3D printing – or properly, technically speaking “additive manufacturing” – adding material “atom by atom”, layer by layertechnology started in the early 80s, in 1987 the first stereolithography equipment was available on the marketvarious technologies1996 the expression “3D printer”, three dimensional printer, appears; new generations of machines.AM market revenue reached 1.2 billion dollars world wide in 2008; half of it Products --AM systems, system upgrades, materials, and aftermarket products, such as third-party software, lasers, and print heads. The other half: Services -- include revenues generated from parts produced on AM systems by service providers, system maintenance contracts, training, seminars, conferences, expositions, advertising, publications, contract research, and consulting. Neither category includes revenues from secondary tooling, molded parts, or castings. (Wohlers 2009)2006 appears a new thing – in a research project at the University of Bath (UK): with the goal of making a low cost 3D printer, but also one that could print its own parts.Dr. Adrian Bowyer and his graduate student, Ed Sells, created RepRap in 2004 {check!}-----Wohlers, Terry (2009) Wohlers Report 2009. Fort Collins, Colorado USA:Wohlers Associates, Inc.
3D printing – or properly, technically speaking “additive manufacturing” – adding material “atom by atom”, layer by layertechnology started in the early 80s, in 1987 the first stereolithography equipment was available on the marketvarious technologies1996 the expression “3D printer”, three dimensional printer, appears; new generations of machines.AM market revenue reached 1.2 billion dollars world wide in 2008; half of it Products --AM systems, system upgrades, materials, and aftermarket products, such as third-party software, lasers, and print heads. The other half: Services -- include revenues generated from parts produced on AM systems by service providers, system maintenance contracts, training, seminars, conferences, expositions, advertising, publications, contract research, and consulting. Neither category includes revenues from secondary tooling, molded parts, or castings. (Wohlers 2009)2006 appears a new thing – in a research project at the University of Bath (UK): with the goal of making a low cost 3D printer, but also one that could print its own parts.Dr. Adrian Bowyer and his graduate student, Ed Sells, created RepRap in 2004 {check!}-----Wohlers, Terry (2009) Wohlers Report 2009. Fort Collins, Colorado USA:Wohlers Associates, Inc.
Darwin, an open-source 3D printer, was made available in 2007. In 2009, Bowyer and team introduced the second- generation RepRap machine, Mendel.Today a number of commercial kit makers sell versions of the RepRap, including Ponoko in New Zealand, Bits From Bytes (UK), MakerBot (U.S.) and Shapercube (Germany).MakerBot sells their entry level Cupcake machine for about $950.Fab@Home, an early low cost “step-brother” – the one that was in the intro movieUltimaker – refactored RepRap with a lively community – some users are able to print at a resolution of 40 microns – that’s a 25th of a millimeter
Darwin, an open-source 3D printer, was made available in 2007. In 2009, Bowyer and team introduced the second- generation RepRap machine, Mendel.Today a number of commercial kit makers sell versions of the RepRap, including Ponoko in New Zealand, Bits From Bytes (UK), MakerBot (U.S.) and Shapercube (Germany).MakerBot sells their entry level Cupcake machine for about $950.Fab@Home, an early low cost “step-brother” – the one that was in the intro movieUltimaker – refactored RepRap with a lively community – some users are able to print at a resolution of 40 microns – that’s a 25th of a millimeter
Darwin, an open-source 3D printer, was made available in 2007. In 2009, Bowyer and team introduced the second- generation RepRap machine, Mendel.Today a number of commercial kit makers sell versions of the RepRap, including Ponoko in New Zealand, Bits From Bytes (UK), MakerBot (U.S.) and Shapercube (Germany).MakerBot sells their entry level Cupcake machine for about $950.Fab@Home, an early low cost “step-brother” – the one that was in the intro movieUltimaker – refactored RepRap with a lively community – some users are able to print at a resolution of 40 microns – that’s a 25th of a millimeter
Darwin, an open-source 3D printer, was made available in 2007. In 2009, Bowyer and team introduced the second- generation RepRap machine, Mendel.Today a number of commercial kit makers sell versions of the RepRap, including Ponoko in New Zealand, Bits From Bytes (UK), MakerBot (U.S.) and Shapercube (Germany).MakerBot sells their entry level Cupcake machine for about $950.Fab@Home, an early low cost “step-brother” – the one that was in the intro movieUltimaker – refactored RepRap with a lively community – some users are able to print at a resolution of 40 microns – that’s a 25th of a millimeter
Darwin, an open-source 3D printer, was made available in 2007. In 2009, Bowyer and team introduced the second- generation RepRap machine, Mendel.Today a number of commercial kit makers sell versions of the RepRap, including Ponoko in New Zealand, Bits From Bytes (UK), MakerBot (U.S.) and Shapercube (Germany).MakerBot sells their entry level Cupcake machine for about $950.Fab@Home, an early low cost “step-brother” – the one that was in the intro movieUltimaker – refactored RepRap with a lively community – some users are able to print at a resolution of 40 microns – that’s a 25th of a millimeter
digital tool chain – scanner (could be a 3D scanner, but there is even software to creade threedimensional computer models from a few photos of an object, there is a cheap iPhone app to do exactly that: create 3D-models from photos), modelling in the computer, and 3D—printingnot only 3D printing, also “conventional” computer controlled machines: milling, cuttingadd the Internet and distribute building plans, computer models, bills of material and instructions online … on sites such as Instructables, Thingiverse … and you get pretty close to the star trek replicatoravailable at relatively cheap prices (cheap laser cutters cost a few thousand Euros, parts for self-built mills are about EUR 500)