Something to look forward to (maybe?) - making almost any custom parts

[core]

fwiw I just got my first Alumilite kit to see I can do with it Playmobil-wise (anything to share?) ... but in the meantime there's this interesting development imo - looks like the first 'affordable' commercial 3D desktop printers will be available anytime soon:

http://www.desktopfactory.com/our_product/

* Produce objects up to 5" cube volume
* 0.01" accuracy
* $1 per cubic inch material cost
* and drum roll, it's all yours for US$4,995 

Well, perhaps in a couple of years prices will dramatically decline (hey, I still remember US$500 Canon BJC printers, and $1200 HP LaserJets)

[Richard]

Thanks for the update, Peter ...

I've been very interested in these 3D printers since they were first introduced by the media.

It does indeed appear that they will become a reality in the not too distant future.

Can you imagine placing your Playmobil order online and having it arrive on your own 3D printer?

That would mean that Playmobil would have only design costs. There would be no manufacturing, warehousing or shipping costs. And, you would receive the product almost instantly in your own home!

How cool is that? ... 

Here's to the future ... 

Thanks again for the link.

All the best,
Richard

[Richard]

Hello. Peter ...

fwiw I just got my first Alumilite kit to see I can do with it Playmobil-wise (anything to share?)

Click HERE and then be sure to scroll down to the bottom and click on "mofreaky" for a really great tutorial from Barth.

All the best,
Richard

[Little Jo]

Wow!!!    This is a phantastic machine. 

This would bring man into new customizing areas with a high grade of accuracy and reproduction.

And just imagine to also have a 3D scanner. So all the single hard steps for making a cast can be reduced by just some mouse clicks.

[Rasputin]

That is quite some cool technology . I think at $5000 that is quite a lot of machine for the price, considering they were $50,000 to $100,000 originally. Just imagine people emailing parts to each-other . I do think the copy right lawyers are going to have a hay day with all the infringements going on when you can scan and email parts .

Thank you peter for this interesting info.

[Timotheos]

"Timmy" the professional engineer wants to know this is managed.

Wouldn't it have to start with either a flat sheet of metal or a ball of soft material and hammer it into shape with tiny hammers (or compressed air?)? 

It seems unlikely it could create a truly complex shape (like a hollow clicky torso) without being customized for the process.  And even then the material would have to be very thin metal or semi-soft plastic, like epoxy instead of the liquid plastic PM uses.

I'm guessing the output material isn't very high quality except for proof of concept or research and development.  Otherwise, this is a Star Trek tool that can do anything.  But there are clearly structures you almost cannot make except by pouring liquid material into a mold and letting it fill the crevices and dry.

What are this machine's limitations?

 

[Rasputin]

 it sounded like the machine builds the part one plastic layer at a time and uses the heat from the light to bond them , that is what it sounded like anyways .
   Im sure Playmobil in the 70's had similar problems when they began to make intricate molds . Even when the company was developing the vacuum mold machines they had no idea what it might lead to . I think a machines limitations are exciting as they challenge the engineers to create more ( as long as some @#$%^& like Microsoft does not buy up all the patents and lock them up for greed ). Necessity is the mother of inventions and i need my playmo parts faster .
   The other neat thing is there would in theory be no need for playmobil parts department . You would just download the cat blueprint and print it out. the company would just have to keep the data on file and you could have access to any and all parts. Finally when we move to the moon i can have my kids email me new parts from across the galaxy.

[core]

Click HERE and then be sure to scroll down to the bottom and click on "mofreaky" for a really great tutorial from Barth.

Richard, thanks much for the link - really helps out quite a bit!

fwiw at the moment I have just one little pesky detail part that I would like to have 2 dozens pieces or more: 30 09 5310 Wall-top cover, 1-wall long, which is discontinued when I call up DS.

[Timotheos]

Holy Synchronicity, Batman!

The Wed 12 Dec 2007 Wall Street Journal (page B1) ran a cover article on 3D printers "How 3-D Printing Figures to Turn Web Worlds Real"

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119742129566522283.html

A former Microsoft executive partnered with World of Warcraft to turn people's player-characters into figurines.

The downside is the pieces are very fragile.

The printer operates as a type of glue gun, ejecting quick-drying material.  I guess it squirts tiny drops until it completes the image, like a literal 3-D dot-matrix printer.