3D Printing topic

[Zulithe]

With the popularity of 3D printing ever increasing I thought it'd be cool to get a topic devoted to it. If you've been paying any attention you can tell 3D printing is about to explode and this could mean great things for toy fans. The ability to create high-detail, colorful props, accessories, environment, and even toys themselves.

So what is the current state of 3D Printing? If you've seen the film Paranorman then you already know a great deal since everything on screen was made with a 3d printer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxOMD24k82w). They used powder printing, but 3D printing can be done with many different materials. Staples recently caused a stir when it began rolling out 3D printing capabilities at many of its stores nationwide. Here's some samples of what the quality is like.

http://i.imgur.com/jrYkfgJl.jpg (http://imgur.com/jrYkfgJ)
http://i.imgur.com/j0FHnHol.jpg (http://imgur.com/j0FHnHo)
http://i.imgur.com/nTbS6X9l.jpg (http://imgur.com/nTbS6X9)

It's already possible to find schematics online, take them to a 3D printer and walk away with a physical object.

As a TMNT fan, this could get quite exciting. Imagine a group of dedicated fans working together to design and 3D model the ultimate sewer lair, shredder's lair, technodrome, or various other playsets/vehicles/whatever, sharing the schematics, and anyone could print and use them for personal use.

Things are only just beginning. What does the future hold for fans and toy makers? Maybe someday you will walk into a toys r us and it will have a huge machine you walk up to and select the figure(s) you want and it prints a copy right then and there. For action figures they would never have to worry about stock problems again.

Share your design ideas, your 3d printing experiences, and your favorite printed objects. I've seen a lot of neat ones out there.

Resources (to be expanded):
Shapeways (http://www.shapeways.com/)
Makerbot (http://www.makerbot.com/retail-store/)

[TonySiegel]

been thinking about this also for a while now...

the possibilities for toy collectors and enthusiasts are endless...

but with the regulation of the internet who knows...

[TVsRobLowe]

I've messed with it for a few years at both my work and as a hobby...Here's what I've found:

- It's expensive. Too expensive right now for the hobbyist to get good quality. Movie studio, sure. Toy manufacturer, sure. But right now, it's just not ready for us. In a few years, sure.

The real strength of these right now is creating fast prototypes, casting in resin, then cleaning up. That's something that toy manufacturers and designers have been doing for years (see Gentle Giant).

- If you want strong materials, you need to sacrifice smoothness. For example, if you want something that has some flex to it, similar to plastic used for making models, it would likely end up with a fiberglass-like crosshatched texture. If you want something fragile, you can get a smooth texture.

- 3D Models take a while to learn how to make, or can be costly finding someone to model it for you at a good price. I'm a 3D modeler by trade, so I'm a little biased, but I know how long it can take to do something. Artists also tend to be protective of their work, and costs may become a factor. If you're in costuming at all, you can see that people don't release their pepakura files for free very often.


With that out of the way, I've thought of modeling a Roadkill Rodney and printing him out, making casts, and selling kits or fully painted. I'd need to offset the costs of the initial print plus molding materials, but I think I could get the kit down to ~$30 each.

[pannoni1]

Wouldn't you need glasses to view 3D printed images, since basically you just adjust the shading/hues to get a "2.5 D" image, just like how you drew prisms, cones, and cylinders in Geometry class in school. It almost reminds me of BTTF: Part 3 in which that hologram Jaws 13 shark appears.

[Roseangelo]

Wouldn't you need glasses to view 3D printed images, since basically you just adjust the shading/hues to get a "2.5 D" image, just like how you drew prisms, cones, and cylinders in Geometry class in school. It almost reminds me of BTTF: Part 3 in which that hologram Jaws 13 shark appears.

Is this a serious response? Because you are so, so far off the topic.

[TVsRobLowe]

Wouldn't you need glasses to view 3D printed images, since basically you just adjust the shading/hues to get a "2.5 D" image, just like how you drew prisms, cones, and cylinders in Geometry class in school. It almost reminds me of BTTF: Part 3 in which that hologram Jaws 13 shark appears.

Yes, you're correct.

But we're talking printed objects. The images that are in the first post, for example, are printed paper.

[HotJuicyBurgers]

Yes, you're correct.

But we're talking printed objects. The images that are in the first post, for example, are printed paper.

Umm... huh?

3D printing is exactly what it sounds like... "printing" 3d objects. not printing pseudo 3d objects.

Also the term printing is a bit of a misnomer because nothing is really "printed" in the literal sense, but in a nut shell what happens is layer after layer of that printing powder stuff shown in the video above is laid down to create the object in 3d

[Zulithe]

look on youtube for 3d printing, you'll find lots of examples. I didn't invent the term; sorry if it is confusing :P

[TVsRobLowe]

Umm... huh?

3D printing is exactly what it sounds like... "printing" 3d objects. not printing pseudo 3d objects.

Also the term printing is a bit of a misnomer because nothing is really "printed" in the literal sense, but in a nut shell what happens is layer after layer of that printing powder stuff shown in the video above is laid down to create the object in 3d

It's not always powder. Those ones up in the top post? I can almost guarantee that's printed 3D paper. Staples offers it. It's inexpensive because it's not resin based.

Seriously I've been working with rapid prototyping machines and the materials for 8 years now. I started back when they printed layers and layers of wax.