Have I seen the future???

[DBT85]

Watched an episode of the Supervet and he was having some of his surgical steel/titanium plates and joints made by 3d printing.

Yeah that stuff will be crazy. I've also heard of 3d printed jaws for a human patient and a 3d printed skull plate for another and a whole new Tibia for another guy! Some I think are essentially frames to help the real bone grow back.

 

[MattRoberts]

I believe they have already 3D printed an ear and surgically attached it to a human (after letting it develop on a rat's back).

Won't be long until they 3D print organs. Amazing stuff

 

[AlwaysLearning]

I've had a little involvement with a 3D printing project. I can't say I'm overwhelmed by the quality and cost of the items built by off the shelf printers. Surface is rarely smooth, and print speed can be painfully slow.

Some of the specialist printers are impressive, like a 3D concrete printer that can build a house and the alloy printers printing large metal parts.

One of the challenges to be overcome is where liability lies when a printed part fails e.g. You buy the plans to print a water pump housing for your car. Two months later it cracks, your engine seizes, and the garage rubs their hands with glee. Now did the part fail because the plans were duff, or your printer wasn't up to it? Who are you going to chase for compensation?

 

[Bodgers]

I've had a little involvement with a 3D printing project. I can't say I'm overwhelmed by the quality and cost of the items built by off the shelf printers. Surface is rarely smooth, and print speed can be painfully slow.

Some of the specialist printers are impressive, like a 3D concrete printer that can build a house and the alloy printers printing large metal parts.

One of the challenges to be overcome is where liability lies when a printed part fails e.g. You buy the plans to print a water pump housing for your car. Two months later it cracks, your engine seizes, and the garage rubs their hands with glee. Now did the part fail because the plans were duff, or your printer wasn't up to it? Who are you going to chase for compensation?

So far I don't think there is any issue as pretty much any model design you can get get for at least FDM 3D printers is provided on a zero warranty, free basis. Sites such as thingiverse.com make that clear. It is at your own risk.

 

[dickm]

Yes, I raised the issue of liability at the talk. One of the designs shown was a totally ludicrous "chair", looking like a cross between a hedgehog and Gaudi's cathedral design. Supposing that the original designer made these stupid things, sold them and someone hurt themselves when it collapsed, would it be the designer, the printer owner, the supplier of the plastic................ list goes on and on. Probably the designer in that case, but if a third party used the design and hurt someone else or themselves, who?

 

[DBT85]

If we reached the time where you would go in to John Lewis and collect your new chair as designed by Mr Future and printed by John Lewis, your issue would be with John Lewis, as it would be today.

 

[Tasky]

You would rather see MORE plastic? In a world where there isn't ANY place on earth free of plastic detritus, even the furthest remotest islands, and the deepest parts of the sea have animals contaminated with plastic pollution. It's even in your drinking water.

More? No. That's not what I said, now is it?
Also, if there's already THAT much plastic lying around across the world, why not put it to good use and 3D print stuff with it instead of chucking it out into the ocean?
Win-win and woodworking's in.

Oil rationing WILL be a thing of the future, wars may be fought (again) and the world will return to the pre-plastic era of 100 years ago.

So more guns made properly without cheap plastic carp to break with alarming frequency, along with a high demand for wooden furniture like the FALs used to have... Not seeing the downside, yet.

 

[Bodgers]

Yes, I raised the issue of liability at the talk. One of the designs shown was a totally ludicrous "chair", looking like a cross between a hedgehog and Gaudi's cathedral design. Supposing that the original designer made these stupid things, sold them and someone hurt themselves when it collapsed, would it be the designer, the printer owner, the supplier of the plastic................ list goes on and on. Probably the designer in that case, but if a third party used the design and hurt someone else or themselves, who?

Nobody. The designer has provided no warranty and if they have sense will have provided it on a no liability 'this isn't to be used for real basis'. There is no way you would release your designs public otherwise as you have no control over the manufacturing process.

3D FDM printing as a thing isn't really suited to manufacturing for a profit anyway.

The 'magic' of it is the ability to rapid prototype an idea with an extremely low barrier for entry OR to produce a one-off of 'something' whether that be a broken handle or a broken dog fibular. For anything else it is way too limited as it is inherently Sloooowww and if you want anything approaching a nice finish on your stuff it needs a shed load of post processing.





Sent from my MI 3W using Tapatalk

 

[andersonec]

Hopefully 3D printing will see all the veneered chipboard places either go out of business or transfer over to plastic, leaving the vast majority of wood in proper, solid original format. From there, most woodwork will be in proper wood and MDF will be forgotten!


Can't quite fathom out what's wrong with veneered furniture, to me it means recycled timber also using veneers means a reduction on cutting down trees, printing more and more plastic junk which only ends up being dumped into our already poisoned oceans is a big no no and not everybody can afford solid wood furniture, it seems to me that if we can recycle some of the timber being thrown away in today's throw away culture then maybe we could have some trees left standing in the near future.

Andy

 

[andersonec]

Will anyone want to work wood in 5 years time?

Hopefully 3D printing will see all the veneered chipboard places either go out of business or transfer over to plastic, leaving the vast majority of wood in proper, solid original format. From there, most woodwork will be in proper wood and MDF will be forgotten!

Can't quite fathom out what's wrong with veneered furniture. It is more stable than solid wood and to me it means recycled timber, using veneers means a reduction on the amount of trees being cut down. Printing more and more plastic junk which only ends up being dumped into our already poisoned oceans is a big no no also not everybody can afford solid wood furniture. I seems to me that if we can recycle some of the timber being dumped in today's throw away culture then maybe we could have some trees left standing in the near future.

The rate at which wood is being burned today is also non sustainable because trees are not being planted at the same rate they are being felled, it can only be sustainable if they are replaced when felled.



Andy

 

[Tasky]

Can't quite fathom out what's wrong with veneered furniture.

I seem to mostly encounter either the really really cheap junk, or the really really expensive junk, then... Stuff that either falls apart the instant you put a few kgs of weight on it, or stuff that costs £850 where the solid oak version it imitates would only be maybe £500... and then, that might even include buying the tools for it as well!!

Printing more and more plastic junk which only ends up being dumped into our already poisoned oceans is a big no no

As above - Recycle what's already here.

also not everybody can afford solid wood furniture.

Which is where the plastic comes in.

I seems to me that if we can recycle some of the timber being dumped in today's throw away culture then maybe we could have some trees left standing in the near future.

There are wood recycling places around. Oxford is my nearest.
Annoyingly, our civic amenity and recycling complex won't actually let us recycle the dumped wood!

The rate at which wood is being burned today is also non sustainable because trees are not being planted at the same rate they are being felled, it can only be sustainable if they are replaced when felled.

I'm more than happy to go tree-planting...

 

[andersonec]

While we are on the subject of plastics, the UN Oceans conference back in June threw up some statistics, here are just a few.

There are one million plastic bags used every minute worldwide.
Eight million tons of plastic is dumped into the seas every year.
There is one truckload of plastic is dumped into the oceans every minute and if it carries on growing at the same rate, by 2050 there will be four truckloads of plastic dumped into the oceans every minute (there are 1,440 minutes in one day so work out how many in one year)
By 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans (by weight) than fish
It has been estimated there are five trillion bits of plastic bobbing about in the oceans right now.

Just to bring it all into perspective, the oceans cover three quarters of the planet which means the amount of plastic out there is almost beyond comprehension.

We need to be more responsible.

Andy

 

[dickm]

Not woodworking but thought it was worth reviving this thread for this:-
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/generalDis ... =542652575

Nice story for the Christmas season.

 

[heimlaga]

I have being kayaking quite actively for several years on doctor's orders to help break up scar tissue ans chronical cramp in my back.
Two years ago I got the idea to start picking litter out of the water or along the beaches as I pass by.
So far I have collected three trailer loads of plastic litter and three loads of old car tyres.

We should start learning to live in the future world of limited oil supply and little plastic..... otherwise there will be no world left for us at all when we the future comes to us.


To me 3d printing seems like a great opportunity to make spare parts for plastic stuff that the maker don't supply spare pars for any more.
Air filter housings for Husqvarna 242 chainsaws. Reeves drive pulleys for Elu stock feeders. Rotors and lids for the current distributors of elderly cars.
Crucial parts that cannot be bought for money and whose absence forces us to use even more of our hard earned money on throwing away what the world cannot dispose of and buying new that the world cannot sustainably produce.
However........ If the ned technology instead leads to even more low quality stuff made from low grade plastic which has to be dumbed somewhere after breaking then we are doing it all wrong.

Even the technology bofins must learn that plastic is not and will never be a substitute for wood and steel and cast iron if the products are going to be usable for a reasonable lenght of time....... we are already now on a disastrous route when stuff doesn't work and stuff doesn't last forcing us to buy new which doesn't work or doesn't last.

 

[dickm]

Great sentiments, Heimlaga, well expressed. Sadly, unless the predominant economic model can be changed, and with it, human behajviour, it's likely the human race will repeat the story of Easter island, but globally.
Oh, yes, and congratulations on your beach cleaning activities.