First Factory Use Of 'Replicator' For Spare Parts

maddogsparky writes: "Over at Spacedaily, there is an article about how a 3D printer was used to fabricate a replacement part in a production environment--the first known case. They've also done some tests in NASA's vomit comet and are planning on a shuttle test for applications on the ISS or Mars trip."

Comments

Probably a temporary replacement...

[algae]

The article mentions that the failed part was made of aluminium, but that the rapid prototyper can only make parts out of polycarbonate, wax, etc. I'm guessing that the part they "printed out" was only being used as a temporary replacement until the actual aluminium pulley could be shipped to them. Still, we're on the way!

Anyone know if there's work being done on stereolithography using a wider variety of materials? It seems to me that that's the biggest obstacle before we have bonafide "replicators."

Re:Probably a temporary replacement...

[Paul Neubauer]

Yes, probably a temporary replacement, but don't count out what polymers can do.

Some years ago I was told of a project to make a plastic clip for an overhead window (sunroof for houses). The window manufacturer was quite concerned about the strength and had the perception that any and all plastics were not likely to be good enough. Eventually the material used was a tougher nylon, with something like 30% glass fiber reinforcement.

When the first pieces were tried there was an attempt to break them, to show that "mere plastic" just would not do. Sure enough the piece disassembled and a chunk went flying across the room. As comments were being made about inferior product someone retrieved the broken part. The nylon had held, but a steel pin had not. There were no more arguments about 'cheap plastic' from then on.

While glass fiber reinforcement is probably out for this 3-D printing, polycarbonate is some pretty tough stuff (but subject to chemical attack by a few common things..) and plastics can be recycled. This may make much sense in space applications. If a part is needed, make it, and put the old part back into the source mix and use the molecules over again.

Re:Replace lego parts =)

[asbestos_diaper]

The plural of Lego is Lego, not Legos.

Build an Electric Discharge Machining system!

[BigBlockMopar]

Where can I get one?

Build one! The worst part is three stepper motors driving an XYZ table under computer control.

I like EDM myself. Here's a little on EDM, including a link on how to build a very simple one.

While I take no responsibility for anyone getting killed by following my suggestion, I've built my own EDM system for taking broken iron bolts out of aluminum automotive castings. It uses a microwave oven transformer and a bank of oil-filled capacitors. It's a profoundly dangerous machine if you build it wrong. But I've also blown 1/2" Grade-8 bolts out of aluminum castings in a matter of hours.

Wanna hire a computer geek who also knows how to do stuff like this? Great for integrating computers into robotic, industrial and automotive manufacturing processes.

Rapid Prototyping Machine

[rootmonkey]

I used to goto Milwaukee School Of Engineering (MSOE) they have one of the top research labs for rapid prototyping. You can do more than make replacement parts. Molecular models and biological models can also be made. Once they recreated a human jaw bone to help solve a crime.
Here is an overview of how rapid protyping works. here

The Other Note

[virg_mattes]

> I wonder how much torque that crescent wrench could take before deforming?

That depends upon the material they use. For polycarbonate, it'd be fairly close to steel for hand tool purposes (your hand can only apply so much pressure to any tool). The big problem is wear, since (unless you're using poly bolts, which have their own disadvantages) the tool would be softer than the stuff you use it on.

Virg

Re:Why is this news?

[WolfWithoutAClause]

No. Previous items built by 3D printers haven't been strong enough to actually use. The first ones were weak plastic, and then there were wax models- you could see what it would look like, you could turn it over in your hands and fit it together, but it wouldn't actually work.

This is the only time anyone has actually put it straight into a real machine. (Although people have built molds using this technology; it's close but no cigar IMO.)

Re:Available to Joe Sixpack?

[ryanwright]

Does anyone know of someplace which is offering access to these printers to paying customers? I would be perfectly happy to email CAD plans to a fabricator if I could get a quick, cheap kit of parts back in the mail.

Buy your own machine. You said you're into modeling. That's what these are made for. Their smaller solutions are only a couple grand for a scanner & printer. Just over a grand if you only want the printer. Very cool stuff.

Re:Why is this news?

[zeus_tfc]

This is an important breakthrough of an already existing technology. I work in the auto industry, designing plastic injection molded parts. We use an SLA (Stereo Lithography somethingoranother) machine to rapid prototype concept pieces all the time. We use them to show new ideas to our customer, and to check to make sure that our ideas will work in the real world, and not just in a CAD tube.
For a long time there has been talk of using machines like this in other enironments. The example I've heard most is using it for creating spare parts in space, instead of having a stock of various parts taking up valuable space.
As someone else already pointed out, the problems with the old machines is that they used weak polymers that were not viable for functional parts.

I for one think this is pretty cool, but not entirely new. We won't upgrade our SLA machine, and won't replace our cheap aluminum tools for prototyping, but we are not the target buyers.
Now, any astronaut with some CAD skills can replicate a whoopie cushion. Totally cool.

Zeus_tfc
Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog its too dark to read. Groucho Marx