File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
OMG! way beyond papercraft!
this is said to become affordable ~1000 USD within the next fout years, what do you think?
http://www.desktopfactory.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/technology/07copy.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
>> Anonymous
>>48985
me thinks 1000 usd is still a lot of money to be "affordable"
affordable means "I don't really need it per se, but I'll buy it anyway"
it doesn't really fall into that category, 1000 usd for something I don't really need for my job or something, just as a hobby...
>> Anonymous
People restore classic cars as a hobby, what do you think that costs? 1000 USD is affordable.
>> Anonymous
>>48990People do papercraft as a hobby, what do you think that costs? 1000 USD is not affordable.
fix'ed
>> Anonymous
>>48990
Those people have jobs, loans, extra mortgages on the house they own...
4Chan goes to school.
>> Anonymous
OP here.
>>48993
okay maybe that's a point, but will you in 5 years? i mean if you still follow the same hobbies/obsessions then it' woth a note, right? and on the other hand, how much did you computer equipment cost in general? i'd put my hobby above, let's say a car maybe.
>> Anonymous
>>48996
Computer equipment is something you can't really do without nowadays. 99,9% of the earth's population can easily do without a 3D printer, I don't really think you can compare that...
But my hobby is worth a note yeah, I sometimes buy papercraft (like those foldin' arts) for 3-10 bucks, but 50 bucks is already a lot of money; and 20 times as much is more money. ;)
This is great for people that want do some serious modelling, that want to be artists, want to be in the designing business, great news for them. But for people that want to get started into modelling as a hobby? Think "clay" or even better: papercraft. ;)
>> Anonymous
1000 bucks is the cost of a semi decent gaming machine, or a PS3 with a few good games, or an HD TV. It's less than a car; less than a years insurance and tax on most cars at my age. I'd say for a 3D printer that ain't half bad and definately comes into the category of "affordable luxury if you save up for a bit" rather than "never ever going to be able to get one"
>> Anonymous
>>48993
and they are 45 yo
>> Anonymous
>>48998"affordable luxury if you save up for a bit" rather than "never ever going to be able to get one"
A yes, THAT is true. If you REALLY want one, you CAN get one. But the question is: do you REALLY want one? And I think nobody REALLY wants one for a mere hobby...

1000 bucks is the cost of a semi decent gaming machine, or a PS3 with a few good games, or an HD TV.
"Game" consoles seem to be going the way of becoming more and more like personal computers (but still people have both a console AND a PC lol) with all kinds of extras that don't really have to do with gaming and that push up the prices...
The Nintendo 64 just played kick-ass games, the Wii lets you make photoalbums of your family and friends, sigh... And I have to pay extra for features like that... >:(
Last pure GAME console I owned was N64. It still does the job I want: provide gaming fun whenever I need!
>> Anonymous
>>49003


The photo album feature is pure software though, and that cost can be spread across the whole user base. Sure it probably took a highly paid worker a few days to do, but that cost divided between hundreds of thousands of units is not so high, probably only pennies per wii.

Hardware stuff is a whole different ballgame.
>> Anonymous
>>49004
Gawd, you name one example from the top of your head, and everybody pins you down on that one example... SSET lol It was just the first totally useless feature of a game console I could think of, because they show that stupid commercial in like every commercial block... (so commercial DO work, it DOES stick in your mind! lol)
Yeah, it's the hardware stuff that costs the money and they force on their users.
>> Anonymous
I wonder how much it will cost to refill it with the materials to print anything. I'll bet thats where the large profits for the people making these machines will come from. Kinda like current printers, printer is 'affordable' until you replace the cartridges a couple of times.
>> Anonymous
OP again.

>>48998
yup.

>>48997
yet no campare, i agree!

>>49007
yup, that would be the more interesting thing to know, right? cause if it was like 100 USD per "print" it wouldn't even be "affordable luxury if you save up for a bit"
i myself compare this 3d printer thingie to digital cameras with sometimes doing high quality large prints, which i do, so maybe this is why i come to think of "affordable luxury if you save up for a bit" = worth for a hobby-ist / semi-pro.

in conclusion it would be a great thing, but only if i wouldn't have to give up my other hobbies because of financial reasons ...
>> Anonymous
OP once again,
bye, /po/ i had a busy day so far, now it's time to rest for me and pc, maybe tonight i'll be back, keep the thread alive pls! your opinions matter, for this is teh intarwebs!!!
>> Anonymous
Not trying to stir this up, but not too many years ago, a CNC mill was something no one could afford to have in their garage ($100K and more, industrial only), and now you can buy a decent Roland "toy" cnc for under $10k. Not super affordable for all, but if you need one for your hobby, that's a lot more affordable than $30 for a smallish shop unit.

Same thing here, stereo-lith machines were $300k machine not too long ago, now here's one for under $5K? I think that's pretty cool. Even if a hobbyist doesn't buy this, a lot of small shops will, and that will drive the price down further.

3D software, and high end drafting/graphics software used to be unaffordable for most companies. Now you can get stuff like Pepakura and MetaSequoia as freebies.

Some day this will be a $100 machine you'll buy you kids for Christmas and they'll forget about after they shove it under the bed. It's the way of the future, cool will continue to get cheaper.
>> Jen
I might buy one for my artwork someday. There are some clay tools that people have modified from items like piping that haven't been mass produced, but they would be perfect for a certain job.

This could become a new way of selling items to customers. It gets past the shipping and handling charges and losing the items in the mail. All you need to get is the CAD drawing for all the specifics of the piece.
>> chamoo232
I would so much get that and a airbrush kit. 1000$ would repay itself fast if I could make models I would sell for 100$ each.
>> Jen
>>49034

Exactly. The repay value on something like this is very nice. I just see so much opportunity with one of these.
>> Anonymous
layer is 0.010 that is pritty thick
>> Anonymous
The refill materials... Doesn't the site say, it's only .50 cents per square inch?
>> chamoo232
since that kind of machines work layer by layer it would probably need a hell lot of thinking while doing the 3d model so there wont be parts hanging in the air while the model is being "printed"
>> Anonymous
>>49231
per cubic inch, and the printer ca only use a maximum of 5 cubic inches,thats $62.50 for a full cartridge, but if you do hollow or small models its actually quite eficient

but i would wait until the layer thickness is down to 0.0010 inches before considering it seriously
>> chamoo232
am I the only one who had the idea to combine papercraft and modeling... think about it. make the papercraft with the tabs outside. make a hole and fill the piece with something like latex or anything that could become hard. then unmold. sand down the edges to make it round then assemble all the pieces.
>> M.
>>49257
You're not ;) That's the kind of reasoning that's making me study resin casting and props making these days.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>49240

the printing process suspends the model in a starchy powder that you brush away afterwards, so nothing can fall.

I've seen some samples of 3d printed stuff too, especially with the cheap ones the end product comes out about as strong as chalk with a really sandy & crumbly surface. There's stuff to coat the models with to help, but there's still only so much use for it even with model building just out of it being really crude. With the expensive ones you can get a close-enough-to-plastic product, but that's not the $1000 thing they're talking about.
>> chamoo232
its more work than having one of those printer and just print the model all smooth and perfect. but imsure it would make somevery nice stuff and wouldnt require a 4000$ printer lol
>> chamoo232
>>49260
I saw in a movie I cant remember too well a process that they were making prototypes of models and it was some yellow liquid gel with laser beam on 3 axes and the point where the 3 laser met was cooking and making the gel harder. but when you go that far its not really modeling or anything close to a hobby its just production
>> kidIron
>>49263
I remember that. The show I saw was about new manufacturing technologies. Some doctors used a laser fabricator to make a model of a patient's skull for practice.
Here's a wiki page about the system:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_microfabrication
>> chamoo232
>>49268
I think ill stick to my idea of making paper models and castingresin in them. lol.
>> chamoo232
this whole thing is giving me some ideas. how much would people be ready to pay for resin models? hehe. I could make money faster than with donations on my website.
>> digerman3
in the movie small soldier in the beging
No.49268
>> KidIron
>>49273
No offense but, what?
I think I saw a nova special about it on PBS years ago.
>> chamoo232
>>49278
no he is right. it was in the movie small soldiers. at the begining they make the prototype toys and they show one being made out of yellow plastic with lasers
>> KidIron
Lol, I understand now.
[Now I must see that movie... even though it creeps me out.]
For all you weekend geeks who need a project, build a Darwin Cartesian robot for all your 3d printing needs: http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome
Though, last time I saw it at SXSW, it was really buggy.
Or if you want to go it yourself: http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/29/how-to-build-your-own-cnc-machine-part-1/
Hopefully nothing here is a repost.
>> M.
>>49272
Think of how many of these kunai from Naruto you could sell after casting them in resin ;) I'll try to head out to Paris today and get some info on what's needed and how to make it happen.
>> Jen
I have to take a sculpture class this semester, so anything I learn from it that can be useful, I will share after the semester is over. I'll probably be asking the professors about what methods they know about for creating models and share the information I have with them as well.
>> M.
>>49304
Neat ! Thanks Jen.

So I didn't get to go to Paris, but I did wrap up a little looking up, getting in touch with folks over at /cgl/ and reading tutorials about vacuuforming, resin casting and the likes.

From what I've seen, there's nothing we /po/ers can't do. Vacuuforming and resin both follow the same "pattern" : sculp a prototype (with clay or argile), make a "hard" version (positive or negative, whether you're going to cast resin or vacuuform styrene sheets) and then comes the final version. Vacuuforming seems to be pretty good to produce masks or items in numbers, casting doesn't seem too expensive for small items, or items limited in numbers.

To be honest, it doesn't look like anything a regular /po/er can't do with a little time and space - would make for a nice week-end project. I'm thinking of starting with something small come next week-end or Thursday next week, like the kunai mentioned above.
>> chamoo232
>>49295
I know absolutly nothing about that naruto anime beside everyone like that head band with a metal plate on it. if I make resin models ill do stuff I want myself. maybe a vivi model could be a good start
>> Anonymous
But then you'd have to pay for the copyright, wether you make them out of paper or out of resin makes no difference of course if you want to do existing stuff.
Unless you come up with your own original thing, that people will want. Sure, they'd want a resin model of their favourite game/anime character, but will they want your own original design that has no special meaning to them?
People make this work, though (original characters) but they usually just have a specialized company make their designs in large quantities, they don't "3D print" it themselves. Dunno which is cheaper: having a company give you bulk discount and having good quality, or having to buy a lot of resources every time and having to get the hang of it?
There's pros and cons for everthing, let people decide for themselves.