Previously we spoke about 3D printers, their promise or lack thereof! I will admit I have been a bit cynical of their reliability, accuracy and actual usefulness. There is absolutely no doubt that 3D printers are here to stay and promise great things for our future. Sadly, for most of us, it still remains in the future. Despite the fact that Adept designs 100’s of parts per month we don’t own a 3D printer and don’t expect to purchase one anytime soon. That’s not to say we don’t utilize rapid manufacturing a great deal. However, by not bringing a single technology in house we are not bound or tempted to fit our process into the single technology we own. Prototyping companies put out a horde of advertising displaying complex assemblies that have been 3D printed in order to entice us towards their machines and services, but beware, (we’ll talk about that a little later). I don’t want to necessarily talk about 3D printers but more about prototyping as a whole. Specifically about when to prototype and when not to prototype, a sort of Shakespearean… “to Prototype or not to Prototype”.
3D Printing
Regarding Your New Year’s 3D Printer Purchase Decision…
Happy New Year! Please allow me to take this moment to thank you, our readers. We’ve enjoyed your comments and look forward to our exchange in 2015! In today’s post, we will be discussing 3D Printers.
Last year flew by in a flash, while this year commemorates Adept’s 20th anniversary. It seem like just yesterday when we opened our doors to new and exciting projects. A lot has certainly changed in the past 30 years, notably, advances in computer technology coupled with its’ user friendliness has been nothing short of remarkable. Technology once reserved for the elite has quickly becoming mainstream. In 1985, most engineers were surfing the net through 14.4 modems, Creo was known as Pro Engineer and Solidworks was,… nonexistent. So many technologies have advanced, but one technology that has truly coming-of-age is Additive Manufacturing. It may also be familiar to you by its process name, Stereolithography or SLA. Although, Additive Manufacturing is accomplished through a vast number of processes today, not only SLA. Some of the processes are so dialed in they’re capable to fabricating jet engine assemblies.
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