So will adults.
3D printed 1911:
Posted on 11/30/2013 11:55:26 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The progress in 3-D printing has been nothing short of astounding over the last decade. The soaring stock prices of publicly traded 3-D printing companies 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD ) and Stratasys clearly illustrate the industry has made advances. Today, even consumers can get their hands on a plastic 3-D printer at a reasonable price -- an unheard-of possibility just five years ago. This phenomenal industry progress has led some to believe Moore's law applies to 3-D printing. Are they right? One inventor in Colorado disagrees.
Moore's law? Not really
At the Inside 3D Printing conference in Chicago this year, 3D Systems CEO Avi Reichental asserted that Moore's Law applies to the 3-D printing industry. For those not familiar with Moore's Law, it is the observation that the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years and that this trend should continue in the future. Intel co-founder Gordon Moore famously pinpointed the trend in 1965.
"Printers are going to double up on performance and double down on costs. Expect printers to become real powerful home appliances. The train has left the station," Reichental proclaimed at the Chicago conference after relating the industry progress to Moore's law. But just because the law has held true for transistors on integrated circuits, it doesn't mean Reichental's bullish outlook will hold true for 3-D printing technology.
When I recently interviewed David Hartkop, the creator of a just-unveiled prototype of the world's first desktop printer for printing metal at home, the Mini Metal Maker, I asked what he thought about Reichental's prediction.
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)
Moore's law or not, the industry's progress is astounding, and it likely will continue to be impressive. But investors would be wise to listen to Hartkop and not model their expectations after Moore's law. 3-D printing comes in many forms, based on many different technologies, and it's a very physical process; the Moore's Law analogy is likely unrealistic.
The physical limitations of silicon for computer chips are close to being reached or so I have read.
I guess they can put massively parallel processors in your desk top tower to keep increasing computer power but the silicon chip is close to reaching it’s limit as far as speed is concerned.
However, as a new technology, 3D printing will probably benefit from a Moore's Law like acceleration in capabilities for several years.
Moore’s law does not necessarily translate to manufacturing.
Moore’s law is the observation that, over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years. The law is named after Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore, who described the trend in his 1965 paper.[1][2][3] His prediction has proven to be accurate, in part because the law is now used in the semiconductor industry to guide long-term planning and to set targets for research and development.[4]
While the home based cheap machine market may not accelerate from now on like it has, research is ongoing into the technologies. The ultimate goal is atomically precise manufacturing, and we still have a log way to go to be able to perform that.
And if we look at the effect that the technology has on the manufacturing industry and commerce, we are just getting started and will see many leaps in productivity and cost effectiveness.
Silicon chips will be old hat in the near future. Chips made of graphene can be made with much smaller transistors than is possible with silicon chips.
In 20 years kids will be making their own toys at home
HAwhoo!!
2 years ago we were. Making only prototype and scale model parts on 3D printers, this season we made parts to be used on the cars ready made on 3D printers, in a couple years, we will do 25 percnt of our parts using 3D
Will 3D printers be able to print themselves? IOW, doesnt this tech have massive implications for manufacturing, patent infringement, etc. Could I just borrow your smartphone and print a duplicate? Thanks ahead of time.
Will 3D printers be able to print themselves? IOW, doesnt this tech have massive implications for manufacturing, patent infringement, etc. Could I just borrow your smartphone and print a duplicate? Thanks ahead of time.
So will adults.
3D printed 1911:
I had to do it.
I started my career in the early 70s as a contract mechanical designer with only one class for one semester at a trade school. You either passed or failed. The teacher had a very good reputation and his comment on my certificate was “He can do it when he wants too”. That got my foot in the door.
I loved working with the old farts and would go to them with any questions on how to do something. They were happy to help.
I thought about becoming an engineer, some companies even offered to pay for my schooling. But engineers were being used as salesmen and I liked being creative and made more money.
I worked with some amazing people, all with their own obsessions and hobbies. I could never figure out how the self-taught technicians could be so under paid and so skilled in what we all accomplished together, but it was what they wanted to do.
What I’m getting at is that we were all garage smart. We started very young taking things apart to see what made them tick, and then putting them back together. We could fix or make just about anything.
As contractors, we would get a new job and it was like a reunion with some of your old friends, everyone was happy to see you walking in for an interview.
That all changed in the late 90s with the influx of H1-B people. I was still able to get the jobs but I was working with degreed young people that saw me as a threat. People without the aptitude. They would get upset when the boss would give me the fastest computer and the most challenging jobs.
I quit working 10 years ago; I just didn’t like the environment and I started doing house plans out of my house.
Just as it was in the late 80s with us going to computer swap meets buying parts to build our own computers for $3,500, this 3D printing will again let the creative be creative. We won’t be restricted by employers, we will all collaborate, the obsessive programmer, technician, the mechanical designer, the guys that are into model trains and airplanes, transportation, energy, Arduino, all of us, and we will do it because it is our passion.
I have already seen the excitement at my local 3D printing store’s monthly meeting. Nice people, friendly people, people like the old guys that loved to help me when I was young.
So yes, I see 3D printing growing by leaps and bounds.
I walked into my local 3D print store and asked him what he was printing. He said more printers.
As far as your smart phone goes, the answer is yes.
https://www.autocad360.com/
I bought DDD and SSYS hoping it pays off as the next big tech stock. So far its working. But I’m keeping it for at least 5 years hoping it will be the next Microsoft or apple.
Moored law is already over that’s why they went to multi core CPUs.
Silicon is almost dead, that is true. The next generation of materials is already here and being tweaked (nano tubes, molybdenum, graphene...the list actually goes on; it is just the question of who will be the winner and standardized?)
Correct, the BS about 3D Printing seems to know no bounds.
Right now 3D printing is going through the basics, learning how to put material down into a shape. It will advance by getting faster, and working at higher resolution.
Where it really gets exciting is when advancements in materials intersect with it. When 3D printing can deposit multiple advanced materials at high rez, you can begin to envision electrical conducting plastics and shape memory metals combining to produce artificial muscle that’s stronger and more durable than real, and communicates with the nervous system.
Metal matrix ceramics, carbon fiber, graphenes, fabulous material that will find new applications. Using different materials in the presence of catalysts, electrical current,or thermal energy will make chemical changes possible in place during the build up.
3D printing machines will “break out of the box” and take on the appearance of swarms of insects or rodents, building massive structure like aircraft wings, even buildings and bridges, working in huge coordinated teams like ant colonies or beehives.
3D printing machines might be sent to the Moon or Mars, to build the landing base before humans arrive.
This is the most potentially transformative technology since the invention of the microprocesser.
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