Australian Company Creates Even Faster 3D Printer

ErnieKey writes: One of the major reasons 3D printing hasn't really caught on is because it's an incredibly slow process. Just last week a company called Carbon3D unveiled a super fast new 3D printing process that utilizes oxygen and light. Now, another company — Gizmo 3D — has unveiled an even faster 3D printing process which is claimed to be more reliable than the process presented by Carbon3D. It can print 30mm in height at a 50 micron resolution in just 6 minutes.

Comments

Faster, Pussycat

[turkeydance]

Kill! Kill!....i enjoy a Russ Meyer reference in the morning.

The 3d printed elephant in the room

[Anonymous Coward]

The reason 3d printing doesn't catch on is because 3d printed products are absolute junk because of the type of plastic that must be used.

It looks horrible, it feels horrible, and it isnt very durable. There's currently not much exciting about it beyond the idea. That's why it doesn't catch on.

If you don't believe me, take an item that you think is incredibly sexy and well designed and go print a 3d protector for it.

Re:The 3d printed elephant in the room

[rmdingler]

Perhaps It's tough for you to imagine that 3D printing might begin with a whisper, all primitive and slow...

Because, historically, every great leap in innovative technology immediately implemented itself as progress in one or two tries.

Protip: Even the Enterprise's replicator didn't get medium rare ribye perfect for at least two or three attempts.

Re:The 3d printed elephant in the room

[Enry]

Wat? 3D printed objects can be made using ABS, the exact same plastic used to make Legos.

Re:The 3d printed elephant in the room

[plover]

If you have a business use for what they can print today, you already have one, and are likely contemplating buying a better one. If you have a personal use for the parts they can print, you probably already own one. And even if you don't have a real use for them, you may have one as a cool toy. But not everyone is going to buy the same toys as you.

Once they get a lot more capable (maybe not Star Trek replicator capable, but substantially better than they are now) then they'll become ubiquitous. Until then, not everyone needs one. I'm thanking you now for being an early adopter, but don't expect me to join you yet.

Re:The 3d printed elephant in the room

[l0ungeb0y]

Ahhh AC -- the product of the gadget generation that simply can not grasp the concept that new technology does not come out all nice and shiny like an iPhone -- but takes decades to become powerful and useful to the masses. Perhaps AC had been around in the 70s or 80s and seen the evolution of the PC from a curiosity, to an expensive utility to a common place commodity he'd have a better appreciation for product evolution. In a few years, given advances in materials and fabrication technique, I'm sure even AC will start to see the potential of 3D printing as something beyond a pipedream.

Re:The 3d printed elephant in the room

[jpatters]

Have you ever looked at the output from a color printer from the 80s? Color dot matrix was absolutely hopeless for anything serious, and ink jet was expensive and not really that much better. Banding was the norm. Of course there were exotic and expensive technologies like dye-sublimation, but they were very expensive. If you are paying attention, that looks a lot like the 3D printing landscape now. The Makerbot style additave printers will probably go away, like dot matrix; and the photosensitave resin ones will improve dramatically and rapidly, like ink jet did in the 90s. They will come way down in price until they are under $100. Even the other exotic technologies will come down in price, like dye-sub did.

Off the top of my head I can think of a dozen or so occasions in the last year where a 3D printed household item or replacement part would have been useful. Remember, it's not just the cost of the part. if you can't 3D print then there is all your time spent sourcing and obtaining the part in question, if it's even available, and then hoping that it's suitable. The factors that will make 3D printing practical for household use are speed and cost. Print speed is exactly what is discussed in TFA. Cost will come down just like every other piece of computer technology ever.

Re: The real reason

[plover]

The problem is they're too limited. They have to get more capable, not faster, in order to meet my needs. If they can insert circuitry, maybe I can print things that are somewhat more useful. As of right now, I have needed exactly one 3D printed thing (a battery holder for an electronic project, which a friend provided gratis.) But at no point in the last five years have my needs for small plastic things added up to the $300 price of a Simplebot, let alone a printer with better quality, resolution, size, or capabilities.

Maybe you have kids who need thousands of plastic army men. Maybe you are in a business where fabricating prototypes is valuable to you. Great for you, I'm glad you have a use for one. Hopefully you'll help drive volume so the costs come down even further. But as they stand today, they're too expensive for anything I need, and would take up more storage space than I want to waste on a toy.

It has nothing to do with thinking big or small. I'm sorry you can't imagine a scenario different from your own experience.

requires gravity^H^Hs

[Gravis Zero]

a fatal flaw with these faster printers is that they require gravis (a downward forces) to work. gravity is in very short supply here and no, spinning the station is not an option, i got in trouble for just doing a barrel roll!

-- posted by a Robonaut

Re: The real reason

[tlambert]

I bet no one ever accused you of thinking big.

You're right. He's thinking small.

Personally, I simply don't need a bunch of big plastic tchotschkies, no matter how fast I can print them.

Re: The real reason

[itzly]

A company that I work for does a lot of 3D prototyping, but they don't have a 3D printer. They just upload the designs, and get the finished parts 24 hours later by courier. Faster printing time means that the company that's doing the 3D printing can print more designs per day, and lower the cost per item.

Also, if the resolution is high enough, you can do the same thing in production volumes. If your business is selling machines that are made from many different parts, it makes sense to 3D print some parts. 3D printing offers design options that aren't available with CNC milling, and the price can be better too. And if the volume is low (think 100-1000 items/year), injection molding will be more expensive.

I'm sorry you can't imagine a scenario different from your own experience.

Re: The real reason

[tehcyder]

I bet no one ever accused you of thinking big.

Just because we can 3D print small plastic widgets now does not mean that we will be printing cars, helicopters and the like on our home printers in a couple of years time.

There is a difference between welcoming genuine technological advances and living in a fantasy world.