IMHO, this whole debate is completely overblown. Make no mistake, RepRap is not some miracle of technological innovation deserving of hallowed place within the development of additive manufacturing; It's underlying operating principles are based on someone elses work, from patents expired years ago. As much as I respect Dr Bowyer for his work on the project, I have no doubt that he does not credby proto - General
Sublime Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Did you miss the $749 dollar ones > > /set-72157631585306127/ *raises eyebrow* You could have that made on an ultra high resolution SLA or Objet machine for that.by proto - General
Weedz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Like i said a dimensionless file like STL has imho > not much to do with real opensource. Altering a > STL file is not doable, but if you know a way to > do so pls let me now :-)....... Materialise's 3-Matic is the best solution available. It's very capable. Of course if you're at an RP bureau running serious voby proto - General
I could see it potentially working by trailing the powder deposition head with a high intensity heat source to sinter the material as its deposited, but I think the nature of powder is going to preclude the ability to do any really complex geometry like thin walls or overhangs. The commercial equivelant of what you've proposed is a process known (in the additive manufacturing world) as DMD (Direby proto - General
Just to add to spota's response, I'm very familiar with the ProJet systems, and I cannot stress enough that you should not be trying to make custom formulations for it. The machine relies on a phase change from solid (cartridge) to liquid (printhead) to solid again (once a droplet hits the surface of the part). This is an extremely finely tuned process, and not something for the tinkerer to be plby proto - Polymer Working Group
Got a spare million dollars? SLM is an extremely expensive technology. For 99% of cases, machining or investment casting aluminium is not only far more economical, but more precise and with far better surface finishes. The technology is the realms of Aerospace and Medical Implants, fabricating weight saving lattice structures or very complex organic shapes.by proto - General
You won't find anyone selling it in those quantities - Arkema will sell you a 20kg bag, but it'll be well over $1k. The cheapest PA powders generally start at $50/kg - the real premium stuff (DuraForm PA/EOS PA2200) are on the order of $130/kg. Easiest way to get your hands on it will be to contact a local Service Bureau running SLS Machines. The majority of the material contained within the "caby proto - Powder Printing and Selective Laser Sintering
Shrug. Dunno how it goes together. *Disqualification - these were made on my ProJet 6000HD (commercial machine).Unfinished - straight from SLA platform. Layer thickness: 0.1mm Print time: 2 hoursby proto - Competitions
3DS/EOS SLS Systems "recoat" at ~250mm/s (default value). Some materials it's possible to go quicker - which is largely unnecessary, but some materials require slower speeds (like the Sintered TPE's). SLA systems are usually ~50-80mm/s. Most systems only recoat the over the cured area (ie SLA5000/7000/iPro) - so if you're only curing a 50mm*50mm area in a 500mm2 vat, the recoater doesn't need toby proto - Powder Printing and Selective Laser Sintering
GreenAtol Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The stated goal of the reprap is to make a santa > clause like machine that can make practically > anything, including itsself. Exactly how do we > expect to get there by farting around with flimsy > plastics printed at crappy resolutions? I won't fault you for the ambition. Such a device however is jumpinby proto - General
Has the ability to mill SS? I'd be extremely impressed if you can demonstrate that.by proto - General
Spray them both in grey primer - it'll bring out the details. It may be worth noting that the SLA7000 is over a decade old now - it's by no means the best SLA can achieve. 500,000€ buys you a helluva system these days - a production grade iPro machine, or a few Projet 6000/7000HD's - both of which easily best the old SLA7000 systems. I'm not meaning to downplay just how far RepRap has come, theby proto - General
I like how this thread morphed from a Chinese supplier advertisement to a discussion on water purification and toxicity through ABS on the Thursday Islands in around 15 posts.by proto - Australia, Melbourne RUG
Hi VDX. From memory, you're in NZ? I personally work with the latest and greatest in SLA every day, but I'm always interested in where the community takes the idea in the hacker realm. I'm switching over materials in a vat from one of our machines in the next few days, and will have a couple hundred kg's of Somos NeXt that I'm not entirely sure what I'll do with. I can swing a couple kg's your wby proto - Polymer Working Group
I could probably set you guys up with a couple of different nylon's and nylon mixes if required. But I'm not sure they'd be ideal. They work well in SLS machines because SLS machines are designed to use them, and a DIY application may just amplify the inherent difficulties of the process (warping and curling). The most important first step in my opinion is engineering a suitable chamber for thiby proto - Powder Printing and Selective Laser Sintering
Hey guys, thought I might chime in. I'm an SLS Technician and can answer any questions you have (can even sort out some powder if you need it). Laser power itself isn't nearly as important as the heating of the powder bed. I'll give you an example. Our nylon melts at around 188C. The machine itself heats the build area to 183C. The laser itself is only responsible for the last 5C temperature difby proto - Powder Printing and Selective Laser Sintering
I run a ZCorp Z510 day to day at work. I can get as much pictures and info as someone who was keen to build one likes, including some technical wiring schematics.by proto - Powder Printing and Selective Laser Sintering
Considering most commercial systems are running 25 Watt lasers, you might be on to something here. Unfortunately the SLS process is far more complicated than blasting a powder bed with a laser. The laser is used only to "edge" the temperature to melting point. The majority of the heat that goes into melting the nylon comes from sets of heaters set to just below the glaze point of the powder. Yoby proto - Laser Cutter Working Group
I'd also love a look at the files if it was possible.by proto - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
I've had a look at those NextEngine scanners, and while they are pretty good, they do take a large amount of time to do a really good full scan. They quote 20 minutes, but I've heard reports that its more like a couple of hours - more suited to personal use like this than commercial applications. The Konica systems are some 10x the speed. We're looking into purchasing one when the economy improvby proto - General
Hi Viktor, I believe Magics can do exactly what it is you are after, it can automatically generate support geometry fairly well. Its mainly used to generate supports for parts being made in SLA machines, but the options are highly customizable. I just had a play around then, and it seems quite easy. Not the cheapest software around *wink nudge* Failing that, SLA System software should also be aby proto - 3D Design tools
Im no engineer - so a lot of your post is far too technical for me - but I can describe/confirm that warpage is one of the biggest technical problems in our SLS machines. It is overcome exactly as you suggest, having a high local ambient temperature, and cooling slowly to relieve stress. The support material in the SLS process takes care of a lot of this by having a part embedded in hot unsinterby proto - General
Kartturi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How does this mix work? Doesn't Nylon decompose > thermally > long before Aluminium even melts at 660.32 °C, > 1220.58 °F ? > > (Apparently not?) Also: What kind of SLS-machine > you used, > and how much it costs? > > Cheers, > > Antti Hi Antti, The Aluminium does nothing but give thby proto - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
I don't have a reprap, but I work with SLS machines which predominantly sinter nylon. I'd say the biggest problem standing in your way is nylon doesn't go particularly viscous when its melted, you'd have to get it very hot. Our nylon-11/12 sinters at around ~195C, but thats powdered nylon and a strictly controlled inert nitrogen atmosphere (nylon likes to react with oxygen/water (though I don'tby proto - General
I choose you, SLSBOT! I made this at work using two different materials with my SLS Machines. Its not reprap, but I thought you guys might appreciate it (sorry, camera phone, etc). I dream of the day when reprap can achieve similar results, and I don't think that day is too far away. With a support material, I'm guessing nophead could probably manage something fairly close.by proto - Let's design something! (I've got an idea ...)
Its something I've been very heavily looking into, insofar as creating in-game models with a Z-Corp. It seems that a few startups are giving it a crack. It's only just taking hold.by proto - General
Again, Waxes aren't my area, so its entirely possible curling is not as large an issue as it is with Nylon. It seems that any heat related fab process does need to take it into account however. And while it has been attempted, I'm sure not that much effort has ever been put into it. Its a question of economics when using these machines, there's far more profitable ways to utilize them than lostby proto - Plastic Extruder Working Group
Hi there HanClinto! Indeed, such a thing has been attempted before, and it does work to an extent on our Sinterstation's. However I wasn't here when it was actually done, so my knowledge of it is shaky. If you like I can shoot some emails off and I'll let you know exactly what was attempted. Procuring Wax powder of uniform consistency is quite easy, there are many suppliers. Unfortunately I donby proto - Plastic Extruder Working Group
I've been doing a bit of testing with the Sinterstation I use and I'm quite surprised by the results. I'm managing to sinter powdered nylon (albeit quite lightly) at around 3 Watts of laser power without problem. I imagine this could be brought down to 2 Watt. 12-15 watt is more normal for this machine. At 2 Watt, the result may be somewhat of a "green" part, but its quite encouraging that its pby proto - Laser Cutter Working Group
sid Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Welding pieces together... > hm, I thing that can be done with a small > modification of a soldering iron too, > that'd be much cheaper then. We use a soldering iron + cyanoacrylate to weld SLS together. A bit of resin in the join afterwards and a good sanding later, you have a solid, flush join.by proto - General