Post by Hunger on Nov 2, 2011 14:04:47 GMT
Folk need to do their research before contributing their hearsay opinions.
RTV rubber moulds do not last for 10 - 20 casts if they are looked after. In fact I believe you would have to try very hard to destroy one in such a short space of time without doing so deliberately. The forty-odd terrain moulds I own have served me well for over a year - the most underused ones have been cast several hundred times at the least. Not one of them has shown the slightest sign of deterioration. Beeswax furniture polish as mould release is the key to their longevity.
3D printers do not exclusively cost 20K - 40K of any currency. There are serious pieces of industrial hardware that print in a variety of materials that cost millions of £. There are also commercial printers that cost a few thousand £ to hundreds of thousands.
RepRap is the market leader for build-it-youself ones - their cheapest one (Huxley) costs about £600 for the kit, however you will need some understanding of electronics and some computing skills in order to build and use it. Pre-built Huxleys go for about £2000 - £3000. The resolution and the volume of the object they can create increases in line with their cost. Also, as mentioned, the beautiful thing about these printers is that they have the potential to be self-replicating machines. You can program them to build parts with which to create more 3D printers.
The application of them is not for creating stuff like a Tervigon - to make a good looking one using any printer you could reasonably afford is not practical - and why would you spend upwards of £600 (+ the cost of the material) to build a handful of models? The application of these things is surely in the creation of more geometric objects. I have been looking at purchasing one myself for the terain business I will be launching next year, with a view to producing buildings, walkways and other simple features I can then create moulds for.
The Origo is clearly intended for children, but that is not to say that an innovative person cannot use it for something. The fact that is it designed to be both useable and affordable to the average person means it will undoubtedly lead the way for better higher resolution designs in the future. I expect that every home will have a 3D printer next to the paper printer before 10 years is up, and I will certainly be following progress of these amazing little machines with enthusiasm over the coming years.
RTV rubber moulds do not last for 10 - 20 casts if they are looked after. In fact I believe you would have to try very hard to destroy one in such a short space of time without doing so deliberately. The forty-odd terrain moulds I own have served me well for over a year - the most underused ones have been cast several hundred times at the least. Not one of them has shown the slightest sign of deterioration. Beeswax furniture polish as mould release is the key to their longevity.
3D printers do not exclusively cost 20K - 40K of any currency. There are serious pieces of industrial hardware that print in a variety of materials that cost millions of £. There are also commercial printers that cost a few thousand £ to hundreds of thousands.
RepRap is the market leader for build-it-youself ones - their cheapest one (Huxley) costs about £600 for the kit, however you will need some understanding of electronics and some computing skills in order to build and use it. Pre-built Huxleys go for about £2000 - £3000. The resolution and the volume of the object they can create increases in line with their cost. Also, as mentioned, the beautiful thing about these printers is that they have the potential to be self-replicating machines. You can program them to build parts with which to create more 3D printers.
The application of them is not for creating stuff like a Tervigon - to make a good looking one using any printer you could reasonably afford is not practical - and why would you spend upwards of £600 (+ the cost of the material) to build a handful of models? The application of these things is surely in the creation of more geometric objects. I have been looking at purchasing one myself for the terain business I will be launching next year, with a view to producing buildings, walkways and other simple features I can then create moulds for.
The Origo is clearly intended for children, but that is not to say that an innovative person cannot use it for something. The fact that is it designed to be both useable and affordable to the average person means it will undoubtedly lead the way for better higher resolution designs in the future. I expect that every home will have a 3D printer next to the paper printer before 10 years is up, and I will certainly be following progress of these amazing little machines with enthusiasm over the coming years.