Apple and 3D Printers: why I don't think it's going to work

I wrote about 3D printing and Apple a long time ago (Death to Centralized Manufacturing). The Atlantic thinks that Apple could benefit from putting out a 3D printer. I'd say the same, only I don't think Apple would want to sell it as a product: much rather they would use a 3D printer to make parts or even whole products using a 3D printer. If it becomes possible to print, say, an iPhone, then why would they sell a device that could potentially undermine their business?

Already Apple is using specialized machines (with lasers and all) to mill the aluminum bodies of MacBook Pros, iMacs and iPhones--in the MacBook Pro case, they went with the same machines for production as during the design and prototyping phase. And their subcontractor Foxconn is already talking about replacing workers with robots in the manufacturing process. So if 3D printing is not in the cards for Apple yet then definitely full-scale automation.

If a former-raver and artist could find fun and value in the $1,100 machine, maybe a lot of people might. And he did. "It took me a week to assemble my Makerbot, but remember that when Jobs and Wozniak and those guys first started out, you had to make your own computer," he said. "Now they're in your pocket. That's where I think this is headed." (Are you listening, Apple?)

Why Apple Should Start Making a 3D Printer Right Now (The Atlantic)

3D printed Hilbert curve using two types of ink

This Hilbert curve approximation serves more as a test "to produce objects with overhanging parts that are currently very difficult, or impossible, for them to print" using two types of ink (PVA and PLA). After dissolving the former, the latter remains.

Next up, a Menger sponge?

Approximating the Hilbert curve with 3D printers (BoingBoing via Thingiverse)

3D printing and construction

3D printing is traditionally a tabletop enterprise: printed products are about a few inches big in each direction. However, another application for 3D printing is emerging that's quite a step up from, say, replacing your missing LEGO bricks: construction.

Txchnologist has a report about a concrete-excreting printer that builds houses. (beware, this website is a pr/marketing front for GE, so if you get a sudden urge to buy a jet engine you know why)

Khoshnevis calls his technique “Contour Crafting” and it operates on roughly the same principle as consumer 3D printers like MakerBot’s Thing-O-Matic. His robot pours out a trail of viscous concrete while tracing along the footprint of a wall. As the nozzle sweeps back and forth, the layers rapidly build, with the lower ones hardening enough to support the increasing weight. Its speed puts construction workers to shame. “We are talking about a technology that can build a square foot of wall in less than 20 seconds,” Khoshnevis says. At that rate, Contour Crafting can put together a whole room in just an hour.

Size is now the only thing holding back the technology. “We have a machine that can build a structure about 23 feet long, about 7 feet high and about 15 feet wide at this point,” says Khoshnevis. He estimates that a full-scale printer would break down into three pieces and be small enough to fit onto a flatbed truck. All construction would happen on site. First, a designer would bring a digital blueprint for the house on a thumb drive and plug it into the printer while workers loaded it with concrete. Once the printer was activated, humans would play a supporting role, laying out supplies for the robotic gripper arm and preparing fresh batches of concrete. Humans would also install the windows and doors, since the task is so easy it’s not worth automating, Khoshnevis previously said.

Some modern skyscrapers are already built using a semi-automated process where the central concrete core is continually built up, day and night; however that method doesn't allow for any customizations like the one above.

Although fully automated, fully customizable construction is still a few steps away, a Chinese company called China Broad Group built a 30-story building in 15 days using mostly prefabricated materials (see video up top). The main benefits are not only rapid construction, but also a decreased use of materials and operational energy:

We have been closely tracking China's Broad Group and their prefabricated factory mass produced 'Can be Built' skyscraper technology. Six months ago they had earthquake certified a scale model of their 30 story building. now they have built an actual 30 story building in 15 days at the end of 2011.

This is one of the key technologies to watch for the next decade or two. The reason is the construction methods use far less cement and are more energy efficient. They will also enable faster urbanization of the developing world (not just China.) With state backing Broad Group will have this technology in use for more high rise commercial construction by 2020. This is part of the mundane singularity of technologies that mostly exist now and can high impact on the world. The buildings are five times more energy efficient in operation and use about 6 times less cement.

(Via Nextbigfuture.com)

3D printed plane lowers cost, build time, complexity while increasing performance

3D printers don't just make funny shaped D&D dice. They're revolutionizing rapid design and manufacturing. According to New Scientist, a team from the University of Southampton has designed and built a fully functional UAV in one week and on a 5000-pound budget:

"With 3D printing we can go back to pure forms and explore the mathematics of airflow without being forced to put in straight lines to keep costs down," says Keane.

So Keane's team set out to see how quickly they could design a 1.5-metre-wingspan, super-low-drag UAV, print it and get it airborne. A UK-based 3D-printing firm, 3T RPD of Greenham Common, Berkshire, joined the venture, agreeing to print the UAV out of hard nylon.

"We designed in printable hinges that would let the ailerons move," says 3T RPD spokesman Stuart Offer. "And we decided where to split the fuselage so the nose could be snap-jointed to the fuselage easily."

It'll be a while though before you can go on holiday on a printed airplane.