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Windmill Blade Molds 3D Printed By National Labs (energy.gov)
MountainLogic writes: Last year ORNL produced a 3D printed Shelby. This year, the National Labs are using the mother of all 3D printers to make windmill molds cheaper and faster to produce in the US. The size of the current 150 foot utility scale blades are being extended with these techniques. US DOE is providing a leading role to advance US manufacturing technology and competitiveness. Welcome back rust belt, we missed you.
http://energy.gov/eere/article...
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Why not 3D print the blades directly? I was told, in no uncertain terms, that 3D printing is the future, and anything else is just Luddite.
I was told 3D printed houses, 3D printed cars,3D printed airplanes,3D printed Mars colonies,3D printed rockets,3D printed food,3D printed organs.
Now all you have is a big mold? So what?
Reading is Fundamental. They printed a MOLD in order to mass-produce the blades using regular manufacturing techniques.
holy crap Seymore, that WHOOOSHING sound isn't coming from 3D printed windmill blades.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Why are 3d printed molds going to be so much better than CNC produced molds?
Molds are quite expensive to make... would be my guess.
Because these are 3D printed molds.
Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur
Because you don't need a plug. Says TFA. Presumably that is a positive shape that has to be produced first out of which the mold is made. With 3d printing you can make the mold directly.
I guess with CNC (subtractive manufacturing) you can only make a blade shape, but not its negative while with 3d printing (additive manufacturing) you can make either.
NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
You can make a negative mold with CNC, you just do it in two halves. It is done all the time. I do see how you might produce a continuous enclosed mode with 3D, but its hard to see why that method is advantageous regarding the final product.
Molds are fabulously expensive to machine. Molding is a high capital endeavour, mostly because of the cost of molds and presses. It's very profitable, but you have to sell a lot of product to recoup tooling costs.
Not sure why anyone is silly enough to believe this is going improve anything in the US, however. It's not like Asian manufacturers are incapable of stealing the IP, operating a 3-D printer, building cheaper blades and shipping them in here, tariff free, as usual.
After a bit more thought, I could see how CNC produced molds might require a lot more material to start with, if the blade has a very curved shape. But I'm not sure why just doing it in sections that fit together would be a big disadvantage either.
They should make the mold out of ice or something. Then melt it and pour it out.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Assuming this story isn't from Europe, are you sure they made a mold? Or did they make a mould. I suspect that perhaps they made a mould based on context. Mould: a hollow form or matrix for giving a particular shape to something in a molten or plastic state. Mold: a fungus that grows in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae.
"SPA/BSA: You wouldn't download a car!"
"ORNL: Actually..."
According to Stratasys, for small runs and development, 3D-printed plastic molds are faster to make and cheaper than CNC-milled aluminium or steel molds.
Because these are 3D printed molds. ... they are cheaper and faster to make.
CNC machining is not particularly quick, easy or cheap.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
I've made smaller molds (several feet) using both techniques. For this application milling the molds from a high density foam will be much cheaper. The 3D printing is just a gimmick. I've made molds using 3D printing ABS and one of the nice features is the epoxy resin doesn't stick well to the ABS. So you can just use Acetone to seal the printed surface and use it at a mold with very little prep.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
According to Stratasys, for small runs and development, 3D-printed plastic molds are faster to make and cheaper than CNC-milled aluminium or steel molds.
Well, of course SSS will claim that, after all they sell 3D printers. How about comparing molds of similar materials.
Perhaps, just perhaps, thats why they are printing the MOLDS not the blades?
But, I know thats a bit much to ask, actually comprehending what you read..
BTW, you also also wrong about strength, you can directly print in sintered titanium if you want (but this wont be..)
Windmill Blade Molds 3D Printed By National Labs
That does sound a lot friendlier than "wind turbine."
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
A metamold?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
There's a large demographic of /.'ers who are literal,
Are they literally literal?
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
China can make all the molds and blades they like, but until they figure out a way to actually ship 50 foot blades around, it really doesn't matter does it?
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
You asked why 3D-printed molds are better than CNC-milled molds. I listed the reasons. They're lower cost, good for development and really short manufacturing runs. Apart from those scenarios, they're not better. They probably have limits on which types of plastic can be molded too.
Nevertheless, it's quite impressive IMHO.
Mother of all 3D printers, you say? So if we kill that one, no more "3D-printed" nonsense? Hm...