Back in June, the Wall Street Journal had a half-page article on 3-D printers. I had seen the term, and sort of somehow thought of it as a way to print things that one could look at with those goofy 3-D glasses we wear at the movies; somehow to make the object on the page jump out with depth perspective. Something like that.
But no, it's completely different. In an almost mind-bending manner, a 3-D printer actually is a system that combines a computer-aided-design capability along with a "build box" that is capable of constructing, thin laminated layer by thin laminated layer, a physical object. The computer instructs the printer head to move back and forth according to the pattern, spraying a mini-stratum of powder and/or binder as well as directing heat in a precise fashion to produce the designed shape.
Once that particular segmentation of the pattern is completed, the printer head makes another pass with small changes as programmed, and another is deposited and heated. This lamination process goes on, over and over—sometimes for hours—as subsequent vertical deposits of the design are added. The bottom of the "build box" is lowered to accommodate the object under construction to reach its designated size.
For some forms of material the process is completed at that time, while others undergo a heat treatment to harden and strengthen them them for industrial or medical usage. In the case of special metals that require high-temperature conditioning, a separate furnace is used for final finishing.
Two primary traditional methods have been used for centuries: the first a solid block of metal, wood, or other material that is cut, stamped, drilled, or shaved to create the desired shape; the second a process whereby liquefied plastic or metal is poured into a mold, then cooled into the final shape. The 3-D method adds a third option, and may be used not only for samples or prototypes, but also for small runs of production with a short cycle time.
The world market for these gizmos is estimated at between $2 and $3 billion in 2012, and is yet another new technology aimed at doing things faster, and in many cases less expensively.
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James Kennedy George, Jr (Jim George)
Author, Reunion, a novel about relationships.
Available in Hard Cover, Soft Cover, and all eBook formats on the Internet from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all other Internet retailers, as well as on-order in print format from any book store. In stock at several book stores, including Book People in Austin, Texas, Tamarack on the West Virginia Turnpike, and Hearthside Books in Bluefield, West Virginia.
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