I Got To See A 3D Printer Last Night...

[shilala]

Scott, I agree with you completely, but I'd bet ya that they'll have machines capable of mind-blowing processes in just a few years, working with a vast array of materials. Especially considering how fast tech moves ahead nowadays, and the endless opportunities for plugging these machines into so many areas of manufacturing.

They'll easily displace cnc in many arenas, but in mass production environments it'd be really hard to beat CNC. For specialty shops that do a lot of one-offing, high-quality 3d printing would save a huge amount of time and bring costs way down. Think car parts and other fabrication-type outfits. The uses are endless. It truly boggles.

I'm fascinated by it. I'll definitely be watching as this moves ahead.

[omowasu]

Originally Posted by shilala

Scott, I agree with you completely, but I'd bet ya that they'll have machines capable of mind-blowing processes in just a few years, working with a vast array of materials. Especially considering how fast tech moves ahead nowadays, and the endless opportunities for plugging these machines into so many areas of manufacturing.

They'll easily displace cnc in many arenas, but in mass production environments it'd be really hard to beat CNC. For specialty shops that do a lot of one-offing, high-quality 3d printing would save a huge amount of time and bring costs way down. Think car parts and other fabrication-type outfits. The uses are endless. It truly boggles.

I'm fascinated by it. I'll definitely be watching as this moves ahead.

I will as well, I used to do CNC programming and operation years ago. I almost set up my own micro CNC shop at home, and I am still considering one - but at this point it may be better to invest in 3D printing and learn ahead of the curve.

I agree, there are some areas where 3D printing cannot replace CNC due to nuances of the material being machined (e.g. heat treated steel, tungsten, nuclear metals, etc) or the complexity of the machining operation. It will definitely be an interesting next decade. Hopefully the end result is more on-shoring of manufacturing operations due to 3D printing technology.