A solution for parts that are no longer available
 

ZCorp's 3D Printer replicates a wrench - YouTube

A friend was talking about this at lunch on Friday. A 3D printer that can "print" a car part. This is the answer for the increasing number of parts for the older MB's that they are no longer making or stocking. It looks like this will work for any plastic part. Metal parts or rubber I am not sure if it is ready to do that.

Richard

That's amazing. Thanks for sharing.

That is incredable.:eek2: I wonder what the wearability of the part would be?
according to the video, the wrench is as strong :confused: as the real thing.
might be pricy then again maybe not. HMMMM.... maybe some valve adjusting wrenches.:D

How about a crack free Blue dash?

Probably copy right rules to contend with. :cool:

Charlie

... hardly an exact copy of his wrench... it looks like they took the scan, then changed it completely for one they had already in the computer. his wrench does not have the little key wring on it, his wrench had 5 worm gear teeth, the plastic one had 3, his wrench was much finer construction...
I think it was a demonstration for TV...
on another note, PM is offering a homemade 3d printer as a prize in a contest that uses trimmer line as the "ink"... pretty cool...

At the very least, they could print a 3D form or a template that could be used to cast a true part.

Very nice CAM capability.

I think the material is a hard nylon and resin, from what I gather from the video. I think wearability would be great for something that is going to replace a simple plastic bushing or plastic part. For something that needs to be flexible where the original part is rubber, I think this would be a challenge.

Neat, but in real world terms any part we need can already be made. Problem is cost. I have a foundry and machine shop, so need a new engine? Realistically no one could afford to do one from scratch, just think about the time to do the patterns, and drawings, let only the machining time.

Don't get me wrong it is nice to see what new technolagy can do. As the tech gets more advanced one off/short run parts get cheaper. Demand will go up as these cars get older, and are treated as collectable cars instead of everyday transportation, as demand goes up so will prices for parts, then there will be a point at which short runs of rare parts will become worth doing. Right now we seem to have enough junk cars to pick off of.

I wonder if they can vary the properties of the finished product. Could it make rubber and plastic bits? That's where the benefit would really be in my opinion.

I wonder how the fusing of the powder is done - did it say on the video? My sound it out! Standing waves?

This is a buddy of mine's son, he has a small 3D printer so the price couldn't have been too astronomical. Geek of the week: Emmett Lalish - YouTube

I almost did not read this thread. WOW ! incredible !

they retail for about $1300

it's the same model PopularMechanics is giving away as a prize this year...

Thats reasonable, I wonder what parts that are in demand, and unavailable, could be made by one of these printers.

I fear, that this printer from makerbot would be for designing a proof, or for art, not for actual product use...

Jay Leno uses something similar for his cars that need parts.

More steps tho.
Jay Leno?s 3D Printer Replaces Rusty Old Parts - Articles - Jay Leno's Garage

Is that because of the material of the end product? Or the limitations of color choice?