PRINT your own 3D tools??? HOLY CRAP...

Compass....French curve....triangle....eraser shield....T square...drafting board....

I guess my time is over.

 

My mind has officially been blown.

Leave it to the nerds...

 

... and make a wood mold pattern on your Craftsman wood lathe.... melt down some old Corvair pistons, fish the rings out of the slurry... and cast your own parts...

Bob

 

this looks pretty cool, now if i could build it to use aluminum MIG wire i could print out a 3x2 intake for my low deck desoto

http://www.makerbot.com/

 

Very impressive. About 10 years ago I took a tour of the Ford R&D labs and saw a plasma 3D fabrication machine that could build steel parts from a CAD input. The CAD designer drew up the part and sent the digital file to the plasma machine where 7 (I think that is the correct number) nozzles sprayed molten plasma onto a rotating turntable. Before our very eyes we saw a wheel hub materialize in 3D. The lab manager said that the hub was within thousandths of the original spec and with very little machining the part would be ready to be put into service. This machine made it very easy to build a prototype and to cast molds. Very impressive stuff!

 

Parts printing is kinda old tech these days! Fused Deposition Modeling is the way to go. I worked on some patents for the aerospace industry using this technology a few years ago. It is a mind blower the first time you see it! If you attend PRI or SEMA, one of the big MFG's of this equipment usually has a booth with live demos going on. Joe Gibbs racing had a big gathering for any motorsports guys who wanted to learn about it last year. Stratasys is the 900 pound gorilla in the room with this stuff, and their job shop, RedEye. You wouldn't believe some of the really high tech things this can do!

 

I have one of their machines whirring away on the end of my desk right now! It's awesome and when I'm not using it for work, I make all kinds of little items for my projects... tach mount, shift light mount, bolt circle gauge, templates, etc... The boss just smiles and walks on by.