If you could solve one problem...

[sdr1]

Hello everyone!

I'm doing a little study on 3d printing, and I've got a simple question for you:
If you could solve one problem with 3d printing what would it be and why?

I'd appreciate your answers.
Cheers.

[sn00zerman]

not really a problem for most of us, but I would like to "fix" the speed-issue ...
I'm currently printing 300 exact the same parts, they require about 6 hours per print. (and I'm already printing at almost 200mm/sec !)
It would be a great improvement if every part is printed in an hour or so :-)

For the rest, I actually don't have any problems. (well, not with 3D printing at least, lol)

[richardphat]

Fix the shrinkage, fix the warping, fix the bed adhesion, fix electronic fail-proof, fix the horrible slicing from any software, fix the horrible overhang generating, fix the vibration..... fix anything else that is annoying to deal with.

[awerby]

The question is a bit too simple. Different 3D printing processes have different problems. Issues you might have with a resin printer (eg: messiness, adhesion difficulties, expensive feedstocks) don't necessarily apply to FFF printers, which have other problems (lack of soluble support material, clogging, dribbling) or powder-bed printers (abrasion, clumping, contamination). If you narrow your focus to a particular process - or even better, a particular machine - the answers you get will be more coherent.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[TechMasterJoe]

drive systems used in FDM
with proper feedback servo style control and bigger servos / steppers i can see print speed well over 1000mm/s within reach granted a extremely strong frame will be needed.
I'm prototyping a system now and i can safely print at 450mm/s with .05mm layers jerk settings over 100mm/s accel well over 10,000mm/s
i plan to make this into NEMA 23 and NEMA 34 Backpacks that just feed in data over I2C, SPI, Serial, or USB
stepper driver is built controller is 32bit based and well include a 600 count rotary encoder.
I'm also toying with Brushless motors.

[sdr1]

not really a problem for most of us, but I would like to "fix" the speed-issue ...
I'm currently printing 300 exact the same parts, they require about 6 hours per print. (and I'm already printing at almost 200mm/sec !)
It would be a great improvement if every part is printed in an hour or so :-)

For the rest, I actually don't have any problems. (well, not with 3D printing at least, lol)

From what I understand this is still a major issue. No wonder you feel that way considering you need about 2,5 months of constant printing to finish your project. :-)
I'm really curious how fast the progress in this area will be.
Are there any specific technical aspects making 3d print slow that may be hard to overcome with today's technology?
Or do you feel it's just a matter of (short) time before it will be possible to print much faster?

You probably heard about CLIP 3D technology (link to the article) - it looks very promising to me. Do you feel this may be a breakthrough in the speed-issue?

(I'm answering sn00zerman in this post, but I invite everyone to share their opinion on this issue!)

[sdr1]

Fix the shrinkage, fix the warping, fix the bed adhesion, fix electronic fail-proof, fix the horrible slicing from any software, fix the horrible overhang generating, fix the vibration..... fix anything else that is annoying to deal with.

Well, it seems like each one of those could be a real pain in the ass! ;-)
Let me ask you this: if you had a magic wand and could completely eliminate one of the problems you mentioned, which one would you choose and why?

[McClaneZ]

Well, it seems like each one of those could be a real pain in the ass! ;-)
Let me ask you this: if you had a magic wand and could completely eliminate one of the problems you mentioned, which one would you choose and why?

I could have almost written that exact reply by richardphat. Of those he listed, I think warping and bed adhesion are related. So if I could fix just ONE thing, I'd fix warping and that just might eliminate bed adhesion (or specifically, non-adhesion). Why? For me, it's not been that much of a problem with PLA, but for ABS, even with a heated bed, sometimes the prints come out just fine, sometimes they don't. Eventually I get what I want, but I really hate wasting the time when 1/3 into a print, it starts to lift and warp and I have to start from scratch.

[richardphat]

My magic wand would fix all the problem. My work at school is basically printing for teachers for research. Tolerance, shape, perfect object requirement requires a high standard. Failure isn't an option, I don't have the time to spent working on another print. I am getting paid for the product, not by hours.

Actually McClaneZ, you can have warping and still have a decent bed adhesion. For example, some prints must have active cooling in order to work properly. However, considering the fan typically blows in one direction, there will be parts that aren't exposed to the air blowing and this cause hot/cold area which leads to uneven warping.

[DBFIU]

speed, I can take care of the rest.