Slashdot Mirror
MIT Media Lab Researcher Prints Playable Flute
What if making an acoustic instrument was a matter of hitting 'print'? MIT Media Lab researcher Amit Zoran did just that. He created a flute using the Objet Geometries Connex500 3D printer. The instrument is playable and the results are surprisingly good for a first attempt. As an aside, rumour has it that Amit has a bumper sticker that reads: My other printer prints food.
It's not really for home use yet, but you can have your stuff printed relatively cheaply (not yet printer ink "cheaply", but yeah) at some places. For example, see i.Materialise for an online printing service. ;-), I've seen a lot of 3D printing stuff. This flute thing doesn't impress me that much - this folding chair is much cooler.
Disclaimer: I work for a sister company
I just did a quick search and there's a manufacturer selling a desktop 3D printer for $10,000. It uses a different process in the build; more like laying clear tape and cutting it at each layer to produce a model. The next cheapest I could find used the more traditional "goop" like resin and was $15,000. The last time I checked prices about two years ago and they were hovering around $30,000. At this rate you'll probably see models in the $1500-3000 range in about 3-7 years.
The question then is, what do you build with it?
These 3D printers are for rapid prototyping, and they are far from new. They have been around for years.
They do NOT create durable goods. You will NOT be able to print working cars, bikes, computers, houses, women or whatever else you want. The output of these printers do not serve any real purpose other than a 3-dimensional prototype of an object. Even if this so-called flute is playable today, it likely won't be in a year's time if it's handled a lot.
I guess your username says it all, but how exactly do you think this will somehow magically be cheaper than printing in 2D on plain paper with standard ink?
Bottom line: You cannot "manufacture" durable goods using 3D printer technology. It's nice to dream, but dreams have their place.
"Husbandry" is "the management of domestic affairs and resources".
Historically, both your wife and your livestock were classified under "domestic affairs and resources". Today, we tend to step carefully around the lingering etymological implication that "husbands" are those who engage in wife management, unless some other sort of husbandry is specified; but that is still why the word is what it is, even though women have actually been promoted to human status in a number of parts of the world.
Um... Happy Wednesday, everybody?