Posted on 09/19/2014 10:18:41 AM PDT by raybbr
Dremel has announced the first 3D printer to come from a major tool manufacturer, the $999 Dremel 3D Idea Builder. Dremel called it a desktop machine for the masses.
The 3D Idea Builder is a fused deposition modeling (FDM) machine that uses a printer head that melts and extrudes a plastic filament layer upon layer to build an object; the thinner the layers, the better the "resolution" or smoothness of an 3D object's surface.
Dremel's machine extrudes the melted filament in layers 100 microns thick - about the same thickness as a standard sheet of paper. The 3D thermoplastic filament, which looks like weed whacker string, comes on 1.1-pound reels that retail for $30. There are 10 colors from which to choose.
Unlike some other 3D printers, Dremel's build platform is not heated. Heated platforms help objects that are being printed maintain their shape by holding the edges down.
The printer has a USB port for connecting computers that run either Mac OS X 10.8 or later or Windows Vista or later software. It also has a full colar touch screen display for controlling various functions.
The thermo polymer filament used with Dremel's machine is limited to one type -- a common polylactide (PLA). PLA is a biodegradable material made from renewables such as corn starch. Other machines allow users to select more than one print material, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, which is more durable than PLA but has an unpleasant smell.
For example, XYZprinting recently announced several sub-$1,000 3D printers that will use both PLA and ABS.
(Excerpt) Read more at computerworld.com ...
Since 1963, Lego pieces have been manufactured from a strong, resilient plastic known as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).[24] As of September 2008, the engineers use the NX CAD/CAM/CAE PLM software suite to model the elements. The software allows the parts to be optimised by way of mould flow and stress analysis. Prototype moulds are sometimes built before the design is committed to mass production. The ABS plastic is heated to 232 °C (450 °F) until at a dough-like consistency. It is then injected into the moulds at pressures between 25 and 150 tons, and takes approximately 15 seconds to cool. The moulds are permitted a tolerance of up to two micrometres, to ensure the bricks remain connected.[20] Human inspectors check the output of the moulds, to eliminate significant variations in colour or thickness. According to the Lego Group, about eighteen bricks out of every million fail to meet the standard required.[25] Lego factories recycle all but about 1 percent of their plastic waste from the manufacturing process. If the plastic cannot be re-used in Lego bricks, it is processed and sold on to industries that can make use of it.[26][27]
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