained: 'Although we call this a glassjet printer, we are designing a multi-purpose high-temperature printing platform. If it can print glass, it can print other materials such as metals.'

Although inkjet printers started life printing ink on paper, the technology rapidly evolved to print a wider variety of materials, such as polymers for prototyping, manufacturing and research. The main constraint in using it for materials that are liquid only when very hot is that it typically works at room temperatures.

Loh said: 'The polymers that it prints are typically low-temperature materials, and you have to apply quite a bit of polymer chemistry to get the right viscosity given that you have a temperature constraint,' said Loh. 'You can use materials that work with the existing printer, or you can change the printer so it works at higher temperature, in which case it relaxes a lot of constraints on the materials you can use.'

There already exist solder jet and metal jet printers for printed circuit boards. Solder jet printers are essentially modified versions of the inkjet printer that operate at between 200 and 300°C. There remains, however, the constraint on the basic inkjet printer design, which is the low-temperature piezoelectric actuator.

A printer that could print a wide range of materials such as metals and glass would be a highly versatile, useful 3D rapid prototyping tool for optoelectronics.

'Nowadays if you want to make a prototype, you would make a mask, do a lithography, and etch,' said Loh. 'If you had a printer that could print the same materials, all you would need to do is program it to quickly give you the structure you need without the overhead costs.'

The applications could include making optical fibres and electronics — a CMOS gate is made from silicon dioxide, which is basically glass.

'Glass can be easily made in certain geometries using conventional methods,' explained Loh. 'It can be made as a flat surface, you can use it to draw on a flat surface, or you can pull it into fibres with cylindrical geometry. Trying to make glass in other arbitrary geometries is not so easy.

'What this printing platform will be able to do is make glass in a number of geometries, including spherical.'

An inkjet-style printer naturally prints out little droplets or tiny spheres. Sub-micron spheres produced by a glassjet printer could be used to accumulate into arbitrary geometry that is difficult to achieve by conventional methods. The spheres themselves could also be used as resonators or sensors, and there are emerging areas such as metamaterials that require complicated 3D structures for metal conductors and dielectrics. The glass could also be used to produce complex lab-on-a-chip technology.

Loh said that maintaining the necessary operating temperatures of 1,000°C or more would be one of the main challenges faced by the project. 'But the advantage is that the materials you print at those temperatures are very stable and reliable at room temperature,' he said.

When materials are cooled very rapidly, they can take on glasslike properties, as glass is a supercooled liquid. 'If you took molten metal and cooled it rapidly, it would become like a metallic glass,' said Loh, 'so by cooling it rapidly we could have new and interesting materials.' To be able to operate at the necessary high temperatures, the researchers will incorporate a furnace and develop a nozzle design that can withstand the high temperature. It will also need to be able to cope with any corrosive or reactive interactions with the glasses and other materials the researchers intend to use.

As the project is at a very early proof-of-concept stage, there are no industrial collaborators as yet, but those aware of the initiative include Kodak, other printing companies and end-user sensor developers.

The inkjet research centre in Cambridge is contributing printing expertise, modelling and theoretical work to help understand the droplet formation for these materials. 'These materials such as glass and metals that we are intending to print have different properties from conventional inks, for example surface tension and conductivity of the materials,' said Loh.

3D Printers steeds goedkoper

Mooi ontwikkeling dat steeds meer fabrikanten van 3D printers met desktop varianten komen. Staat over 5 jaar bij iedereen een 3D printer op het bureau naast de laserprinter? Of blijft het een speeltje voor uitvinders? Een ander scenario is dat je via een online applicatie je model upload of uit een database selecteert en een printopdracht geeft. De volgende dag haal je het model op bij AH of Shell station in de buurt.

Voorlopig zijn de huidige 3D desktop printers nog niet in staat om onze full colour modellen te vervaardigen zoals we dat voor architecten, woniningcorporaties, vastgoedpartijen, productontwikkelaars en uitvinders doen. Met onze Zprinter kunnen we nu modellen volledig in kleur maken met een afmeting van 250 x 380 x 200 mm. Meer info op: www.sotopiaconcepts.com

The Dimension 3D Printing Group, a division of Stratasys, wants to make sure you understand that its new desktop 3D printer is a personal machine -- not for a service bureau, not for sharing with the whole department -- just for you. To make that point, the company calls the model uPrint. (Watch the uPrint video demonstration.)

The machine itself was unveiled on Monday at the Dimension Resellers Conference in Anaheim, California. Priced at $14,900, it’s available to ship worldwide immediately, according to the company.

uPrint comes with CatalystEX software for converting a CAD system’s STL file output into 3D models with the necessary support structures. A soluble support-material removal system is designed to eliminate manual clean-up of the printed model. A second material bay allows users to preload material or refill without interrupting printing operation.

Whereas current printers in the Dimension product line are serviced and supported by Dimension resellers, uPrint will be serviced by a third-party service firm Stratasys has contracted for the purpose.

Coming to Your Desktop
“I have a vision to sell a massive amount of CAD 3D printers on every designer’s desk,” said Scott Crump, Dimension CEO. At a web presentation introducing the uPrint model, Crump reminded listeners that “3D CAD seat volume exploded into multimillions when it hit the $15,000 tipping [price] point,” so he anticipated the $14,900 price would create a similar mass appeal for uPrint, especially among “a new set of customers who have yet to incorporate 3D printing into the product design process.” Targeted buyers include mechanical designers, engineers, architects, animators, educational institutions, home inventors, and consultants, among others.

According to Shane Glen, Stratasys director of investor relations and a presenter during the webcast, “uPrint represents a significant advancement in our 3D printer strategy.” Part of that strategy might be to beat some of its competition in bringing a working desktop 3D printing unit to the market. He went so far as to call uPrint “the world’s first personal 3D printer.”

Competition for uPrint includes Objet Geometries’ Alaris 30, priced below $40,000 (the company declined to be more specific about the price), and 3D Systems’ V Flash, priced at $9,900.

Objet’s Alaris was launched in October 2008. Object previously relied on Stratasys, Dimension’s parent company, as the exclusive distributor for its Eden333 system in North America. The partnership ended in 2006.

V Flash was unveiled in September 2007. 3D Systems suspended sales of V Flash after its April 2008 launch revealed some performance issues. In its 10-Q filing with the SEC, the company attributed the delay to a “reported electrical noise problem.” V Flash is scheduled to return to the market in the first quarter of this year, in what the company officials described as a “carefully managed, phased rollout.”

Sometime this year, newcomer Desktop Factory plans to bring to market a desktop model called 125ci, priced at $4,995.

3D printing van avatars

Mooie video van hoe een 3d geprinte avatar tot stand komt. Met onze nieuwe zcorp 650 3d printer kunnen we nog sneller en hoogwaardige avatars printen via www.sotopiaconcepts.com.

Fab home doe het zelf 3d printer

Waarom verschepen we megatonnen grondstoffen van Afrika naar China en vrachtschepen vol consumptiegoederen van China naar Europa en de VS als we thuis gewoon ons eigen product kunnen printen. Geen waste geen energieverslindende transporten.

De 3D printer gemaakt door een wijd verspreid team van opensource-minded ingenieurs is een apparaat dat van vloeibare plastics (en in de toekomst metaal) driedimensionale objecten maakt op basis van digitale informatie. Dergelijke apparaten bestaan al bijna tien jaar maar dit nieuwe model is in staat vrijwel al zijn eigen onderdelen te printen en kan dus kopieën van zichzelf maken. Vergelijk het met een Ubuntu installatie CD waar je een PC mee kan maken die weer Ubuntu Cd's kan maken (of als webserver de installatie-images kan distribueren). Op hun wiki staat alle informatie die je nodig hebt om bij jou thuis een eerste exemplaar te krijgen om jou buurt te voorzien van objecten, inclusief mer printers en upgrades voor de printer. Het is de bedoeling dat de printer een echt opensource project gaat worden met nieuwe functionaliteit die gedreven wordt door de wensen van de gebruikers. Hier een video die een beeld geeft van het werkende systeem. Hij print voorlopig vooral eenvoudige kunststof objecten en nog geen bananen. Het is dus nog lang geen Startrek replicator. Maar van iets experimenteels een krachtig en bruikbaar instrument maken daar weet de opensource community wel raad mee. Gaan we ook een stukje materiële schaarste oplossen. Als econoom zou ik me maar gaan specialiseren in 'abundance economy'.

10 interessante toepassingen van 3D printing

The concept of custom manufacturing is exciting to nearly everyone, but it always seems to be something that will happen in the “future”. Gibson was right and the following list of applications for 3D printers show the truth in the saying “The future is here. It’s just not evenly distributed yet.” The following items are all available for purchase or are being used in industry now. We are still a long way from Replicators like the ones from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but we probably won’t have to wait til the 24th century either.

1. Art

3D printing allows artists to create objects that would be incredibly difficult, costly, or time intensive using traditional processes. These sculptures by Bathsheba Grossman are exquisitly complex and manufactured using a laser sintering process.

2. Action Figures

Blood Elves and bandmates can both be brought to life using 3D printers. These two were created using zCorp machines which apply glue ink and powder in fine layers slowly creating a replica of one of your characters. FigurePrints allows you to create characters from Warcraft, Rockband and Spore printing services are coming soon. A number of other sites allow you to pull data from Second Life and your own 3D programs.

3. Jewelry

Jewelry makers were some of the first to use 3D printing in their manufacturing process, however they do not use metal printers, but rather ones that use wax. In a process called “investment casting” a piece of jewelry is sculpted or printed out of wax. Plaster is then poured on either side. Molten metal is poured onto the wax which melts out leaving a metal version of your wax sculpt in its place in the plaster. This piece is then finished and polished by a jeweler. Many independent jewelers have been using high tech printers in their businesses and an innovative company called Paragon Lake has combined this process with web based design tools to offer an infinite inventory to the masses of jewelery stores.

4. Hearing Aids

3D printers can also make things more functional. In the case of hearing aids a cast of your ear canal is made. The casting is digitized using a 3D scanner and a perfect replica of your ear is printed from that ensuring a great fit and improving the quality.

5. Prototypes

Prototyping in concept and product development is currently the biggest use of 3D printing technology. These machines allow designers and engineers to test out ideas for dimensional products cheaply before committing to expensive tooling and manufacturing processes.

6. Home Decor

Home goods are structurally simple but endlessly decorative and are perfect matches for 3D printing. This service allows you to create products like this lamp with any selection of words that have relevance to you (wedding vows, a favorite poem, etc.). JuJups allows you to make a customized picture frame using intelligent design tools and a zCorp printer.

7. Models

Sales folks lives get much easier when you can have models like this of your product printed up for show and tell.

8. Components/Manufacturing

Many of the examples so far are somewhat gimmicky or decorative, However in some industries 3D printing is displacing traditional manufacturing entirely. In the left hand picture a surgical knee replacement implant has been designed and manufactured to fit a patient’s joint perfectly. On the right, high tolerance engine parts were printed using a process called “Electron Beam Melting” and finished with traditional machining processes. While not the norm these uses begin to suggest what is possible in medicine and industry.

9. Medicine

3D World of Warcraft characters are cool, but these tools have the power to help save lives. Surgeons are using 3d printers to print body parts for reference before complicated surgeries. Other 3D printers are used to create bone grafts for patients who have suffered traumatic injuries. Looking further in the future scientist are working on PRINTING replacement organs. Personal Fabrication indeed!

10. Crime Scene Reconstruction

3D printing can save lives, bring Orcs to life, and solve crimes. 3D printing/scanning is used in forensics in real life and as a prop for dramatic effect in this clip from CSI.

Nieuwe 3D printer van ZCorp bij Sotopia concepts

Sotopia concepts is een van de eerste rapid prototyping bedrijven in Nederland die met de nieuwe 3D printer van ZCorp gaat printen.

Z Corporation heeft vandaag de nieuweZPrinter 650 gelanceerd. De nieuwe 3D printer heeft een printruimte van 380 x 250 x 200 mm.

De ZPrinter 650 heeft een aparte printkop voor zwart naast cyan, magenta en geel. De nieuwe printkoppen leveren modellen met heldere kleuren. De resolutie van de 3D printer is 600 x 540 dpi.

Eigenschappen van de ZPrinter 650 zijn:

• Full-spectrum kleur. The ZPrinter 650 werkt met 24-bit kleur and vijf printkoppen om duizenden kleurcombinaties meteen op uw model te printen.
  
• Snelheid. De ZPrinter 650 is 5 tot 10 keer sneller dan andere 3D printing technieken.
• Accuratie. De ZPrinter 650 kan zeer kleine en gedetailleerde modellen vervaardigen.
  

Rene Vaartjes van Sotopia concepts bespreekt graag
de mogelijkheden voor uw organisatie: 06-520 88 212

De zoete smaak van 3D printing ;)

CandyFab.org heeft een huis, tuin en keuken 3D machine gemaakt die in staat is om objecten te printen in 3D tegen zeer lage kosten. Dit komt omdat ze gebruikmaken van suiker als basisgrondstof. In plaats van een kostbare, high-end, 3D printer gebruikt CandyFab een eenvoudige 3D printer die laag voor laag in een lage resolutie objecten opbouwt van suiker.

Wanneer start de eerste bakker of multi-vlaai met het printen van een snoepgoed of taartjes. Online via de HEMA website je taart samenstellen, bestellen, printen en binnen een uur ophalen?