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Forums - News / General |
For General modelling or hobby-related topics that are not covered by any other specific forum. Please keep to topics concerning the hobby. |
| Topics | 3049 |
| Messages | 23082 |
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| Subject: | Tank Model "Printers" or Rapid prototyping |  |
| Date: | Jan 12, 2006 |
| From: | Paul Roberts | |
>> I dont know how much the printers cost, or what medium they "print" in
There are currently a lot of different rapid prototyping machines available to industry. The cheaper ones can run a cheap as $10,000 all the way up to the finest machiines that will run a hundred grand. They use a number of different resins, from ABS to polyurathane, to acrylic blends all the way up to sintered metal powder. Some even use layers of laser cut paper to build up the model.
One problem with using this technology is the fact they all work by laying down layers of material to build up the final shape. The thickness of these layers poses a problem to anyone using the technology. The best and smoothest models (just as smooth as an injection kit) lay down layers less than a thousandth of an inch thick and take many hours to produce a part. Many, many hours. If you go with a faster build rate, then you get thicker layers and a brutal case of the "jaggies" on your model.
I have used these machines for years at my various jobs and they are great for engineers and product designers. In fact they have damned near revolutionized the design industry. But for parts as accurate and perfectly formed as we want, only the best and most expensive machines can currently produce a model that would compete with an injection moulded kit and that would make a 1/35 Sherman cost about %50,000 to produce (about what an original cost 60+ years ago...).
Just a little extraneous infor for y'all. :-)
Paul |
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 | If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Paul A. Owen - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Glenn Bartolotti - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Paul A. Owen - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Glenn Bartolotti - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Walgreen's - Andrew Herbert - Jan 15, 2006 |
| . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Frank Forster - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Peter Hicks - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Paul A. Owen - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Kip Rudge - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Damon Agretto - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Jim Wechsler - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Bill Goodrich - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Tank Model "Printers" or Rapid prototyping - Paul Roberts - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Howard Freeman - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Frank Forster - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Klaus Eberl - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Richard Munoz - Jan 12, 2006 |
| . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Ed Bouwmeester - Jan 13, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - John Prigent - Jan 13, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - Desert Al GLover - Jan 13, 2006 |
| . . . Re: If I Owned a Model Tank Company - David Lass - Jan 16, 2006 |
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