Posted on 01/27/2019 4:45:11 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
All 3D printing tends to get lumped together, but there are actually two specific styles with some pretty significant distinctions. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a faster, but less accurate, method achieved by layering melted plastic into a shape. Stereolithography, (SLA), sacrifices speed for precision by using an ultraviolet laser to harden a liquid resin. That trade-off limited 3D printing’s potential: You could either slowly print actually useful parts and objects, or rapidly print mostly useless trinkets. But thanks to a recent breakthrough from tag team of researchers, SLA has now become equally as fast as its counterpart.
Before this breakthrough, it was only worth using the SLA method to print small objects, like kitchen utensils. But, fortunately, two researchers at the University of Michigan have managed to significantly increase the speed of this technique, so much that it could potentially be used to print large objects, like furniture, without having to wait weeks or even months.
In their recent paper, co-authors Timothy Scott and Mark Burns describe how they managed to achieve a maximum sprint speed of 2 meters per hour, roughly 100 times faster than was previously possible. That’s on par with state-of-the-art FDM machines, making SLA a viable option for mass production with a lower chance of mistakes. Their paper was published in journal Science Advances on January 11...
(Excerpt) Read more at inverse.com ...
3d printer filaments can smell like coffee using PLA,
but this type needs a hazmat suit.
Marking for later
“You could either slowly print actually useful parts and objects, or rapidly print mostly useless trinkets.”
The person who wrote this apparently knows very, very little about 3-D printing. Because this is not an accurate statement.
SLA = Stereolithography?
Not in my book. But heading toward ancient.
Don’t waste your time going to the link. The commercial is way longer than the lame video of the printer.
Thanks 2ndDivisionVet. There are 3d printers that produce metal parts, SpaceX uses that to build rocket engine parts.
We are at the ‘Dot-Matrix’ level of the technology.
The Laser-Jet stage is soon coming.................
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