On 03/28/2017 02:25 PM, Chris Albertson wrote: > I see the argument as going like this > > One group says these 3d printers are worthless because they can't be used > to make the stuff I am now making. For example "I can't print an exhaust > valve for a diesel truck motor." > > The second group sees the printers and thinks about using it for new > products, making things that can't be made at present, This group finds > these printers to be much more useful. > > My interest in printing is making machines that can be precision work but > where the machine itself is very non-precision. Think about a task like a > robot arm that can pick up a bolt and nut from two bins of loose parts and > then thread the bolt into the nut. Can such a robot machine be made with > cheap plastic parts for under $100? I don't know yet but "maybe" > Humans hands are not precision machine tools but we use feedback to do > precision work so there is hope a robot machine could work like that. SO > just ONE example of serious work can cane done with a cheap 3D printer, > search into precision materials handing. > > Cheap robots that can do precision light assembly work will put millions of > Chinese factory works out of work and allow those iPhone factories to move > out ofChina to the US or Europe but my example task, assembling a bolt into > a nut from loose parts bin is really hard so those people need not worry.
What you are suggesting is already available today. Marry that robot to a pair of vibratory sorters, and dump your screws into one, and your nuts into another. Then, the vibratory sorters will orient the parts, check for over and under size, and make everything that passes, available to the robot in a known location. After that, it is simply a software issue to make it work. With a bit more complexity, a single vibratory sorter could be used. I was working on vibratory sorters in the early '90s. The technology is much older than that. > So, 3D printers work well only when the task is matched to their > capabilities, no surprise there. > > Another use for printer-like machines and robot assembly is the comping > "post industrial revolution" In the pre-industrial days when you bought a > pair of shoes or a shirt, you would be measured and the sod custom made > just for you. Your clothing would fit well and be just what you wanted, > assuming you could pay. Most couldn't. Then came mass productions and > and standard sizing and everyone got cheap, but maybe not what you want or > in the exact size you need. But cheap is good so we put up with it. The > next phase is going back to the 1600's where everything is custom made just > for you one off special. It will happen. For the consumer it will be > better, Everything will fit perfect and be in the color and style you want > and for the retailer there is not inventory cost. Al of the jobs in this > new economy pay better too. No now has to work for $2 per hour in a > Chinese facility. It might be only 50 years away, some people here may > live to see it. > > These 3D printers are the leading edge of this new economy. They work > poorly, but think of automobiles in the 1880's they were horrible and not > practical at all. Only for rich people hobby driving. Only 70 years later > we built the US interstate hi way system. We are in the 1880's now with > respect to the new post industrial economy, 3D printing is still mostly a > rich man's hobby. Think of a 3D printer as a early version of a Star Trek replicator. Everything has to start somewhere, and we are the technological guinea pigs. I can envision a future where you see something on whatever future version of the internet is, you order it, and it is built in your home manufacturing unit. Instant gratification at it's finest. However, a LOT of improvement has to be done before this can happen. -- MC Cason Eagle3D - Created by Matthias Weißer github.com/mcason/Eagle3D ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check out the vibrant tech community on one of the world's most engaging tech sites, Slashdot.org! http://sdm.link/slashdot _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
