I seriously want to get a 3d printer.

[DMac]

First working 3D-printed firearm built (http://www.gizmag.com/first-3d-printed-firearm/23473/)

Wow. Title is a bit misleading as only parts were generated using the printer but the premise remains.

I love it.

[midnight rambler]

First working 3D-printed firearm built (http://www.gizmag.com/first-3d-printed-firearm/23473/)

Wow. Title is a bit misleading as only parts were generated using the printer but the premise remains.

I love it.

Working homemade Mattel gun - very cool.

[Serpo]

Why not print one off;D

[MAGNES]

I saw one of these things in action, the plastic printing isn't strong,
it is like glue being applied in layers and it dries, or something like that,
builds to 3 dimension, same event I saw an awesome small cad cam
machine, much more powerful for manufacturing, same type of design
skills needed, it was not that expensive.

These machines are mostly used to build prototypes of products,
to see how they work in 3 D, they are a tool basically for further
design and development, building components and building a working
mechanical prototype.

One day we may have the materials, like some sort of metal/ceramic.
To build something that works under extreme conditions.

Maybe we have them but they are not economically feasible.

What is engineering ? Taking science and doing something practical with it, economics is a big part of it.

Hellenistic Kingdoms had many gadgets ahead of their time, so did other societies, it wasn't until 2,000 years later that engineering and economics made use of them, like steam engines, mechanical computers, hydraulics, the science was known, steam engines were used as toys, the mechanics of the planets/navigation was put into a specific computer/slide rule, and hydraulics were used to make musical instruments like organs, so the science was known but they were way ahead of their time, not economical for use everyday. Those are just 3 good examples, today those technologies have entirely different uses of great significance. Another good one is the science of battery technology, batteries found in Iraq, don't know what they were used for, to zap people for fun ?

[slowbell]

First working 3D-printed firearm built (http://www.gizmag.com/first-3d-printed-firearm/23473/)

Wow. Title is a bit misleading as only parts were generated using the printer but the premise remains.

I love it.

Out of all the new tech advances, 3d printing gives me the most creeps. I've seen a 3d part, and held it, it's like it has no soul. This technology is going to destroy humanity. No individual craftsmanship, no hard work an talent, just push a button and something is 'created'. I'm not biblical like a lot of folks here, but man, this stuff really is the mark of evil, imo.

[Shami-Amourae]

I wonder how long till RepRap can do stuff like this. That's something to keep tabs on:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMhG4fWQnlE

[joboo]

Depending on what kind of software is bundled with these things, I'm thinking Cad designers are probably going to be in much higher demand in the near future.

edit: One thing that could be a bit crazy is find a key, take a picture of it, touch it a bit in photoshop, then print it off whenever you want.

My guess is these types of keys http://ts1.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4624894474912864&id=f9e3bb9877bfb0fcea7d61a6d8d1eef6 (https://s4-us3.ixquick-proxy.com/do/show_picture.pl?l=english&cat=pics&c=pf&q=key&h=2912&w=1656&th=160&tw=90&fn=Door_Key_Blank.jpg&fs=254%20k&el=boss_pics_1&tu=http:%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fimages%2Fthumbnail .aspx%3Fq%3D4624894474912864%26amp;id%3Df9e3bb9877 bfb0fcea7d61a6d8d1eef6&rl=NONE&u=http:%2F%2Fwww.alibaba.com%2Fproduct-gs%2F269400472%2FDoor_Key_Blank.html&udata=6f9669b89054f3c60bd7d287393fb101&rid=NBLNONSPRTMN&oiu=http:%2F%2Fi00.i.aliimg.com%2Fphoto%2Fv0%2F269 400472%2FDoor_Key_Blank.jpg) are going to become "obsolete"

[midnight rambler]

This technology is going to destroy humanity.

You must be creeped out for a quite a while now since CNC milling machines have been around for decades. lol


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoRHsW8PkKk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsmiIeAkE-o

[Shami-Amourae]

Out of all the new tech advances, 3d printing gives me the most creeps. I've seen a 3d part, and held it, it's like it has no soul. This technology is going to destroy humanity. No individual craftsmanship, no hard work an talent, just push a button and something is 'created'. I'm not biblical like a lot of folks here, but man, this stuff really is the mark of evil, imo.


I work in Blender (http://www.blender.org/) daily and it requires a lot of talent, skill, and time. A lot of these things are done in Blender and other programs, but mostly Blender (it's free and open sourced.) 3D Printers like RepRap have plugins for programs like Blender specifically since its free/open sourced.

Here's a little kid showing you how to make a machine gun in Blender.
:p


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nja0kywJtk

[slowbell]

er extreme conditions.

Maybe we have them but they are not economically feasible.

What is engineering ? Taking science and doing something practical with it, economics is a big part of it.

Until Walmart gets ahold of the technology.

Mark my words, they will start printing more cheap crap to feed our thirsty consumers than the fed reserve prints fake money.

Everything will be fake. From the girl you date with her fake tits, and fake smile, to your fake printed coffee makers and the fake printed money in your wallet. We are damned. It all starts to innocent too....rejoice! praise! new advancements. Then millions of folks get laid off, unemployed, because a printer replaced their job.

Then we get to China. What do you think will happen to China when Walmart starts printing their crap instead of importing it? Dollar collapse, WWIII?

This has DOOM all over it.

[Shami-Amourae]

Until Walmart gets ahold of the technology.

Mark my words, they will start printing more cheap crap to feed our thirsty consumers than the fed reserve prints fake money.

Everything will be fake. From the girl you date with her fake tits, and fake smile, to your fake printed coffee makers and the fake printed money in your wallet. We are damned. It all starts to innocent too....rejoice! praise! new advancements. Then millions of folks get laid off, unemployed, because a printer replaced their job.

Then we get to China. What do you think will happen to China when Walmart starts printing their crap instead of importing it? Dollar collapse, WWIII?

This has DOOM all over it.

What this technology will do is decentralize manufacturing more and more. It will make production more of something you do at home. You either download the plans or do them yourself. This will be a benefit to humanity. It will only suck for corporations.

[joboo]

Until Walmart gets ahold of the technology.

Mark my words, they will start printing more cheap crap to feed our thirsty consumers than the fed reserve prints fake money.

Everything will be fake. From the girl you date with her fake tits, and fake smile, to your fake printed coffee makers and the fake printed money in your wallet. We are damned. It all starts to innocent too....rejoice! praise! new advancements. Then millions of folks get laid off, unemployed, because a printer replaced their job.

Then we get to China. What do you think will happen to China when Walmart starts printing their crap instead of importing it? Dollar collapse, WWIII?

This has DOOM all over it.


The cheap crap standard now has a bias held against it. If it sucks too bad people will start printing it themselves.

When it takes off there will be ink wars, and the quality standards will follow according to where consumers vote with their money.

High durability ink offerings will come into the equation, so if it costs me $5 more to print a garden hose nozzle, or whatever, that lasts twice as long or longer....

"So who makes the best ink now" will be on a lot of people's minds.

[slowbell]

What this technology will do is decentralize manufacturing more and more. It will make production more of something you do at home. You either download the plans or do them yourself. This will be a benefit to humanity. It will only suck for corporations.

Maybe for awhile. The corporations know people are lazy. People can go to 7-11 now and push a button, and get mash potatoes and gravy, on the spot. People actual do this. 7-11 recommended to do this on Thanksgiving if you need to. Now, imagine if people could go to walmart, push a button, and get whatever cheap walmart crap they want, on the spot. One. Button. People have become lazy cheap bastards on these corporations tits. Why would that change?

I admit I'm being pessimistic. I just think, given time, nothing good will come out of the 3d printer.

[Serpo]

Maybe for awhile. The corporations know people are lazy. People can go to 7-11 now and push a button, and get mash potatoes and gravy, on the spot. People actual do this. 7-11 recommended to do this on Thanksgiving if you need to. Now, imagine if people could go to walmart, push a button, and get whatever cheap walmart crap they want, on the spot. One. Button. People have become lazy cheap bastards on these corporations tits. Why would that change?

I admit I'm being pessimistic. I just think, given time, nothing good will come out of the 3d printer.

people will become too lazy to push a button after a while

[beefsteak]

folks, yours truly wants one of these so bad I can taste it!

They now have them so that they create metallic 3D items, using metal embedded polymer feedstocks. Ditto, foodstuffs. Limited only by our imagination.

They are also conducting early tests in printing our own food from the very ions that surround us constantly. This is being viewed as a potential solution to world hunger.

Want steak, taters, corn on cob, green beans, strawberry dessert, and for me, dark semi-sweet chocolate chips?

Open the puter, select the file, load the ingredient cartridge, and voila....semi-sweet chocolate chips or fudge brownies until the world looks level.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE WITH FRESH TEXAS PAPERSHELL PECANS, anyone?

WOOOOHOOO!

I first became acquainted with these units back in '86 when my geek stockbroker had a buddy who worked in Boeing Engineering, and had one of those half-a room sized units...called it lithography. I've been bitten ever since. In fact, I've even tried to hire some "service bureau" dudes to do the programming for me since I'm too old to learn that angle, and then sell me the file. No takers so far, but it won't be long.

I know a guy who is designing gold processing equipment using a 3D printer PROGRAM. Won't be long until he's got a working model in "lexan-lite"....see through and all!


beefsteak

[vacuum]

What this technology will do is decentralize manufacturing more and more. It will make production more of something you do at home. You either download the plans or do them yourself. This will be a benefit to humanity. It will only suck for corporations.

More generally, open source hardware will decentralize everything

http://opensourceecology.org/

[gunDriller]

the 3D printer is a useful tool for pattern-making.

not only can it print a 'positive', for visualization purposes.

it can also print a 'negative', e.g. a mold impression.

typically the process is -

plastic mold (negative)
rubber mold (positive)
plaster of paris (good for aluminum) or investment (similar to plaster of paris, more porous) mold (good for brass, silver, gold)


or sometimes, in the "old days", the pattern-maker would start with a wood 'positive', then make plastic 'masters' (a negative impression) from that, then make working rubber patterns (positive), which were used to make plaster of paris or investment molds (negative mold impression), into which molten metal was poured.

either way, the metal casting can then have secondary machining to 'clean it up'.

[slowbell]

people will become too lazy to push a button after a while

A while is being generous, in a new york minute folks would jump on board.

Let's face it, technology has made humans fats, stupid, and lazy. Our species is dying because of it, biologically, every thing we make 'easier' for the masses...we kill them slowly. People need to be physically active, need their minds challenged. I don't mean minds "fed" like they are today, rats at a food pellet, minds challenged. You challenge minds, when you combine action, danger, problem solving for survival, that mindset that sets your focus on every second you live.

Technology, has folks living their dreams through computer games. The lives they should be out living, they watch on a screen.

Now 3d fucking printers. Nobody seems to get this. A man's very spirit requires action and adventure. If you are not living that, you are dying. That's what they want, and they have technology to sell to you to get it.

thanks for listening, I'll shut the door on my way out.

[Skirnir_]

All of this baloney about 'spirits' and the like is likely a smokescreen to give the illusion of validity to a mere distaste.

[Libertytree]

A distaste of baloney and spirits is an unlikely illusion and has no validity and is merely a smokescreen driven purely of a distaste of merely lesser objects.

[Heimdhal]

A distaste of baloney and spirits is an unlikely illusion and has no validity and is merely a smokescreen driven purely of a distaste of merely lesser objects.

Investing full faith into ones perceptions rather than merley accepting ones illusions leaves the other in a distatefull continuum of control over ones balogna AND spirits; where as the consumption of either, of course, merley gives a brief respite to the illusioned reality of either, or both.

[sirgonzo420]

I find all this disquisition of deli meats distracting, although well-spirited.

[Shami-Amourae]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwkX8sWSxNQ

[Son-of-Liberty]

What this technology will do is decentralize manufacturing more and more. It will make production more of something you do at home. You either download the plans or do them yourself. This will be a benefit to humanity. It will only suck for corporations.

I agree. This technology is more beneficial then not. Once it becomes more refined and the materials get better people will not only be able to print up the gadgets they need but make changes and test the improvements themselves. The big corporations will be completely out of the loop.

Sure most people will make useless crap but some of us will use this technology to help free us from the system.

We go out and make money and pay taxes to buy stuff. If we could make our own stuff and trade it with others and leave them out of the loop...

We will need another source of energy other then fossil fuels to help power this. I think there are some solution to this though.

[vacuum]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwkX8sWSxNQ

Lets think about this for a minute. We can print guns but we can't print ammo. I think it's time to stock up on ammo.

[vacuum]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5AZzOw7FwA

[Shami-Amourae]

Yeah. I think ammo is a better investment for the long term than guns. Buy it in cash, keep quiet, and hide it.

[General of Darkness]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwkX8sWSxNQ

And why did you bump this?

[Shami-Amourae]

I rather keep using older threads than creating new ones.

[gunDriller]

Lets think about this for a minute. We can print guns but we can't print ammo. I think it's time to stock up on ammo.

most 3D printers print plastic, a UV curable acrylic for example.

much different from steel.

these machines are useful for pattern-makers, including pattern-makers in the jewelry industry. they're great for rapid prototyping.

but they rarely make useful working parts cheaper than other processes.

i have seen 3D printers that use plastic, paper, and a ceramic.

they also can use metal as a raw material.


"Direct Metal Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an additive metals manufacturing technology with a growing presence in the healthcare, aerospace and high technology engineering and electronics sectors."

http://production3dprinters.com/slm/direct-metal-slm


it will be quite a while, e.g. 10 years, before companies like 3D Systems price their laser systems (and next gen systems) so they can make functional production parts as cheaply as investment casting, die casting, CNC lathes & mills, etc.

of course, the 3D printers work real well as pattern makers for processes like investment casting.

[Shami-Amourae]

What I've been trying to say in video form. This is the ONLY way we can have a revolution and win.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO54gzfite4

[joboo]

http://i.imgur.com/hyC4RMq.jpg

[vacuum]

The prices are coming down...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqj421BgQd8

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/540/831/1254d0cb30865e0a333dec9fa1fd7008_large.jpg?1366846 553

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1650950769/rigidbot-3d-printer

[joboo]

FYI the defcad mega pack has been udated recently....

[vacuum]

Blender 2.67 Feature: 3D Printing Toolbox Posted on March 27, 2013 (http://www.blendernation.com/2013/03/27/blender-2-67-feature-3d-printing-toolbox/) by Bart (http://www.blendernation.com/author/admin/)
http://www.blendernation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Blender_print_tools-580x292.png (http://www.blendernation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Blender_print_tools.png)
3D printing from Blender is going to get SOOOOO much easier with the new ’3D Printing Toolbox’ in 2.67. It’ll include all kinds of calculations and visualisations including my favorite: wall thickness.
Ton Roosendaal writes:

It was about time to put a bit of focus on 3D printing tools in Blender once!
Dolf Veenvliet now is working for Blender Foundation on a new training DVD, to introduce 3D modeling to 3D printing enthusiasts, and to present the workflow for making proper geometry for printing. He works with Campbell Barton on a new toolset for 3D printing, which includes options for interactively checking manifoldness, wall thickness, weight, etc.
http://www.blendernation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Addon_print_toolbox_thickness.png (http://www.blendernation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Addon_print_toolbox_thickness.png)Got wall thickness?


Dolf owns a Makerbot, and Campbell has a Lulzbot, so things will be tested well for home printing too. More advanced models will be submitted to Shapeways; like a full color Sintel statuette and the Tears of Steel “Quad bot”.
The 3D toolbox script is currently being tested and reviewed by Sebastian Koenig for a local 3d printing company as well.
It can be found in any recent Build of Blender as add-on, named “3D Print Toolbox”.
More news about the DVD and documentation for the toolbox will all be available around the next release, 2nd half of April.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HolxfI4XgCE

[Shami-Amourae]

Funny, since I'm working on a clothing mesh in Blender right now.
:)

[osoab]

So has anyone purchased one of these? Better to do in ABS or PLA?

[vacuum]

Australian 3D printers on track to print body partshttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-03/3d-printers-on-track-to-print-body-parts/4666886

[Cebu_4_2]

Wiki Weapons Fires First 100% 3D-Printed Handgun

May. 6, 2013 9:42am Liz Klimas (http://www.theblaze.com/author/elizabeth-klimas/)

189
3.3K
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Defense Distributed’s Wiki-Weapons project fired the “Liberator,” its .380 handgun that was created completely with a 3D printer.
The 15 of the 16 parts created using the technology took just 24 hours to print.
The blueprint for the Liberator has been posted online, free for anyone to download.
Lawmakers have since renewed calls for bans on 3D printed firearms that could be undetectable by security sensors.

The Wiki-Weapons project by Defense Distributed (http://defdist.org), which has for months been striving toward its goal (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/11/28/have-you-heard-of-the-wiki-weapons-project-that-plans-to-make-the-3d-printable-gun-designs-available-to-all/) of creating a fully functional 3D-printed gun, has succeeded in the first tests of a firearm created using only a 3D printer.
Although much of the project up until now has been showing off plastic printed components for rifles (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/12/05/wiki-weapons-conducts-first-live-test-for-3d-printed-gun/) and magazines, the gun tested last week was a .380 handgun, which Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson told TheBlaze in a phone interview Monday was always the goal to develop.
Meet the “Liberator.”
http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/liberator-cody-wilson-620x336.jpg Cody Wilson firing the “Liberator,” Defense Distributed’s first fully function, 100 percent 3D-printed gun. (Image: YouTube screenshot)

Wilson said that while they were waiting for their federal firearms license request to go through, something which was granted to them in March, they worked on printing the gun parts they legally could in the mean time. For weeks, the parts of the handgun were tested individually but on May 1 it all came together for its first shot.
As a safety precaution, it was test fired remotely at first.
“It was a big question mark. I was quite nervous, excited, giddy,” Wilson said.
After the remote fire was successful, Wilson said he felt comfortable allowing it to be fired by hand.
“I thought ‘oh my, this is going to work,’” he said.
http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/liberator_defense-distributed_2.jpg Set up for remote firing. (Photo: WikiWep DevBlog)

When he fired it himself, he described it as feeling “pretty good.”
“The action felt smooth. It fit together tightly,” he said.
Watch Wilson fire the Liberator in this video:
Fifteen components of the 16-piece firearm were created using the 3D printer plastic. Wilson estimated that it took 24 hours to print all the pieces with the largest component taking 10 hours. The one piece that was not printed was the firing pin, which he said was a matter of getting the correct hardness.
http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/liberator_defense-distributed_1.jpg Pieces of the Liberator. (Photo: WikiWep DevBlog (http://defdist.tumblr.com))

“You need a fine, hard point,” he said of the striking component of the gun.
As Wilson has told TheBlaze in the past, much of the project, in addition to supporting the Second Amendment, is about protecting freedom of speech on the Internet.
“If we truly believe information should be free, that the internet is the last bastion of freedom and knowledge, and that societies that share are superior to societies that censor and withhold, then why not guns?” Defense Distributed stated (http://defdist.org/faq/) on its website.
http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/liberator_defense-distributed_3-464x620.jpg (Photo: WikiWep DevBlog)

Within seven hours of posting the files on DEFCAD (http://defcad.org), the online forum where designs for 3D printed guns (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/01/09/website-to-theblaze-people-are-rushing-to-download-online-blueprints-for-3d-printed-guns-plus-see-who-from-the-gov-visits-the-site/) and components are posted, Wilson said people around the world are already downloading it.
“There is a compelling feeling that you need to have it, to propagate it, to spread it,” Wilson said of the availability of the file.
Within hours of photos of the Liberator being posted by Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/05/03/this-is-the-worlds-first-entirely-3d-printed-gun-photos/) Friday, Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) renewed his plea for the passage of the Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act.
“Security checkpoints, background checks, and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser,” Israel said in a statement (http://israel.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1178&Itemid=131). “When I started talking about the issue of plastic firearms months ago, I was told the idea of a plastic gun is science-fiction. Now that this technology appears to be upon us, we need to act now to extend the ban on plastic firearms.”
New York Sen. Charles Schumer jumped on board Sunday (http://online.wsj.com/article/AP975d429da4684f1898bb2e0ef3749857.html) calling the creation of undetectable firarms ”stomach-churning.” With this technology, Schumer said he believed people could ”open a gun factory in their garage.”
Wilson said as he understands the current bill — which would make it illegal to manufacture, own, transport, buy or sell any firearm, receiver or magazine that was undetectable by metal detectors or X-ray machines — it would not apply to licensed firearm manufacturers, which would make Defense Distributed exempt. But Wilson said he is worried about its potential passage in how it would impact the average citizen.
“It looks like they stand a fair chance of regulating 3D printing,” Wilson said, noting he is more concerned about provisions included that would ban people from making 3D printed components like rifle receivers and high-capacity magazines.
“It’s not about security,” Wilson said, continuing on in his perspective of the bill. It’s about making it more difficult for people to “quickly make 3D-printed gun parts.”
Forbes noted (http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/05/05/meet-the-liberator-test-firing-the-worlds-first-fully-3d-printed-gun/) that Defense Distributed included a six-ounce, non-functional metal piece in the Liberator specifically so the firearm could be detectable.
http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/liberator_defense-distributed_4.jpg (Photo: WikiWep DevBlog)

As for Defense Distributed’s project going forward, Wilson said there is plenty of work to do. For the “Liberator,” Wilson said he thinks it’s a little overbuilt, meaning he is sure there are improvements they can make on the design to allow it to be printed on cheaper 3D printers. He also said he wanted to work on testing different barrel sizes.
(H/T: SlashGear (http://www.slashgear.com/liberator-3-d-printed-gun-gets-test-fired-06280651/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+slashgear+%28SlashGear%29))

[vacuum]

Who cares if the parts wear out? You can just make more...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drPz6n6UXQY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK55GSbSWQ0

[Glass]

3d printers are getting some traction now. This looks promising.


Aussie scientists print flexible solar panels

Australian scientists have found a way to print large but extremely lightweight and flexible solar panels like money.
World-leading scientists at the CSIRO said the A3-sized panels, which are created by laying a liquid photovoltaic ink onto thin, flexible plastic could soon mean everyone has the ability to print their own solar panels at home.
"It would definitely be feasible to do that," said CSIRO materials scientist Dr Scott Watkins.

"The general concept of being able to manufacture on demand, in a house or in a workplace, is really a key feature of what we're doing."

It comes as scientists around the world continue to develop 3D printing - a method of making three-dimensional objects using a digital design.

The potentially revolutionary method could be used to make just about any object from scratch.

Experts from the University of Wollongong and Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital are already testing the idea of printing human body parts, such as replacement organs and tissues.

"In the future, these sorts of devices will be able to recreate parts of people's joints and bones, conceivably, in the future, even organs," Professor Mark Cook told the ABC recently.

CSIRO's solar panels, which have been in development for five years with a team of experts at Monash and Melbourne universities, are attracting interest from big companies that see a wide range of applications.

Near-term uses include putting the panels, similar in feel to a glossy magazine page, onto laptops or mobile phones - offering an extra hour of power once the inbuilt battery dies.

They could also be printed on to skyscraper windows or roofs.

"We're actively talking to a Victorian company at the moment about incorporating them into windows," Dr Watkins added.

The ability to print solar panels is not new in itself - but what is new is the ability to make them as large and powerful as the Australian version.

At the moment, the 30 centimetre-wide panels generate between 10 to 50 watts of power per square metre and have been proven to last at least six months.

But that lifetime and wattage will be boosted in the future and the printers needed to make the panels far smaller, Dr Watkins said.

Story and Vid @ the Age (http://www.theage.com.au/technology/sci-tech/aussie-scientists-print-flexible-solar-panels-20130516-2joaj.html)

Can't embed sorry.

[vacuum]

Check out how it's being used to make certain things cheaper, faster, more efficient, and higher performance. They work 24/7. They give free complexity and customization - no retooling or additional cost/time for complex features. Mainstream bloomberg article...



How 3-D Printing Could Disrupt the Economy of the Future

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-14/how-3-d-printing-could-disrupt-the-economy-of-the-future.html
By the Editors (http://www.bloomberg.com/view/editorials/) May 14, 2013 3:00 PM PT

In its next generation of jet engines (http://topics.bloomberg.com/jet-engines/), General Electric Co (GE) (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/GE:US). plans to use a new, and possibly revolutionary, technology.

In each engine, 19 nozzles will shoot fuel into a combustion chamber, where it mixes with compressed air. Because the fuel must be distributed precisely, the interior of a nozzle is very sophisticated: Elaborate chambers and passageways help curtail emissions, control nitrous-oxide levels and prevent temperature surges. Previously, making each nozzle required (http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130426-ge-to-mass-produce-critical-jet-engine-part-use-3d-printing.html) welding 20 disparate pieces together. Now, GE is employing 3-D printing to build each nozzle as a single piece, using laser sintering on a metal alloy called cobalt chromium.

The new nozzle is faster to make, five times more durable and a full pound lighter -- on a two-engine plane, that saves almost 40 pounds. And it radically reduces scrap. By 2020, the company expects that 100,000 of its engine parts will be made using this process.

All around you, 3-D printing technology is making useful things in novel ways. Align Technology Inc. uses it to make clear orthodontics. Nike Inc. uses (http://inhabitat.com/nike-unveils-the-worlds-first-3d-printed-football-cleat/) it to make soccer cleats. Bespoke Innovations makes customized (and quite stylish (http://www.bespokeinnovations.com/content/gallery)) prosthetics. And DUS Architects, a Dutch company, plans to print a whole house (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/26/expanding-house-3d-printer_n_2949137.html).

As the sheer variety of these examples suggests, 3-D printing is already having a demonstrable effect on the economy. Traditionally, it has been most useful in creating prototypes. But as GE and others are showing, printers will increasingly be able to produce critical parts and final products. In 2012, 28.3 percent of the $2.2 billion global 3-D printing market was tied to the production of parts for final products rather than prototypes, according to the Wohlers Report 2013 (http://wohlersassociates.com/). That shift could have profound implications for the economy and for public policy.

Silent Factories

Today, 3-D printing remains a small part of manufacturing. For mass-produced consumer products, injection molding is typically faster and cheaper. Increasingly, though, businesses will use 3-D printers to complement their old-fashioned equipment to make specialized goods. In a few decades, an aerospace company like GE could be manufacturing jets in silent factories, with rows and rows of 3-D printers churning out cutting-edge parts in proficient solitude, and not a human laborer in sight.

Read Part One: " (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-12/your-future-will-be-manufactured-on-a-3d-printer.html)Your Future Will Be Manufactured on a 3-D Printer (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-12/your-future-will-be-manufactured-on-a-3d-printer.html)" (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-12/your-future-will-be-manufactured-on-a-3d-printer.html)

For many companies, the logic of this technology is already clear. The first advantage is efficiency. Because 3-D printers build an object by layering plastic or other material guided by a design file, they eliminate the waste of traditional manufacturing, in which up to 90 percent of raw materials can be discarded (http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/phtoad/v64/i10/p25_s1?bypassSSO=1). The printers can work all day and night unattended. They can print interlocking parts, reducing or eliminating the need for assembly. They will enable companies to shorten supply chains, instantly distribute goods to any printer and quickly make replacement parts. And they can create objects with geometries and internal complexities that traditional factory machines can’t match.

Second, for rapid prototyping (http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/03/20/3d-printing-apple-samsung-jabil-ford-maker-autodesk/1973753/), 3-D printing is already quite useful in fields as diverse as automotive, medical, aerospace and consumer electronics. Designers don’t need to wait for parts to be shipped, they don’t need advanced skills to tinker, and they can adjust specifications and create new iterations quickly. As a result, they can try out zany ideas at a relatively low cost.

Free Complexity

This ability to easily experiment, combined with a technology that creates shapes that can’t be made any other way, may become increasingly powerful. From an engineering perspective, complexity is free (http://bigthink.com/experts-corner/the-ten-principles-of-3d-printing): The cost, time and skill necessary for 3-D printing a complicated object is roughly the same as for a simple one made of the same amount of material. As a result, inventors will be freed to dream up products in shapes and material combinations never attempted before, unburdened by the design logic of traditional manufacturing. They’ve already made progress (http://www.dezeen.com/2012/12/09/new-plastic-heralds-3d-printing-of-electronic-devices/) integrating electronics into 3-D printed goods; down the line, they’ll be able to embed sensors, smart technology and artificial intelligence.

Finally, as personal printers get better and cheaper, they’re reducing (http://www.economist.com/node/18114221?story_id=18114221) the expense and risk for individual inventors to become manufacturers. The cost of customization is almost eliminated, because the printers don’t require retooling to make new shapes, and entrepreneurs don’t need to sell big batches of identical items; they can print to order. For a small business, a 3-D printer can eliminate excess production and the need for warehousing, and diminish the costs of distribution. Enthusiasts like to imagine a future (http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/22378-3d-printers-make-whatever-you-want) in which a 3-D printer in every home will produce all you need, customized and on demand. A more likely scenario is that people will use a print shop to produce designs they’ve purchased from entrepreneurs or created themselves. In Europe (http://topics.bloomberg.com/europe/), Staples Inc. is collaborating (http://www.mcortechnologies.com/mcor-technologies-and-staples-division-launch-3d-printing-service/) with Mcor Technologies Ltd. on just such a strategy: Customers can upload design files to a website, and have the product printed at their local Staples.

Read Part Two: "That 3-D Printed Gun? It’s Just the Start" (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-13/that-3-d-printed-gun-it-s-just-the-start.html)

All of which is to say that we shouldn’t underestimate the potential for this technology to disrupt economies. Because 3-D printing is in its infancy, government should tread carefully with new laws or regulations intended to limit this upheaval. But there are a few steps it can take to ease the transition.

The first is to ensure the U.S. -- where roughly 40 percent of the world’s 3-D printers are located -- remains a leader in the field. The White House took an important step last year, when it created the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (http://namii.org/), a public-private partnership dedicated to advancing 3-D printing. The goal is to help train the workforce in this technology, build curriculums at technical schools, offer sites and equipment where businesses can validate ideas, and support research that will let domestic suppliers produce the advanced machinery the industry will need. This is a smart and inexpensive way to support a promising but underdeveloped technology.

Tomorrow’s Economy

Next, regulators at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and elsewhere should start thinking through better certification processes. In many specialized fields, minor changes to a product can require a full recertification. As customized mass production becomes more common, a more flexible approach would focus on processes instead of products -- that is, approve any product made with certified equipment according to transparent manufacturing guidelines.

Read Part Four: "3-D Printing: the Ultimate Intellectual-Property Threat?" (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-15/3-d-printing-the-ultimate-intellectual-property-threat-.html)

Finally, we’ll need to prepare the workforce for an era in which more and more tasks are automated. As we’ve argued before (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-04/welcome-the-robot-revolution-but-beware.html), that means making it easier for workers to develop new skills and start new businesses by investing in education, promoting labor-market flexibility and encouraging innovation. We suspect that 3-D printing will eventually create many jobs, much as transformative technologies in the past have done. But there’s no guarantee that it will, and the transition could be a painful one for workers. In any case, the jobs it creates will almost certainly look very different from the ones we know today.

Disruption can be dangerous and scary. It can also lead to wondrous new businesses and ways of life. Perhaps more importantly, it’s inevitable -- so get in front of it while you can.

(This is the third editorial in a four-part series. Read part one (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-12/your-future-will-be-manufactured-on-a-3d-printer.html) and part two (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-13/that-3-d-printed-gun-it-s-just-the-start.html).)
To contact the Bloomberg View editorial board: view@bloomberg.net.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-14/how-3-d-printing-could-disrupt-the-economy-of-the-future.html

[Glass]

print lots of these. 3D Printed spider. very impressive.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=760_1373032425

I would print these and program them to find someone....... say 1 million of them, to "find" George Bush.

Apparently you cant print your own you have to buy them. Not cheap!.
https://www.robugtix.com/

http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server5800/icmwg98/products/77/images/272/T8_Product_Image_1_final_1024_Pre_Order_Discount__ 20742.1372486412.386.513.jpg

[vacuum]

This is as it came out of the printer. Nothing was done to it afterwards. It was created by taking a picture of someone's face with a couple of cameras, it just took a single click to take the pictures and make the print.

http://i.imgur.com/Fg9UdsBh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/pBKsX1Lh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kysM7N9h.jpg


Total materials cost for this print was $250, the color 3d printer cost $65k. It took about 12 hours to make.

[Glass]

Thats very scarey in terms of the realism of the face. Very cool.

I'm figuring a 3d printer could make me something plastified of this:
http://kinektdesign.com/product-gear-ring.php

still would accept one in SS no problems.

[madfranks]

3D printing out of liquid metal (http://www.engineering.com/3DPrinting/3DPrintingArticles/ArticleID/5988/Liquid-Metal-3D-Printing.aspx)

[osoab]

3D printing will explode in 2014, thanks to the expiration of key patents (http://qz.com/106483/3d-printing-will-explode-in-2014-thanks-to-the-expiration-of-key-patents/)



Here’s what’s holding back 3D printing, the technology that’s supposed to revolutionize manufacturing and countless other industries: patents. In February 2014, key patents that currently prevent competition in the market for the most advanced and functional 3D printers will expire, says Duann Scott (http://www.linkedin.com/in/duann), design evangelist at 3D printing company Shapeways (http://www.shapeways.com/).

These patents cover a technology known as “laser sintering (http://www.me.utexas.edu/news/2012/0712_sls_history.php),” the lowest-cost 3D printing technology. Because of its high resolution in all three dimensions, laser sintering can produce goods that can be sold as finished products.
Whenever someone talks about 3D printing revolutionizing manufacturing (http://qz.com/99021/why-factories-wont-close-if-you-buy-a-3d-printer/), they’re talking about the kinds of goods produced by, for example, the industrial-grade 3D printing machines used by Shapeways. The company used by countless industrial designers, artists and entrepreneurs who can’t afford their own 3D laser sintering printers, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars each.

A huge drop in price and a flood of Chinese 3D printers

http://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/china-3d-printing.jpg?w=1024&h=576

Older models of 3D printers are already pouring out of China. Xinhua

Once the key patents on 3D printing via laser sintering expire, we could see huge drop in the price of these devices, says Scott. This isn’t just idle speculation; when the key patents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Scott_Crump) expired on a more primitive form of 3D printing, known as fused deposition modeling (http://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers/technology/fdm-technology), the result was an explosion of open-source FDM printers that eventually led to iconic home and hobbyist 3D printer manufacturer Makerbot. And Makerbot was recently acquired by 3D printing giant Stratasys (http://qz.com/96109/stratasys-just-acquired-makerbot-the-one-3d-printing-firm-that-could-have-disrupted-it/) for about $400 million in stock, plus a potential $200 million stock bonus. That acquisition was a homecoming of sorts for Makerbot; Stratasys was founded by Scott Crump, who invented 3D printing via FDM, the very technology on which Makerbot was based.

Within just a few years of the patents on FDM expiring, the price of the cheapest FDM printers fell from many thousands of dollars to as little as $300 (http://qz.com/89208/are-new-ultra-cheap-3d-printers-revolutionary-or-just-toys/). This led to a massive democratization of hobbyist-level 3D printers and injected a huge amount of excitement into the nascent movement of “Makers,” who manufacture at home on the scale of one object at a time.
A similar sequence involving the lifting of intellectual property barriers, a rise in competition, and a huge drop in price is likely to play out again in laser deposition 3D printers, says Shapeways’ Scott. “This is what happened with FDM,” he says. “As soon as the patents expired, everything exploded and went open-source, and now there are hundreds of FDM machines on the market. An FDM machine was $14,000 five years ago and now it’s $300.”


rest at link

[osoab]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ow3lO_ViXkk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ow3lO_ViXkk

[3dtech]

Jewelers usually have pretty stringent requirements for surface quality, and none of the FDM-style printers are anywhere close to meeting them. If you don't mind striations across the surface of your pieces, which I suppose have some artistic interest as "marks of process" then maybe they'd work for you. The Form1 is a SLA printer, and it builds in finer layers, but they are still pretty evident. I'd suggest sending some files out for printing on any machine you're interested in before buying one, so you get a realistic idea of what to expect. 3d printing surat rajkot -fdm technology (http://vexmatech.com/fdm-technology.html)

Are you planning to burn out the resin and cast metal parts, or are you making plastic jewelry? If you want to burn them out, it's critical to use a material that doesn't produce ash residues in your mold, which will show up as holes in your castings. None of these printers uses a material that burns out cleanly in a normal investment, so that's another thing to consider. Have you looked at the B9 creator? It's a little out of your price range, at about $5k for an assembled unit, but you can save money by building it yourself from the parts supplied. It uses resin that burns out cleanly, and can give good detail with little striation.


8961

[Glass]

Thought I would poke this thread. Hobbyist 3d printing is going strong. China is pumping out lots of I3 clones (Prusa I3) for reasonable $$ USD. They get a bit pricey down here because shipping is about 1/3 more $. Of the clones it pays to check out reviews. Some are rubbish while others seem to do decent jobs. We have a few stores who are importing these and selling via their outlets. It means that they are maybe $50 more than ex Online seller instead of $150 more to get shipped.

You can obviously still go for the multi $K units if you want or if you want to mess about something for $300 - $500 USD provides lots of choices.

Kits are available. Prusa I3 seems to be one of the more popular kits but will set you back $600 - $700. A couple hundred more if you want ready built.

Or finally you can build your own from scratch either using the Prusa as a template or going with something like the Topie I3 which is another variation of the Prusa I3 with an MDF frame. Parts from AliExpress. Some venders sell the running gear as individual or package them up into bundles. All in I think you can do it for maybe $170 USD if you go this route.

http://reprap.org/wiki/ITopie
(http://reprap.org/wiki/ITopie)Parts Build lists, templates, software

www.toms3d.org (http://www.toms3d.org) - some good info and a cheap clone build video series. Be prepared for about 10 hours of video. Lots of parts analysis and also plenty of printer reviews on his YT.
Parts build lists, suggested Ali search results for parts etc for the el-cheapo Prusa clone.

The above both use 3D printer parts for rod ends, belt routing, brackets. This obviously requires a 3D printer, which you are trying to build. Chicken and Egg. I don't think you need to have the parts printed. I think you can work it out with metal brackets or MDF/Ply. Then if you want you can print your own brackets and swap them in as you go OR make another unit and use all printed bits from your 3D 1.0 printer.

[Glass]

Metal Laser printing. Jay Leno segment on making metal parts with a 3D metal laser printer. Instead of making a polymer 3D clone and shipping out to get cast or machine fabricated, they can go straight to part fab using this machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwFspzVGUF4

[JohnQPublic]

This is a really cool technology.


https://youtu.be/rEfdO4p4SFc

Want investment exposure?

THE 3D PRINTING ETF (https://ark-funds.com/3d-printing-etf)
PRNT
“3D Printing: Shaping the Future of Design”

[Jerrylynnb]

As a complete novice to 3d printing, I dare to ask a "dumb" question, hoping someone knowledgeable can answer.

Is there a way for someone who is familiar with 3DSMAX to learn how to write programs that will drive a 3d printer to print a 3d model that was created with 3DSMAX?

As an example, they often use a teapot as a primer for 3dsmax beginners. How would you take your 3dsmax file for this teapot ("TEAPOT.3DS") and drive a 3d printer to make one that matches the model?

I hope we got some 3d-printer gurus here that can reply.

[singular_me]

in 3d printing, I am definitely lagging behind, but it is my understanding that eventually it will also help people create their own clothing, furniture, kitchenware, etc... there will be a lot to do creatively once robotics takes over jobs. But dont think you will be able to buy a 3d printer while on universal basic income.

I will go through this whole thread this weekend. Tnx glass for poking it.

[Dogman]

The boding of cloth/textiles/organic matter is hugely different than sintering metals or making plastic/ceramic items. Maybe in time, but I suspect the tech will need to evolve to the point of working on the molecular level which it is not even a thought yet.

If they ever crack that problem, the star trek level of having a replicator may become a reality,

But that tech presumed that direct energy to mass is possible, tho in time if we do not blow ourselves off the face of our only home (planet) in time it may become possible.

But today to have the ability to make hard wearing metal parts with only a tad of cleanup and work tho bolt it into whatever.

Draw backs is the powered metals becoming cheap enough for mass use of everyday people, that will still need some making ability.

Hands off create and directly plug in has a way to go, multiple years, but

Dam it the tech is a neat toy,, no scratch that neat tool to have in ones arsenal. , with many uses today for they that have the need.

Very kool .

[Glass]

As a complete novice to 3d printing, I dare to ask a "dumb" question, hoping someone knowledgeable can answer.

Is there a way for someone who is familiar with 3DSMAX to learn how to write programs that will drive a 3d printer to print a 3d model that was created with 3DSMAX?

As an example, they often use a teapot as a primer for 3dsmax beginners. How would you take your 3dsmax file for this teapot ("TEAPOT.3DS") and drive a 3d printer to make one that matches the model?

I hope we got some 3d-printer gurus here that can reply.

The printers are driven by software that: Either slices the 3D model and creates the necessary path maps for the print head/extruder to follow and deposit the polymers. OR the slicing might be done on a PC app and the resulting file is given to the 3D printer to process.

It depends on the software/firmware being run by the printer. Basically it can do both of the above or only the second part.

The input data for the printer to use is called G Code.

Basically the answer to your question is Yes. If you save your model in a compatible format you can do what you want. I think the slice format file is called an STL file. You can use most 3D model file typs, CAD files types like DXF, even SCAD. You can use software like Blender to create your STL files IIRC. But there are other dedicated slicer Apps. Trying to think of name of one. http://slic3r.org/

You can open and view CAD files on free apps like LibreCad. There are plenty of others.

I'm no expert, just been collecting bits and pieces I thought I might be able to use to make my own printer using the REPRAP plans etc. I think the Prusa I3 clone called ITopie 3 plans are more comprehensive. I posted a link to that one. You could also watch the Make a Cheapo Prusa Clone in the Toms3D link I posted. There is lots of interesting stuff and I think there is a link to a good forum.

You could try 3Dhubs.com. I don't like the format. There are others which I think are better. Still trying to remember.

reddit has a 3D printing forum.

[Glass]

in 3d printing, I am definitely lagging behind, but it is my understanding that eventually it will also help people create their own clothing, furniture, kitchenware, etc... there will be a lot to do creatively once robotics takes over jobs. But dont think you will be able to buy a 3d printer while on universal basic income.

I will go through this whole thread this weekend. Tnx glass for poking it.

Take a look at ThingiVerse.com

There are the usual trinkets and nerd projects but there are a ton of practical objects people make. Replacement parts when things break. I've got a bunch of things I want to print from handles to go-pro mount replacements pieces and a few enclosures for things I've made or will be making.

pinobject.com also hosts a lot of things people have done, although why they post there I don't know. Anyway 3D printers are being used for useful and practical things now. The list of available polymers is vast and impressive. All types of plastics, varying strengths. Fibre infused polymers, carbon fibres. Even wood fibres for decorative objects. The wood fibres look very nice IMO. There are translucent polymers. Lampshades, vases are popular. Some Cheap LED strips, a piece of wood/dowel and a polymer 3D lampshade.

[Glass]

The boding of cloth/textiles/organic matter is hugely different than sintering metals or making plastic/ceramic items. Maybe in time, but I suspect the tech will need to evolve to the point of working on the molecular level which it is not even a thought yet.

If they ever crack that problem, the star trek level of having a replicator may become a reality,

But that tech presumed that direct energy to mass is possible, tho in time if we do not blow ourselves off the face of our only home (planet) in time it may become possible.

But today to have the ability to make hard wearing metal parts with only a tad of cleanup and work tho bolt it into whatever.

Draw backs is the powered metals becoming cheap enough for mass use of everyday people, that will still need some making ability.

Hands off create and directly plug in has a way to go, multiple years, but

Dam it the tech is a neat toy,, no scratch that neat tool to have in ones arsenal. , with many uses today for they that have the need.

Very kool .

It does have a few years to go before these things are automated replication. Not sure how well that will work out for us. The Prusa guy has a fleet of 3D printers printing parts for 3D printers. That's how he builds his machines for sale. But it still needed a human to design the part, build the first printer, put the filament in the printer and take out the printed part. At some point that process will become automated and the machines will do the whole thing from start to finish.

Jay Leno is using it to replace parts in his restored cars that are so old or unique there are no parts for them unless they make them.

Now days you can use your smart phone to photograph an object (from many angles in a circle) download to a CAD app and have that turned into a printable 3D model. So if you can see it and photograph it, you can download and 3D print it with minimal knowledge.

[singular_me]

dont recall which sci-fi author (have his name on the tip of my tongue) said that highly evolved technology is indistinguishable from magic....

I dont see any room for monetarism in all that, sorry folks, but for sure ((their)) goal is to keep us worried about money so that they can control knowledge further
=====================================
The brave new world of 3-D printed organs now includes implanted ovary structures that, true to their design, actually ovulate, according to a study by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and McCormick School of Engineering.

By removing a female mouse’s ovary and replacing it with a bioprosthetic ovary, the mouse was able to not only ovulate but also give birth to healthy pups. The moms were even able to nurse their young.

The bioprosthetic ovaries are constructed of 3-D printed scaffolds that house immature eggs, and have been successful in boosting hormone production and restoring fertility in mice, which was the ultimate goal of the research.’

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-05-d-ovaries-healthy-offspring.html

[Glass]

A good source for DIY 3D printer information : www.reprap.org (http://www.reprap.org)

You will find:
What is
How to get started
Open 3D printer plans, RepRap, Prusa I3 etc
3D printer firmware options to drive your printer. Marlin or Smoothieboard are popular. OctoPrint. A graphical web server for loading print jobs. Also does Slicing or GCode creating. Don't know if is firmware or works with a firmware.
3D printer controller board options, compatibility with various firmware
3D printer software for design, conversion, preparation of 3D object designs

Things you need to DIY a 3D printer - various I3 clones
A Frame - either from ply, MDF, particle board, planks, threaded Rod, Perspex (not so good), pressed metal
Frame consists of a gantry, a base, some feet, a workspace/print bed platform.
5 stepper motors. NEMA 17. Approx .40nm torque. Seems 1.8 degree movements is preferred starting point. Many motor weights, depths and torque ratings. Around 400gms and 0.40 nm torque seem appropriate. This type also deeper dimensions.
6 smooth rods - 2 for horizontal X axis (left to right), 2 for Y axis (back to front of print bed platform), 2 for Z axis (vertical movement)
2 threaded rods for driving print head / X axis assembly UP and DOWN the Gantry frame to provide vertical movement. Can be regular threaded Rod or purpose built drive screw rods(think thats the name of them)
Bearings for smooth rods to slide through which are fastened to the frame.
Bearings are round cylindrical type - Linear LM8UU - fixed with zip ties or pillow type fixed with screws.
3 or 4 bearings for print bed platform to Y axis smooth rods.
3 or 4 bearing for fixing print head assembly to X axis smooth rods.
4 bearings for vertical (z axis) smooth rods to guide X axis assembly up and down.
End Caps for vertical smooth rods and drive screw rods/threaded rod.
End caps or flat plate (timber or 3D printed) for X axis smooth rods AND to accept 1 x stepper motor mounting and 1 x belt pulley.
Plate to mount print head and 1 x stepper motor (for filament feeder) and to crimp 2 x ends of belt. Mounted to 2 x X Axis smooth Rods with 3 or 4 bearings.
Printer plate - hot bed or cold bed. Aluminum sheet. Bolted to print bed platform.
Print bed platform uses 3 or 4 bearings on 2 smooth rods. Includes belt crimp feature. Includes mount for idle pulley for belt looping.
3 or 6 End stop switches. Mechanical switches with circuit board to tell stepper motors to stop moving
Controller board.
Several options, with or without inbuilt device/peripheral connectors.
If without device connectors additional board e.g. RAMPS required.
Connect stepper motor drivers to control stepper motors.
Includes USB1.0 and or SD card slot for print job uploading.
A couple very cheap and popular ones are:
RepRaps designed board Arduino Mega 2560 + RAMPS (board for connecting external devices) - lots of cheap clones. Most good. Some use dodgy parts.
Smoothieboard (comes with connectors for external devices) more pricey me thinks.
LCD Screen - optional. Dot Matrix or more advanced.
Printer head includes:
Stepper motor and pulley to push / pull filament.
Clamp assembly to apply pressure on filament against pulley. Can 3D print or purchase in Aluminum
Hot end to heat up filament. Purchase
Extrusion nozzle. Various sizes for fineness resolution. Purchase
Others:
3 x 16 teeth x 5mm bore pulleys (2 x belts + 1 for extruder)
2 x 16 teeth idler pulleys (2 x belts looping)
2 x 5mm to 8mm or 5mm to 5mm flexible Couplers depending on drive screw choice.
6mm pulley belt (often bundled with pair of pulleys in 2M lengths)
Many cables for wiring. Can buy bundles/kits of necessary wires.
Many zip ties
Many 3 and 5 mm screws/wood bolts
Washers and spacers
20 Amp power supply.
Beer and or Coffee, snacks etc

If you have access to a MakerSpace, FabHut, or CNC cutting service you can download frame and plastic parts files and have made up for you. Otherwise you can print out frame layout and glue to frame material, cut and drill. Substitute timber or metal brackets for end caps, mounting plates etc.

[7th trump]

Until 3D printing can print metal economically and practically I'll stick with laser cutting.
Currently working on a fiber laser that'll hopefully be around 600w CW.

[Glass]

Stereo Lithography with Lasers. SLA.

Apparently this was the very first system of 3D printing. Then resin based additive systems were developed which is what most people use today. Originally SLA printing is expensive and mostly professional realm. Now home units are being built.

SLA uses a container of liquid resin which is hit with a laser which starts the solidification process. The 3D object is built from the top down instead of the bottom up. The object is slowly lifted out of the tray of liquid resin as it is being zapped by the laser causing solidification. When finished the object is washed down to remove residue resin and then bathed in UV light to harden - aka Sunlight.

Cons: Resin is smelly, requires ventilation, is relatively expensive, has a life span once poured out, wears out the liquid printer tray over time.
Pros: Resolution is much higher. Fineness of detail. Square edges are better. Complexity of shapes increases, May not need support lattices** not 100 % sure on that one.

Video is a review of a KickStarter developed home 3D SLA Printer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYWJ8d-I4Lo