3D printing poised to take over manufacturing

[Bluce Ree]

Very interesting article. It talks about how modern 3D printers will be able to recycle materials into raw material. The idea that these printers will become increasingly home-based and that old shit sitting around in the garage can be recycled into raw material to build you, for example, a new car is mind boggling.

http://news.yahoo.com/3d-printing-could-over-manufacturing-industry-090000134.html

 

[Jim of WVa]

Very interesting article. It talks about how modern 3D printers will be able to recycle materials into raw material. The idea that these printers will become increasingly home-based and that old shit sitting around in the garage can be recycled into raw material to build you, for example, a new car is mind boggling.

http://news.yahoo.com/3d-printing-could-over-manufacturing-industry-090000134.html

Larry Niven has speculated that in the future our present landfills will be mined for raw materials.

 

[Bluce Ree]

Larry Niven has speculated that in the future our present landfills will be mined for raw materials.

That would almost be Utopian.

 

[shavedape]

Replicators today, inter-stellar travel tomorrow!

 

[Overmind One]

Very interesting article. It talks about how modern 3D printers will be able to recycle materials into raw material. The idea that these printers will become increasingly home-based and that old shit sitting around in the garage can be recycled into raw material to build you, for example, a new car is mind boggling.

http://news.yahoo.com/3d-printing-could-over-manufacturing-industry-090000134.html

This is AWESOME! It means that mundane items like plates, cups, forks and knives, coat hangers, combs and such will most likely be first (easy to make on the cheapest 3D printers), then on to more complex things. An entire industry will rise for 3D printing file libraries, and another for 3D printers, and (my favorite) a whole new wing of IT.

 

[Bluce Ree]

This is AWESOME! It means that mundane items like plates, cups, forks and knives, coat hangers, combs and such will most likely be first (easy to make on the cheapest 3D printers), then on to more complex things. An entire industry will rise for 3D printing file libraries, and another for 3D printers, and (my favorite) a whole new wing of IT.

Apparently, this technology has been around for nearly 30 years. It's only now we're hearing about it because its cost has dropped so much you can buy one on Amazon.

Recycling garbage to be converted into raw material for replication. Chalk up another one for Roddenberry.

 

[Overmind One]

Apparently, this technology has been around for nearly 30 years. It's only now we're hearing about it because its cost has dropped so much you can buy one on Amazon.

Recycling garbage to be converted into raw material for replication. Chalk up another one for Roddenberry.

This could be very very profitable for IT specialists like yourself. I know one thing, data storage is the growth area. Many of the files needed to print things in 3D are far too large for a home system. So, there will be home petabyte banks OR, the files could be streamed from a paid source directly into the printer. I am going to be doing a lot of reading on this.

I see no less than 10 different 3D printers on Amazon, as well as the materials, kits, etc. One of them is even named the Replicator.

http://www.amazon.com/MakerBot-Repl..._2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1369687532&sr=1-2

 

[Gatefan1976]

These things still need the special rolls of plastic stuff though right? the machines themselves can't make them?

 

[Overmind One]

These things still need the special rolls of plastic stuff though right? the machines themselves can't make them?

Yes, and the "kits" as they are called, they are also sold on Amazon along with the printers.

 

[Gatefan1976]

If the machines had an add on that could turn plastic waste into the "Kits", then I think we would be getting to a more "utopian" type of machine.

Still, its quite an intriguing piece of tech.

 

[Bluce Ree]

This could be very very profitable for IT specialists like yourself. I know one thing, data storage is the growth area. Many of the files needed to print things in 3D are far too large for a home system. So, there will be home petabyte banks OR, the files could be streamed from a paid source directly into the printer. I am going to be doing a lot of reading on this.

They don't require that much storage. One of the most complex designs are modern CPU cores, which hold up to 2.5 billion transistors per core, and those don't require huge amounts of storage. Binary data representations are fantastic. The images you see on screen are recreated from the binary data. When size becomes an issue, modern compression algorithms can also drastically reduce the size of the data without sacrificing performance on modern hardware. This is made clear with modern RDBM systems that compress and decompress on the fly without impacting performance.

What would probably be that complex would be the binary representation of a human being. That data, as I understand it, can easily become mind boggling but I don't think we're going to be replicating humans in our lifetime.

I see no less than 10 different 3D printers on Amazon, as well as the materials, kits, etc. One of them is even named the Replicator.

http://www.amazon.com/MakerBot-Repl..._2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1369687532&sr=1-2

Amazing, isn't it?

I'm probably going to wait for a model that can recycle garbage into raw materials.

 

[Gatefan1976]

And I Soooo wanted a mini-bluce to take care of all those unpleasant people in my life

 

[mzzz]

And I Soooo wanted a mini-bluce to take care of all those unpleasant people in my life

oh please, you want one for sex

 

[shavedape]

Get yo geek on, playah!

 

[Gatefan1976]

oh please, you want one for sex

You seem to be confusing me for Ape

 

[Overmind One]

They don't require that much storage. One of the most complex designs are modern CPU cores, which hold up to 2.5 billion transistors per core, and those don't require huge amounts of storage. Binary data representations are fantastic. The images you see on screen are recreated from the binary data. When size becomes an issue, modern compression algorithms can also drastically reduce the size of the data without sacrificing performance on modern hardware. This is made clear with modern RDBM systems that compress and decompress on the fly without impacting performance.

What would probably be that complex would be the binary representation of a human being. That data, as I understand it, can easily become mind boggling but I don't think we're going to be replicating humans in our lifetime.

Well, it depends on what "that much storage" means to you. The average computer owner has 1TB or less, maybe 2TB across machines. But somebody like you or I might have a lot more (I have 10 at the moment). Some files which are used for programs like CATIA and other Dassault CAD programs are more than 2gb each. I would imagine that a file for a coffee cup would be pretty small, but one to build something much more complex would likely be much larger. Then there is the issue of storing multiple files for multiple objects. That is what I was getting at. Already, people storing file versions are finding that BluRay files can be up to 10gb! Its going to be an expansion in compression technology as well as an explosion of storage devices.

 

[Gatefan1976]

As a side note to this storage discussion, have there been any advances in crystal storage devices beyond this:http://www.techspot.com/news/50313-...-storage-data-may-last-100-million-years.html

 

[Bluce Ree]

Well, it depends on what "that much storage" means to you. The average computer owner has 1TB or less, maybe 2TB across machines. But somebody like you or I might have a lot more (I have 10 at the moment). Some files which are used for programs like CATIA and other Dassault CAD programs are more than 2gb each. I would imagine that a file for a coffee cup would be pretty small, but one to build something much more complex would likely be much larger. Then there is the issue of storing multiple files for multiple objects. That is what I was getting at. Already, people storing file versions are finding that BluRay files can be up to 10gb! Its going to be an expansion in compression technology as well as an explosion of storage devices.

A lot of CAD files get bloated due to laziness. Unused layers, unused geometry, invisible objects, unnecessary exploding of objects, etc. Developers are also guilty of bloating code in the same manner by leaving unused code laying around rather than cleaning it up.

The "Liberator" file was only 50 MB. You can get plans for a house under 10 MB. Most 3D designs are not going to be unbearably large. Of course, the more complex they get, the larger they'll be.

--- merged: May 27, 2013 at 6:05 PM ---

And I Soooo wanted a mini-bluce to take care of all those unpleasant people in my life

 

[shavedape]

You seem to be confusing me for Ape

 

[Overmind One]

A lot of CAD files get bloated due to laziness. Unused layers, unused geometry, invisible objects, unnecessary exploding of objects, etc. Developers are also guilty of bloating code in the same manner by leaving unused code laying around rather than cleaning it up.

The "Liberator" file was only 50 MB. You can get plans for a house under 10 MB. Most 3D designs are not going to be unbearably large. Of course, the more complex they get, the larger they'll be.

--- merged: May 27, 2013 at 6:05 PM ---

How is this possible? I have photos larger than that! How can there be information for walls, windows, doors and such, as well as the control parameters for the printer and it all be under 10mb? Do you know anywhere I can review one of these files? I am seriously thinking of investing in one of these printers! Even if just to make cool stuff (the printers on Amazon cant make huge stuff).