My cup runneth over...

This is the tallest print so far on the @formlabs printer.  I had to print it straight due to the height.  The software wanted to turn it which would have given a better bottom if it could fit.

Reminds me of a bat hanging there.

Reminds me of a bat hanging there.

Hear no evil, see no evil...

3d scanned, repaired and adjusted on @Netfabb Professional and @Meshmixer and printed on  @Formlabs Form1+ at 0.01 mm layer height...will be used to make prosthetic ear and eye.

image.jpg

Total time from liquid resin to solid parts, just over 15 hours.

The 2 HPs...which way for 3D printers?

So  that first tech start up, Hewlett-Packard, is splitting itself in two...which way, if any, will their planned 3D printers go?

Will it be the Enterprise side with high end servers or the PC/PP (personal printer) side?

If they move forward, which IMHO, they should I vote for the enterprise products and services side.

They announced earlier this year their intention to serve the business market.  The enterprise side is the obvious place for their large format and industrial printers and plotters to end up...it is probably a good home for their 3D printers, too.

Where HP can make the biggest impact is with speed and cost.

They have economies of scale to apply to the 3-D printer business and also capital reserves to allow them to price ahead of the printer cost curve and really drive industry prices down to where they should be.

HP's expertise in laser and page width format printer design is ideal for developing game changing printer technologies and devices. HP has great abilities to formulate inks and toners.  

I expect to see them introduce powder and or jetting printers that use buil platform width or full platform print/binder heads to increase build speeds by an order of magnitude over current technologies.

i would love to know what others think.

Powder printing, SLA and SLS...MORE FUN WITH LASERS.

The basic patents on fused deposition model link aka extrusion printing expired a couple of years ago. This led to an explosion in desktop FDM printers such as the Makerbot Replicator from individuals and companies we had never heard of.  End result FDM for the masses and millions of dollars for the Makerbot founders and investors via there acquisition by Stratasys.

Next came UV laser cured resin printing.  The Form printer from Formlabs is an early commercial success in this area with several more announced and/or being crowd funded on venues like Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Seen on the horizon in the patent expiration Wild West are SLS And SLA printers which use powders and lasers to print parts in monochrome, full color, and metals.

I can't wait to see what come out in the next year.