Re: 3D-printer

Hi

It is indeed for rapid prototyping, there are basicly two kind of
printers:
a printer that drops little drops of wax
a printer that prints glue

The second is my favorite, there no need for support structures. Z-
corp is a company that build these machines but MIT devoleped it.
They use a standard injet cardridge wich is modified, to print glue
instead of inkt. The paper is replaced by a lift with very fine
powder on top of it. You slice your model in to layers, and then
print every layer, with every new layer the lift drops and a new
layer of powder is rolled on.
The problems area for me are to find the right glue (perhaps two
components so that it won't dry out in the cardrige and use two
colour mode for the two component, or UV-drying glue). I have seen
the machines of z-corp on Euromold and they indeed use a standard
printer cardridge with two little pots in it (perhaps for two
component gleu) The software to slice the model is also a problem,
haven't found anything yet.
Here a link to MIT
http://web.mit.edu/tdp/www/whatis3dp.html

Thanks
Hugo


--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <s.bromley@a...>
wrote:

> From: <Hwatering@h...>
> >
> > Now that my CNC-router is almost finished, I'm thinking about a

new

> > project, a 3D-printer (like z-corp). Does anyone know a group or a
> > site about a selfmade version
>
> If you do a search of "santa machine" you'll find a number of

machines

> that use the head from an ink jet printer to spray water onto corn

starch or

> dextrose <sp>. It's a simple set up: a box with a false bottom that

goes up

> and down starts with the bottom near the top, the tank is filled

and a wiper

> bar levels it off. Then the prither head is run over the top on an

X/Y rig

> (kinda like a flame or plasma cutter). Next the table moves down,

is filled,

> leveled off, 'printed'...... until the full part is made. You then

heat the

> box or just let it sit in a worm room over night. You can then

reach into

> the powder and pull out your part.
>
> They don't make great parts and you have to spray them with glue

or

> paint. Sort of a first step thing or at least a way to get by cheep

until

> you save up to build a nicer one