Elon Musk Makes 3-D Printing History

fool.com ^ | June 2, 2014 | Steve Heller

[ckilmer]

the pictures connect to videos at the link.

[Regulator]

On a high level, 3-D printing is a layer-by-layer additive manufacturing process that excels at creating complicated designs because it eliminates the need for expensive tooling and its associated waste. The drawback of using a repetitive layer-by-layer manufacturing process is that it's slow as molasses, making it currently impractical for large-scale manufacturing runs. Where 3-D printing really shines is with lower volume, or one-off manufacturing runs where tooling isn't economical and production is limited. The SuperDraco rocket engine, of which only a relatively small amount will be produced, is the perfect application.

Absolutely true. That's why it's called Additive Manufacturing now.

[ckilmer]

additive manufacturing doesn’t do well for high volume just yet because its slow— but additive manufacturing is very good for short runs—that is manufacturing relatively few pieces of the same thing.

This sort of thing at some point just has to be made for oil the oil business.

You just put one of the 3D printers near a couple sites and make what you need on the spot. The time it would take to train a guy to do the job would be minimal.

[GeronL]

You would need a metal 3-d printer, industrial strength, those can’t be too cheap. Probably fit in a big rig though.

[Dave W]

bttt

[Steely Tom]

Saturn V had 1.5 million pounds thrust in its second stage.

[Salgak]

They’re not cheap NOW. Ten years ago, computer-driven milling was a quarter mill: you can buy machines now for under a thousand dollars.

Give it time (grin)

[GeronL]

bump

[BwanaNdege]

Saturn V had 1.5 million pounds thrust in its second stage.

Saturn V had to climb out of a MUCH deeper gravity well than just to the ISS LEO.

Still, a magnificent accomplishment, especially since it was 45 years ago!

When we did a tour of the Cape years ago, the guide showed us where the one of the control computers was mounted on an intermediate ring between stages. I asked what the equivalent computing power was.

"Oh, about that of the original IBM PC."

[Vince Ferrer]

Saturn V had 1.5 million pounds thrust in its second stage.

These rockets are for the little module that gets into orbit, not the heavy first and second stages. All this needs to do is take the small capsule out of orbit, and slow down from terminal velocity to zero.

SpaceX Dragon V2 | Flight Animation

[Wonder Warthog]

"...computer-driven milling was a quarter mill: you can buy machines now for under a thousand dollars."

Really?? Who from??? (No sarcasm intended.....VERY serious question). I try to follow the small, inexpensive mill market (especially CNC) fairly closely, and haven't found any in that price range (you "can" get a NON-CNC mill in that range).

[Praxeologue]

http://www.inside3dp.com/metal-3d-printing-lab-fab/

[Fractal Trader]

PIng!

[null and void]

3-D Printer Ping!

[ElkGroveDan]

It can print rocket engines, but can it print a 3D printer?

[Jack Hydrazine]

The ultra-heavy lift vehicle that will send SpaceX’s Mars Colonial Transporter to Mars will have 27 million lbs. of thrust at liftoff (maybe a little less).

[Talisker]

No parachutes?

It’s gonna be fun plummetting down out of the sky waiting to see if those puppies light up - just before impact.

[catbertz]

I watched the presentation. It will have chutes. During reentry the rockets will self-test. If failure is detected, then chutes will deploy.

[Salgak]

Search Ebay. CNC 320s go in the $600. range. I’ve seen used full-size industrial CNC units just above $1000 as well. . .