The Big Picture - May 2014 - (Page 12)

inside output inside output Getting Dimensional: Developments on the 3D Front By Craig Miller I n my column about a year ago on the topic of 3D printing ("3D Printing: Putting the 'Additive' in Manufacturing," June 2013), I wrote about our company's purchase of a 3D printer. This was at the peak of all the hyperbole about how 3D printing was going to totally change the world. As it turns out, the world is still pretty much the same - the technology hasn't really affected civilization as we know it. It has not yet been disruptive to intellectual property rights or manufacturing, nor has it produced the widespread menace of printed guns. And our own company hasn't changed as a result of bringing the printer in-house - at least not substantially, not yet. We have utilized our 3D printer, a Cubify Cubex, to print prototypes of products that we're developing for use in exhibit structures. While the finished product is manufactured using plastic extruding and injection molding, our 3D printer was able to make prototype parts that are functionally identical to the final product - enabling us to test different configurations before we spend tens of thousands of dollars buying final dies and molds. We'll bring the product to market when our intellectual property is fully protected. Have we had any 3D "print-for-pay" jobs - creating products we actually sell? Yes. The most interesting such job so far was an artificial knee. A physician had developed a new prosthetic knee, but wanted a model he could show potential investors. It takes about 10 jobs like this to pay for an entry-level printer like ours. Given the current technology, I would recommend an entry-level 3D printer if your shop has the need to build visual and/or functional prototypes for product development. CRaIG MIllER is a principal shareholder in Las Vegas-based Pictographics, (pictographics.net) where he is also director of military and law-enforcement projects, the company's defense-contracting division. 12 THE BIG PICTURE May 2014 As I said a year ago, we justified the ROI of 3D capability based on our internal needs. But a couple of recent 3D developments have especially garnered my interest of late. Scanning in 3D In 2014 I predict there will be at least two truly revolutionary developments in 3D printing. These developments will be disruptive. And, importantly, those of us in the digitalprinting arena are likely better prepared than people in other industries to join the revolution. The reason: We're familiar with a great deal of the knowledge and skills that will be necessary for success with the new technology. The first technology is 3D scanning. Just as with flat printing, before you can print something in 3D, you need a digital file. You can either create that file in a 3D design program, buy the image, or scan it. We participated in the Kick Starter program and late last year we ordered a Fuel3D handheld scanner as well as a software package called MeshUp (fuel-3d.com). I am betting with my wallet this is going to be revolutionary. Affordable, very-high resolution 3D scanning has been the missing link in 3D print-production services, and is what has been preventing 3D print from really taking off. We want to be out front when it does. The Fuel3D scanner will also have some advantages for other UV-cured dimensional printing we do. For instance, in October of last year we produced a UV-cured print with 21 layers of UV-cured ink on an aluminum composite sheet. It was an "original" piece the artist created on his computer. A "one of one," this print sold at auction for $270,000! Once we have this 3D-scanning technology in-house, we should be able to replicate the brushstrokes on oil-painted canvas. In the same scan, we'll get the color information along with the dimensional information. We'll also be able to replicate textural surfaces like wood - again, perfectly registering the color print to the texture. This scanner will also complement our 3D routing capability. Like so many of you, we're ready for 3D technology - because if you have a UV-cured printer or a router, >35 http://www.fuel-3d.com http://www.pictographics.net http://www.pictographics.net

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Big Picture - May 2014

The Big Picture - May 2014
Contents
InSight
Wide Angle
Up Front
Inside Output
Business + Management
Capturing Fine-Art Success
Think Ink
At the ‘Floor Front’
R+D
Explorer

The Big Picture - May 2014