4 ms·

To make just 1 unit of a decently complex unique design for only $70 in materials, 227 hours of machine time, and a reasonable amount of human assembly time, is

by bradfa 7y ago

To make just 1 unit of a decently complex unique design for only $70 in materials, 227 hours of machine time, and a reasonable amount of human assembly time, is seriously impressive! 3D printing isn't the future of mass manufacturing, but it is getting much much closer to being the future of prototyping and one-offs for pretty much every plastic thing (and some metal ones, too), especially as the hobby level printers keep getting better. If you're not impressed with this, you likely haven't ever gotten quotes from a quick turn plastics manufacturing shop.

jdietrich 7y ago
>If you're not impressed with this, you likely haven't ever gotten quotes from a quick turn plastics manufacturing shop. Who on earth would want to make a computer case from plastic? Cutting, folding, drilling and riveting sheet metal is fast and economical, even with basic hand tools. You can buy a dizzying array of fixtures and fittings from McMaster-Carr or your local equivalent. I'm not fundamentally opposed to 3D printing, but I do have a bone to pick with the "maker community", which seems to have a pathological aversion to basic shop class skills. If you want to make a custom PC case, then by all means do so, just don't stink out your house with ABS fumes in the process - buy a copy of Basic Benchwork by Les Oldridge and Sheet Metal Work by R.E. Wakeford, scrounge up some tools and have at it.
- cr0sh 7y ago
  I'm definitely in agreement with you here; it bothers me a bit to see an instructable or similar where one of the essential requirements always seems to be a 3D printer. It's always a breath of fresh air when that isn't true. In many, many cases, most things done by "makers" can be done without 3D printing anything, and be more accessible to others. I can understand needing or using one when you need something custom to fit or retrofit into an existing commercial product. Even there, with a bit of thinking, one can generally come up with a solution where a 3D printer isn't needed. I'm starting to see this same kind of attitude creep into laser cutters - projects that seem to think everyone has access to one, when that isn't necessarily true. For instance, I know where I could go to get access to one (and 3D printers, etc) - but it would be about a 50 mile drive for me. Far enough where I would seriously consider other alternatives. I do have to say, though, that the 3D printer (and other CNC tools commonly used by the maker community) has allowed for a lot of people who may not have the dexterity or other related abilities the chance to design and build some fantastic creations. Furthermore, there are more than a few things that just couldn't be done any other way (or at least as cheaply or quickly). There is also the nice idea that (at least in theory) one can take those same files and use them with other CNC processes. In the case of laser cutters, if you can print the files full-sized, you can even cut them out manually with a coping saw or other more "manual" tooling.
- OldXKEGuy 7y ago
  "Who on earth would want to make a computer case from plastic?" Look up Apple II / Apple IIe....not quite total failures.
cr0sh 7y ago
> but it is getting much much closer to being the future of prototyping and one-offs FDM printers, from what I recall, existed as commercial products for prototyping long before reprap and other early hobbyist efforts came to fruition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing#History ...and according to that link, even more advanced processes (stereolithography, for instance) were being explored in the 1980s and 90s. These systems have long been available on the commercial market - albeit for (likely) a steep price. What has really happened is that the price on the systems have dropped steeply, and they are now available to the hobbyists with the skills to use them. Before, that was a near impossibility unless you worked for a company that had a commercial system - and would let you near it.
- luma 7y ago
  > What has really happened is that the price on the systems have dropped steeply What has really happened is that the core patents on FDM technology expired in 2009, resulting in an explosion of new approaches to the technology and now you can buy a home unit for well under $200. 3D printing isn't that terribly complicated and the required hardware has been around for decades. The only thing that made it expensive was rent seeking.
OldXKEGuy 7y ago
And that 227 hours of machine time is actually 227 hours of "robot" time. No human intervention required. Fire it up, check it just now and again. Once someone creates the "hard stuff" for the robot, that robot does the work if you can afford the robot.

by bradfa 7y ago

jdietrich 7y ago

>If you're not impressed with this, you likely haven't ever gotten quotes from a quick turn plastics manufacturing shop. Who on earth would want to make a computer case from plastic? Cutting, folding, drilling and riveting sheet metal is fast and economical, even with basic hand tools. You can buy a dizzying array of fixtures and fittings from McMaster-Carr or your local equivalent. I'm not fundamentally opposed to 3D printing, but I do have a bone to pick with the "maker community", which seems to have a pathological aversion to basic shop class skills. If you want to make a custom PC case, then by all means do so, just don't stink out your house with ABS fumes in the process - buy a copy of Basic Benchwork by Les Oldridge and Sheet Metal Work by R.E. Wakeford, scrounge up some tools and have at it.

cr0sh 7y ago
I'm definitely in agreement with you here; it bothers me a bit to see an instructable or similar where one of the essential requirements always seems to be a 3D printer. It's always a breath of fresh air when that isn't true. In many, many cases, most things done by "makers" can be done without 3D printing anything, and be more accessible to others. I can understand needing or using one when you need something custom to fit or retrofit into an existing commercial product. Even there, with a bit of thinking, one can generally come up with a solution where a 3D printer isn't needed. I'm starting to see this same kind of attitude creep into laser cutters - projects that seem to think everyone has access to one, when that isn't necessarily true. For instance, I know where I could go to get access to one (and 3D printers, etc) - but it would be about a 50 mile drive for me. Far enough where I would seriously consider other alternatives. I do have to say, though, that the 3D printer (and other CNC tools commonly used by the maker community) has allowed for a lot of people who may not have the dexterity or other related abilities the chance to design and build some fantastic creations. Furthermore, there are more than a few things that just couldn't be done any other way (or at least as cheaply or quickly). There is also the nice idea that (at least in theory) one can take those same files and use them with other CNC processes. In the case of laser cutters, if you can print the files full-sized, you can even cut them out manually with a coping saw or other more "manual" tooling.
OldXKEGuy 7y ago
"Who on earth would want to make a computer case from plastic?" Look up Apple II / Apple IIe....not quite total failures.

cr0sh 7y ago

> but it is getting much much closer to being the future of prototyping and one-offs FDM printers, from what I recall, existed as commercial products for prototyping long before reprap and other early hobbyist efforts came to fruition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing#History ...and according to that link, even more advanced processes (stereolithography, for instance) were being explored in the 1980s and 90s. These systems have long been available on the commercial market - albeit for (likely) a steep price. What has really happened is that the price on the systems have dropped steeply, and they are now available to the hobbyists with the skills to use them. Before, that was a near impossibility unless you worked for a company that had a commercial system - and would let you near it.

luma 7y ago
> What has really happened is that the price on the systems have dropped steeply What has really happened is that the core patents on FDM technology expired in 2009, resulting in an explosion of new approaches to the technology and now you can buy a home unit for well under $200. 3D printing isn't that terribly complicated and the required hardware has been around for decades. The only thing that made it expensive was rent seeking.

OldXKEGuy 7y ago

And that 227 hours of machine time is actually 227 hours of "robot" time. No human intervention required. Fire it up, check it just now and again. Once someone creates the "hard stuff" for the robot, that robot does the work if you can afford the robot.