DaveH6
3D Printing/Mapping
My neighbor Ernie the engineer was unable to find a replacement sheave for a block on his sailboat. He creates a file with the sheave's dimensions and sends it to a UPS store (yup, the guys with the brown delivery trucks) . I don't know the format of the file but it apparently is specific to the task at hand.
UPS manufactured and sent Ernie the pictured part that was created by spraying ABS from "printer" nozzles rather than ink. Ernie also had a sheave made by UPS that featured ABS ball bearings in it.
My son Chris has seen this technology in a Home Depot store where they scan an item and then duplicate it.
Neat technology that is in its infancy and ready to blow our socks off as the technology matures. No doubt our grandchildren will have affordable 3D printers for home use.
3D Printing/Mapping
My neighbor Ernie the engineer was unable to find a replacement sheave for a block on his sailboat. He creates a file with the sheave's dimensions and sends it to a UPS store (yup, the guys with the brown delivery trucks) . I don't know the format of the file but it apparently is specific to the task at hand.
UPS manufactured and sent Ernie the pictured part that was created by spraying ABS from "printer" nozzles rather than ink. Ernie also had a sheave made by UPS that featured ABS ball bearings in it.
My son Chris has seen this technology in a Home Depot store where they scan an item and then duplicate it.
Neat technology that is in its infancy and ready to blow our socks off as the technology matures. No doubt our grandchildren will have affordable 3D printers for home use.