I just found this on Engadget: [www.engadget.com]. Interesting stuff. Their approach to printing (sintering, not FDM) looks well thought-out and viable.

yeah, i've seen their design before. its cool to see lots of people all attacking the same problem. the drawback to their design seems to be low resolution... i'm not sure, but it seemed to be higher than 1mm. (especially looking at their printed objects)

It doesn't seem like the resolution limit is a fundamental aspect of the technology though, it's just based on the size of the granules/heating element. I assume it could be improved on pretty easily if necessary.

The translation is a bit rough. I am I right in thinking they grind scrap plastic into powder with a coffee mill and then fuse it with an arc from a needle on a Cartesian robot?

If so there is scope for higher resolution by moving the needle closer and you can speed it up by having as many needles as you can afford electronics for.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]