ENTER HERE - 3DPrint - Ultimate 3D Printing Giveaway!

[cjalas]

- What is the most interesting thing you have seen done with a 3D printer or 3D printing technology?

The most interesting thing by far that I have seen done with a 3d printer is the ability to 'print' human body parts like ears, etc. And then use them on skin grafts! Amazing!

- If you could build your dream 3D printer, what would it include and what would it do? Let your imagination run wild!

My dream 3d printer would have a huge build size of at least 2 ft x 2 ft, all the bells and whistles like auto leveling, heated bed, quad nozzle for multi color and multi filament printing, webcam to see the printing, wireless printing from a computer or tablet or phone, and also 3d scan items as well.

[josephadeangelo]

My entry,
1) most interesting thing I have done with 3d printing to date is building of a rotary suture tool measuring 10mm in diameter to a thickness of 1mm, stacking and connecting 40 tools with one connecting bar that is removed through value added processes to individualize the tools from the built stack.
2) my dream 3D printer: would enable a metal lattice structure to be built with a thermoplastic or thermoset skin focusing on a functional product without value added processes being required. metal lattice would provide mechanical strength and plastic for the interface of components...providing a lightening of products that would be functional and load bearing as well as look and feel good to the user.

[cadguy65]

- What is the most interesting thing you have seen done with a 3D printer or 3D printing technology?

The advances in 3D cement printing are amazing, and making by brother the bricklayer, wonder about his future. On a smaller scale, I've seen some of the simplest hand tools printed out where I work. For instance a drill attachment for mixing two part casting polymers. We used to just use coffee stirrers, but a tiny printed propeller does a much better job.

- If you could build your dream 3D printer, what would it include and what would it do? Let your imagination run wild!

I would take the concept of the Deckel Maho LASERTEC 65 and apply it to the small maker sized filament printer. Adding the ability to switch to a milling/tapping head would be a pretty awesome setup.

[GOC]

Question #1: What is the most interesting thing you have seen done with a 3D printer or 3D printing technology?

Answer #1:I'm very intrigued with projects that contain moving parts. Projects of that manner show the advancements we have made in the manufacturing world. The "Mechanical Clock" project & this "Spherical Gear" really emphasize this.
*Secondary: I am also very impressed with the new filament technologies out there. The latest innovation with conductive filament has me jumping with joy. I can't wait to start being able to print effective circuits & PCB's.

Question #2:If you could build your dream 3D printer, what would it include and what would it do? Let your imagination run wild!

Answer #2: My dream printer would be a printer that has a respectable build volume balanced with a reasonable printer size. It would also need to have a versatile hot-end that can handle the diverse range of materials on the market. It should also be equipped for the following features.
- 1) Adjustable spool holder for various spool sizes
- 2) Guide tube system for feeding filament
- 3) High temperature printing bed for handling a larger range of materials
- 4) Delta style configuration (personal preference)
- 5) On Screen Display
- 6) Manual Controls (on the machine, not just the software)
- 7) SD Card slot for running the printer standalone
- 8) An enclosure systems (if patents prevent this at least perforate the outer edges of the printer so that one could be custom built and attached easily)
- 9) Some type of ventilation or air purification options/connections (HEPA/HECA)
-10) Quick connect or plug-n-play components. Make it so changing upgrade or replacement components can be quick and easy.
-11) Built in filament changer/fuser (similar to the mosaic)
-12) Filament detection. When filament breaks or jams the machine should be able to recognize this and halt the printing appropriately. Spitting out an error message with the line# for the last successful extrusion would also help for resuming the print.
-13) CNC/Printer Combination. After printing a layer it could run a quick 'sizing' tool to remove any excess printing extremities.

** I understand some of these options would be quite expensive to incorporate, but you did say "Dream Printer"

[Des3D]

What is the most interesting thing you have seen done with a 3D printer or 3D printing technology?
A working model steam engine ran on air. The engine worked great on an air compressor so now the question is would it hold up to the heat of steam?


- If you could build your dream 3D printer, what would it include and what would it do? Let your imagination run wild!

My dream 3d printer would be/have many things. First RECYCLE scrap parts! Rather a poor design or error in printing or just a part that wore out during use, toss those parts into a grinder then form the material back into filament to use again for another part.

The printer would be large enough to print a car body. A printer this large could print most things anyone needs though maybe in sections to be assembled. If you can print a car you could print new siding for your house or roofing etc... or rain gutters as needed. With food grade materials you could print a bathtub/shower kitchen sink and all the facets and hardware etc...
Want to remodel the house, see above, cut up and grind the old stuff, form filament and print a new bathroom. LOL

A moving print bed would be great like a conveyor belt. Print allot, belt feeds to blank area, print more!
In this way you could print any length object needed. See above for rain gutters and house siding. LOL
So print 2 feet and belt feeds then prints 2 more feet, total gutter length 25' when done with a 2 foot printer.

6 print heads working at once with safety to prevent crashing. 1 each front rear left right so that all sides are printed at once together at same time, 2 print heads to rapid fill the bottom/top of large items.

Ability to adjust heat as needed to recycle nearly any plastics! I buy allot of used 35/55gal barrels for many uses. I can tell you that a used barrel is WAY cheaper than any filament by weight! It's great plastic, UV proof also! I say UV proof as I have black barrels that are over 15years old that been sitting in the sun all that time and still are like new! Red Blue and Yellow barrels also are doing great but i not had them but about 10years!
To be able to grind up those type barrels and print roofing for a house would be great! Not only far cheaper for me to buy the barrels than real roofing but they will last far longer also!

A heated hopper filament extruder would be great also, dump in the ground up plastics and make the filament on the fly while printing. Never hit the end of a roll! No waste, no running out of filament in middle of an item. Might be tricky though when using many colors if color is important to the item made.

Putting everything together, and make the print heads with ability to adjust angles on the fly, as long as the printer was wide enough and tall enough then any item could be printed.

I saw a PRO auto paint shop once many years ago that had computer controlled paint booth. Several paint guns ran around the auto, the distance to auto and angle of the guns were computer controlled and did a perfect paint job, automatically adjusted on the fly for the angles and curves etc.. of the auto body.
3D print heads could do the same thing, no need for them to only spray down from the top!
So a printer with moving print bed to feed out the part as it's printed could actually also adjust the print heads on angle as needed so as to NOT crash a head into a 6" tall part that already was printed when printing the bottom of the next section.

Most important though I guess is to just speed the things up! I seen some folks mentioned like large enough to build a house. Well if it takes 18-38+hrs to build a 2foot tall thin model of Eiffel Tower to sit indoors I ain't got 30+years to wait for my house to be built till I could live in it. LOL
It would be really cool though if company could just erect a giant printer and print me a house.
While I wait for that, a printer that can print 4'x? panels and move the bed printing till the full length is done would be great if not taking 4 weeks to get one 4'x8' section done. Same with car bodies, a car body could be printed with a 8'w X2' long printer if the bed fed out the car as it was printed, but who would wait 10years for a car? LOL

[Rockhard323]

- What is the most interesting thing you have seen done with a 3D printer or 3D printing technology?

I have seen many things created using 3D printers, the first I had seen was a home made lego character but my favorite which I have just seen today is a Yoda bust
here is a link for anyone interested (You may have to scroll down to find it) " https://www.facebook.com/peachyprinter "

- If you could build your dream 3D printer, what would it include and what would it do? Let your imagination run wild!

(I hope it is okay to write a lot for this part)

If I could build my own 3d printer there are two things that I would like it to do. The first would be printing objects as big as coffee tables; the second would be the ability to use two or more different thickness sizes. I am currently working on game development and I noticed in the last game people responded better to objects that they can hold. And for the new game I would like a visual representation of what I am creating. The 3D printing machines can help me achieve that.

Even if all I can afford at the time is a cheap printer I will design cubed or interlocking pieces so I will be able to view the object as a whole upon completion.

Thank you for taking the time to read this have a good day.

[TeamJamesDean]

- What is the most interesting thing you have seen done with a 3D printer or 3D printing technology?

By far I think the most interesting thing i have seen is the work that is being done at Wake Forest in their attempts at printing human kidneys. It's fascinating to imagine that some day we might be able to print kidneys and other organs with cells from our own bodies.

- If you could build your dream 3D printer, what would it include and what would it do? Let your imagination run wild!
My dream is a multi-axis robotic printer with different (self-refillable) cartridges and print heads for printing in various mediums and doing different tasks. A FDM printer which can print using in plastic, wax, clay, chocolate, etc., then replace the printing head with spinning chuck or flexible shaft for cnc machining, routing, cutting, etc., then replace the head with a spray fitting to paint, coat, seal, etc. I need to get working on that!

[Des]

DES3D can be deleted, I could never get logged back in again after that first post and forum is not sending the e-mail to me for lost password it seems so I started my new DES account. So I'll just repost my same entry I posted as DES3D.

What is the most interesting thing you have seen done with a 3D printer or 3D printing technology?
A working model steam engine ran on air. The engine worked great on an air compressor so now the question is would it hold up to the heat of steam?


- If you could build your dream 3D printer, what would it include and what would it do? Let your imagination run wild!

My dream 3d printer would be/have many things. First RECYCLE scrap parts! Rather a poor design or error in printing or just a part that wore out during use, toss those parts into a grinder then form the material back into filament to use again for another part.

The printer would be large enough to print a car body. A printer this large could print most things anyone needs though maybe in sections to be assembled. If you can print a car you could print new siding for your house or roofing etc... or rain gutters as needed. With food grade materials you could print a bathtub/shower kitchen sink and all the facets and hardware etc...
Want to remodel the house, see above, cut up and grind the old stuff, form filament and print a new bathroom. LOL

A moving print bed would be great like a conveyor belt. Print allot, belt feeds to blank area, print more!
In this way you could print any length object needed. See above for rain gutters and house siding. LOL
So print 2 feet and belt feeds then prints 2 more feet, total gutter length 25' when done with a 2 foot printer.

6 print heads working at once with safety to prevent crashing. 1 each front rear left right so that all sides are printed at once together at same time, 2 print heads to rapid fill the bottom/top of large items.

Ability to adjust heat as needed to recycle nearly any plastics! I buy allot of used 35/55gal barrels for many uses. I can tell you that a used barrel is WAY cheaper than any filament by weight! It's great plastic, UV proof also! I say UV proof as I have black barrels that are over 15years old that been sitting in the sun all that time and still are like new! Red Blue and Yellow barrels also are doing great but i not had them but about 10years!
To be able to grind up those type barrels and print roofing for a house would be great! Not only far cheaper for me to buy the barrels than real roofing but they will last far longer also!

A heated hopper filament extruder would be great also, dump in the ground up plastics and make the filament on the fly while printing. Never hit the end of a roll! No waste, no running out of filament in middle of an item. Might be tricky though when using many colors if color is important to the item made.

Putting everything together, and make the print heads with ability to adjust angles on the fly, as long as the printer was wide enough and tall enough then any item could be printed.

I saw a PRO auto paint shop once many years ago that had computer controlled paint booth. Several paint guns ran around the auto, the distance to auto and angle of the guns were computer controlled and did a perfect paint job, automatically adjusted on the fly for the angles and curves etc.. of the auto body.
3D print heads could do the same thing, no need for them to only spray down from the top!
So a printer with moving print bed to feed out the part as it's printed could actually also adjust the print heads on angle as needed so as to NOT crash a head into a 6" tall part that already was printed when printing the bottom of the next section.

Most important though I guess is to just speed the things up! I seen some folks mentioned like large enough to build a house. Well if it takes 18-38+hrs to build a 2foot tall thin model of Eiffel Tower to sit indoors I ain't got 30+years to wait for my house to be built till I could live in it. LOL
It would be really cool though if company could just erect a giant printer and print me a house.
While I wait for that, a printer that can print 4'x? panels and move the bed printing till the full length is done would be great if not taking 4 weeks to get one 4'x8' section done. Same with car bodies, a car body could be printed with a 8'w X2' long printer if the bed fed out the car as it was printed, but who would wait 10years for a car? LOL

[atoff]

- What is the most interesting thing you have seen done with a 3D printer or 3D printing technology?

The most interesting things I've seen done with the technology have to be in medicine / medical procedures. Such as the man who had half his face reconstructed with the help of a 3D printed prosthetic, or organs being printed experimentally (i.e. 3D printed valve tissue). It opens up a whole avenue of possibility. And what's more important than finding new ways to help people who are ill / damaged / suffering?

- If you could build your dream 3D printer, what would it include and what would it do?

Staying within the realm of possibility. I'd like to have a printer that could print multiple colors, without the need for multiple filaments, and materials accurately. One that can print over/underhangs without the need for supports. A printer that doesn't need calibrating, or self-calibrates with extreme precision. My dream 3D printer would also be able to print in metals (who's wouldn't?), and rubber.

[HopBot]

What is the most interesting thing you have seen done with a 3D printer or 3D printing technology?
One of our suppliers at work does prototyping and they do a lot of automotive interior components that we get to see before anyone else. I also have seen some of the clear and more flexible materials done on the industrial machines that come out looking like molded products.
If you could build your dream 3D printer, what would it include and what would it do? Let your imagination run wild!
I would love to see an inkjet type technology (plasticjet?) that could deposit fine particles of plastic to create much finer detail that current machines do. Another machine I would like is something that can print metal chaeply.