3D CAD for NC machines.
March 23rd, 2009, 01:26 PM
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March 23rd, 2009, 02:44 PM
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Actually, 3D "printers" have been around for about twenty years. The original technology is called stereolithography. The basic idea is that you have an X-Y plotter, but instead of a pen, the plotter head holds an LED. The plotter is above a vat of UV-hardening plastic. A table inside the vat serves as a platform for the part to be built up on. The table starts out about 0.005" below the surface of the liquid. The plotting software slices the 3D part into 0.005" thick layers. The first layer is plotted and the LED hardens the plastic in that shape to a depth of 0.005". The table then drops down 0.005" and the next layer is hardened. The process is reapeated layer by layer until the part is completed.
Today, these plastic parts can serve as "lost wax" molds for castings. They can also be plated with aluminum and are often used as prototypes for consumer items. I saw one article where plated parts were being used as prototype housings for a new cell phone, for example.
There is also research being conducted (by DARPA in addition to others) with using metal spraying technology to actually form 3D metal parts from a CAD model.
Today, these plastic parts can serve as "lost wax" molds for castings. They can also be plated with aluminum and are often used as prototypes for consumer items. I saw one article where plated parts were being used as prototype housings for a new cell phone, for example.
There is also research being conducted (by DARPA in addition to others) with using metal spraying technology to actually form 3D metal parts from a CAD model.
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