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10-11-2012, 10:49 AM | #1 |
ARGEN Tanker
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Argentina
Posts: 640
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Check out this link, I don´t know if anyone already posted something alike. I´ve just seen this article (despite it is in spanish just check out the video) and if you have the 3D render you can cast almost anything.
¿Qué son y para qué sirven las impresoras 3D? - lanacion.com Â* What´s more, according to the journalist the engeneer who started developing this printer made the project free. Maybe in a couple of years it will be smaller and available for more people. So how about this? You need an arm, a head or a torso and you print it at home! |
10-18-2012, 04:39 AM | #2 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Portugal/UK
Posts: 3,128
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Ye but you will need the 3D design of the part also. So basically either you get it from somewhere or you learn how to use such SW.
Also the material from the experience I have from Shapeways is important some materials do not allow a proper detail of the part. If you have something small with lots of detail using some materials is not recommended. But I would like to see these out for sure, with time it will replace casting. Just not sure how affordable it will be to us its a small market still.
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10-18-2012, 07:10 AM | #3 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Tonawanda, NY
Posts: 326
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I did a good dealof lookinginto the 3D printing process early on and found that among other things, to truly render in 3D on a computer (which is incredibly difficult, by the way...) you need a computer that runs at 64 bit, and most home computers tend to run 32 bit, so you're talking a more expensive computer. The software's VERY pricey, and hard to use, especially if you are a new start-up. I know, I tried a number of different programs including the "easy" freeware.
The basic 3D printer runs around $500.00 which would be totally worth it if there was some way to actually turn those designs in your head into a legitimate 3D rendering, but THAT is the major drawback. Among other things, larger parts need to be rendered as hollow so you save material costs as well as implementing internal joint parts (torsos are big on needing that feature...). I don't want to dissuade anybody, but after three months of experimentation on just the 3D rendering element of this I determined it would actually be easier to sculpt the damned things. |
10-18-2012, 09:46 PM | #4 |
COBRA NAVAL AVIATION
Join Date: May 2010
Location: COBRA Aircraft Carrier "Tyranny Rising"
Posts: 1,207
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The crux of this matter is CAPITAL. If you have the money to lay down, you can do anything. If you cannot handle part of the process you can contract it out.
The figures being talked about on this thread make sense only in the case of at least a limited manufacturing strategy, to pay for the initial cash outlay and hopefully to take profits. The exception to this would be if the person is wealthy and this would just be an expensive hobby. I am not sure if the market can sustain an aftermarket following for a long period of time. I have the idea the only aftermarket vendor in this hobby making substantial profits is Marauder. |
10-18-2012, 09:51 PM | #5 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Tonawanda, NY
Posts: 326
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Capital IS part of the problem, but the reality is with the kind of power one would have, the cost associated with it, if you can field that sort of thing, is totally worth it. Like I said, I'd investigated this for a long time and it WASN'T the outlay, although the idea of buying a new laptop JUST to do this was not terribly appealing to me, it was the sheer difficulty of learning to sculpt in a virtual manner beyond the most rudimentary of objects. Many programs try to do too much for you, and others are so obscure you have no idea what the hell you're doing even when you succeed at something. The Youtube tutorials can be informative, but hard to replicate.
On paper, the idea is a whiz-bang, but in practice it's a real sonofabitch to master or even come close to being able to handle. Hand-sculpting and then resin-scasting is easier and more emotionally satisfying, form what I have experienced. |
10-19-2012, 06:53 PM | #6 |
COBRA NAVAL AVIATION
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Location: COBRA Aircraft Carrier "Tyranny Rising"
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Quote:
It is a hallmark of the downfall of human civilization. Moving ever closer to the objects of Frank Herbert's dire warnings... |
10-19-2012, 07:22 PM | #7 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,841
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At Comic Con one of the Hasbro designers was showing off some heads for 4" figures that he had done on their 3D printer, and the detail was significantly better than the hand sculpted heads he had there. Of course, he said that Hasbro has the best 3D printer that money can buy, so it probably had a seven digit price tag. However, just the fact that something like that exists it makes it very likely that the printers intended for home use will eventually get to that level of detail too.
All in all, I think it's still a bit too early in the lifespan of 3D printers for them to be of much use to toy customizers, but give it a few years and I'm sure it will be one of the most used tools. |
10-19-2012, 08:14 PM | #8 |
ARGEN Tanker
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Argentina
Posts: 640
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Quote:
At Comic Con one of the Hasbro designers was showing off some heads for 4" figures that he had done on their 3D printer, and the detail was significantly better than the hand sculpted heads he had there. Of course, he said that Hasbro has the best 3D printer that money can buy, so it probably had a seven digit price tag. However, just the fact that something like that exists it makes it very likely that the printers intended for home use will eventually get to that level of detail too.
All in all, I think it's still a bit too early in the lifespan of 3D printers for them to be of much use to toy customizers, but give it a few years and I'm sure it will be one of the most used tools. http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...nted-guns.html |
10-19-2012, 08:23 PM | #9 |
Banned
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Flint, MI
Posts: 3,351
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Quote:
I think absolutely the same as you. But look at this guy, he´s from the boards and prints in 3D!
http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...nted-guns.html |
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10-19-2012, 08:33 PM | #10 |
Banned
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Location: Flint, MI
Posts: 3,351
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Quote:
Yes. It seems to me that art, and craftsmanship are perhaps on the way out. Though the practitioners of this new pseudo-creativity will not find so much satisfaction in its mechanical perfection. The loss of nuance and a recognizable style defined by imperfection.
It is a hallmark of the downfall of human civilization. Moving ever closer to the objects of Frank Herbert's dire warnings... Just so you know, I'm probably the only one that's dabbled in both and they're not really much different. The process of creating a 3D model for printing is much different than creating one for gaming. There's a lot of creativity especially in recreating the joints at a scale that can't get the accuracy. If you walked in on the top ten grad programs for architecture across the country, you're going to find 3d printed models but you're going to find a ton of interesting scratch builds. |
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