Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesB
A new piece of LASER hardware will be arriving in a few months ... I've ordered a high resolution 3D printer.
Most of the hobyist 3D printers use plastic extrusion (FDM) technology and work by running plastic filaments through a heated deposition nozzle. The one I've ordered is a stereolithography (SL) type that uses a scanning LASER beam to activate and cure acrylate photopolymer resin. While the materials are more expensive, the resolution it can achieve is far higher.
I've got a big learning curve ahead of me relearning 3D modelling (I haven't played with 3D since LightWave 4, over a decade ago), as well as learning the 3D printing process with out wasting too much of the ~$150 (don't know the exact cost yet) per litre resin.
|
I came across this YouTube video (ad) of what seems to be touted as a "new and better" way of doing 3D printing. The way I've seen it before is the material is piped from above and the nozzle moves about depositing the material in layers... building up to form the product.
This company says they are feeding the material from the below, with the lazer on top. The video is just over a minute long, but the product comes up and is shown at 1:10.