Daniel Strawson gives you everything you need to know about 3D printing technology

1. Personal 3D Printing

2. Types
• Stereolithography (SLA)
• Scintering & Jet
• Fused Filament
– Professional
– Personal
Units : 1 micron = 1/1000000th m or 1/1000th mm

3. • Founded by Dr Adrian Bowyer, University of Bath
project to make an affordable 3d printer that can
print most of its own components, in about 2005.
• Drove the low end personal 3D printing industry.
• As much as possible of the printer can be made
by itself. Practically this is just the plastic parts
• Named after Evolutionary Biologists Darwin,
Huxley, Mendel, Prusa etc.
• Non printable elements are known as ‘Vitamins’.

4. Rostock Kossel
Darwin
Mendel
Huxley
Prusa

5. Makerbot
Cupcake
Thing-o-Matic
Replicator
Replicator-2

6. Explosion of Startups
Form 1
Gigabot
Printrbot
Solidoodle Ultimaker
Up! Plus
BfB 3D Touch
(Bought by Cubify)

7. The big boys are getting involved
Cube (3D Systems)
$1500
Sinterstation Pro
From the makers of
$1M

8. What can I print?
Toys Jewelry Architects Models
Math Art Artifacts Functional

9. But can you make anything useful?
Burr coffee grinder Phone Covers
Clocks
Purse
Mouse trap
Vases

10. Printable Materials
ABS
NylonWood
Polycarbonate
PVA (water soluble)
PLA

11. Experimental
Foods such as Sugar,
chocolate & pasta.
Concrete
Blood vessels
Electronics

12. Where do I get content from?
• Create new stuff:
– CAD tool
– Scanning
– Photo stitching
– Generative Math Art
– Customisation
• Download / Buy
– Thingiverse
– Shapeways
– Cubify (3D Systems)

13. CAD Tools
Autodesk 123D Design (Free)
Open SCAD (Free)
Solidworks (£10k)
- also, AutoCAD, Maya, Rhino, etc etc
Blender (Free)
Autodesk 123D
Creature
(iPad)

14. Scanning
Makerbot Digitizer (TBA) Handheld Laser Scanners

15. Photo stitching

16. Generative Math Art

17. Customisation & Personalisation
Shapeways
Thingiverse
Freshfiber name melt

18. Bureau Services

19. Downloading

20. Finishing & Processing
Casting with Sugru Acetone vapor bath polished ABS
Soluble support material

21. How to get started
• Are you interested in the process or the result?:
– Process (I want to tinker)
• Build your own rep rap or get an Ultimaker etc
– Result (I just want it to work)
• Budget > 10k + ongoing costs – pro FF or similar.
• Budget < 10k - Makerbot Rep2
• Outsource.
• Out source
– Shapeways / iMaterialize
– Replicator Warehouse (Ele & castle)
• Best of both worlds
– Prototype on a Makerbot
– Out source for final version