User:Wjf5042

Blog #1

1. useful
This is a filter cap for 3/8 in pipe. I have made pipe covers from cloth before, but a printed cap would be more durable and allow water to flow better.
[1]

2. artistic/beautiful
This object was made by taking a mathematical surface and turning it into an actual object. It would be really hard to make this with any other method such as CNC milling, so that is one advantage of 3D printing.
[2]

3. pointless/useless
I have seen this box made of wood before, but a printable model will do nothing for you as you cant keep the switch on.
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4. funny
iPhones are everywhere, and most people use them when eating lunch dinner etc. so the iSpork is a spork that attaches to your phone so that you can be the ultimate multi-tasker.
[4]

5. weird
I think everyone could use a bowel disruptor at some point, but someone should figure out how to make a functioning model.
[5]

Blog #2

1. His idea is feasible up to a point, which is the limitation of electrical hardware. Different materials can be printed, but the hardware such as the micro controllers would have to be manufactured elsewhere which is a limitation. With the evolution of the printers, small improvements are made and more printed parts can be used. Printers that are able to print circuits would help solve the problem with the electronics.

2. "Wealth without money" is an accurate description of 3D printing. These printers will allow regular people to do what industry can do but on a smaller scale. If there is a part you want to print, all that needs to be done is to make the file and the sky is the limit. There will be no more ordering parts from manufacturing that are not too specialized when you can just print them. It will probably mean tighter cracking down on patents and the associated CAD files of the objects.

3. The evolution from the Darwin design has been rapid and efficient. The open design of the RepRap community does wonders for the evolution of 3D printers, since new ideas are tested and shared throughout the community. Future designs for RepRaps may include being able to use metal and other stronger materials which would hold up better than the plastic being used today. More commercialized vendors of open source printers will probably have a hard time surviving due to the technical support aspect of maintaining a printer. The community will probably not want to support a for-profit private vendor, when there are endless opportunities in the RepRap open source community.