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RE: So..You're Interested in 3D Printing?
3D printing is a very exciting technology. For the most modest model, how much would a pattern cost for say... auto parts? Are patterns available in other places besides the manufacturer?
That depends entirely on what kind of part you're talking about.
Any kind of metal part is probably going to be outside your reach for desktop manufactury. There are certainly industrial commercial 3D printing providers who are willing to do one off manufactury, but it's not cheap.
If you're talking about simple plastic pieces, then most designs and models are made by individuals. Usually in some sort of 3D parametric CAD system (like Fusion 360 or Onshape), though you can use photogrammetry to take a series of carefully chosen photographs and have the system build a proper 3D model.
For the most part, auto part 3D models aren't available from even the manufacturers at this point. That may be something that happens in the future, but I wouldn't bet on it. When an industry makes money selling parts, they are really unlikely to want to help people make those parts for themselves.
@lextenebris is spot on. Unless someone else has CAD designed an auto part and posted it on a site like GrabCAD, then you'll have to make it yourself and print it. Then with respect to printing metal, it is best to shoot for the higher end printers like the MakerBot Replicator 2 which can print in metallic.
If you're looking to do one-off custom prints of rare parts than this is the way to go, like for a 1913 Mercer or 1929 Duesenberg it would be perfect!
Keep the faith!
My own feeling is that you might have better luck going with an external service like 3D Hubs or Fast Radius if you really need rare metal parts printed for you and you have a design. (Hell, Shapeways does some very nice aluminum-printed bits with good structural integrity as long as the part you want isn't too large.)
The situation for desktop metal printing is a long way – a very long way – from being something that it's a good idea to tinker with. There are some new technologies which look like they might pay off in a few years, but for the moment, you're far better off sticking to plastics and resins than you are trying to get desktop metal printing to do the job for you.
There is a serious difference between being able to print "metal infused plastics" and "metals," and when you're talking about functional parts – never the twain shall meet.
True, best hold off on the metal extruder DIY printers for now. As you said, eventually there will be a diffusion of the tech down into the personal use market, but for now best stick to service providers.
I've heard a lot of good things about Shapeways too btw; very reasonable rates for high quality prints of nearly any material.
I've been really happy with the service that they've provided, not just with the printing but with the store front end. A couple of my previous posts talk about how to go about designing something, preparing it for 3D printing, making a prototype on your personal printer, and then sending it up to Shapeways for broader selling.
Frankly, they make it easy.
Interesting..I've actually consider posting some of my designs up on Shapeways. Not sure really what's holding me back, but its good to hear that your experience has been relatively painless, I assume.
A little more motivation!
Well, if you really want the nitty-gritty, you can start here and trundle on through here, which should be far more than you ever wanted to know. [grin]
It does involve quite a lot about how to set things up on Shapeways though, especially in Part II.
Nice content, very detailed and well laid out. Sometimes being thorough has its advantages :). I'll send a follow your way and keep an eye out for more.
Great! I was just sitting here looking at some of my models and thinking about what might be useful to add to the pool of human knowledge. I'm thinking one of the other Raspberry Pi cases that I've tinkered with in the past might make a good, short post.
We shall see.