“Despite the difficulty of working with and not ruining such a flawless bust, there were some great entries to the Makerstrong design challenge. Entries ranging from the beautification of my favorite childhood claymation show (Gumbert by JamieClay), to a tool for the next Colbert wannabe/stalker (Large Stephen Colbert Head by ALxD) made the judging process entertaining.
In the end emmett was able to claim the prize with a “decidedly creepier derivative” of his Heart Gears, which he called the ‘Colbert Head Gears.’ ”
We have raised about 10% of our goal so far. There is still plenty of time to reach 100%. I know this is not a small goal and that’s why you should pledge and like this post.
Now there is less than 2 weeks left to raise money and we are gaining momentum from some generous bids! Thanks to those who have supported this project so far (and special thanks to our most recent bidder)!!!
Yes, this project is crazy. All the more reason to pledge your support and see it really happen.
Can’t afford to pledge $25? Just give a few bucks or click the like button to pass this on.
Some instructions as I know the payment process can be a deterrent. Your card will not be charged unless the project is funded.
Thank you to those who already pledged and to those that will in the future! Keep it coming!!!
Pledge $25 or more – A kitsch 1/12 scale Stephen Colbert head. Wear it on your finger (no risk of suffocation) or set it on your desk to remind yourself how cool you are! True, 3D Printing is for geeks…the cool kind that end up ruling the world!!!
Pledge $100 or more – Just added thanks to the popularity of $100 pledges so far, I am offering a 1/8 scale head.
Pledge $1,000 or more – Not quite a Rap star but got $1000 burning a hole in your pocket? Then this option is for you. Get a 1/4 scale head more than 1/2 foot tall.
Pledge $10,000 or more – A full size Stephen Colbert head for the true connoisseur. Wear it or make it a lamp, but if you can afford this then you must already have a trick Hollywood mansion and superb collection of exotic cars. Party at your place!
I saw this video at http://www.markuskayser.com/ that I want to share with you. It is amazing! Markus Kayser develelped this “Solar Sinter”, a 3D printer usiing sand for material and the sun for energy.
Markus says “In a world increasingly concerned with questions of energy production and raw material shortages, this project explores the potential of desert manufacturing, where energy and material occur in abundance.
In this experiment sunlight and sand are used as raw energy and material to produce glass objects using a 3D printing process, that combines natural energy and material with high-tech production technology.”
Some very exciting news in 3D printing! One of the industry leaders was on Comedy Central’s Colbert Report a couple weeks ago. They actually scanned his head and printed it out. If you are not familiar with how the process works at all, you can watch the video on our home page (www.nwrapidmfg.com).
Anyway, this lead to a challenge, for designs using the scan of Stephen Colbert’s head. I decided my contribution would be a hollow head, large enough to wear. It is the absolute largest part we can build in our machinery!
Support this project with a thumbs up on Thingiverse and by pledging your donation to kickstarter using the links below!
Don’t forget the “Innovation Conference for Engineers” is coming soon!
Learn About the Latest Technologies and Challenges in Product Development and Manufacturing.
This conference will explore new resources, materials, and processes that will help companies speed up, develop, and manufacture products. They have speakers from medical devices to aerospace industries. Alex will be presenting “Direct Digital Manufacturing.”
Well, the first of the year was like a light switch for us. Business has been great. With increased work comes less time, but somehow the influx of work drives more new ideas which lead to even more exciting opportunities!
One of those new ventures is driving new coloring possibilities. We can now produce nylon parts in nearly any color. So far we have just worked in the grey scale, but it proves the concept. Better yet is that this coating is tough, does not easily scratch or peal, and is colorfast. It’s not going to come off on your hand or even in the washing machine. Yes, we tested on of these parts by both washing and drying. This coating can be applied in various gloss levels, but I prefer the matte finish.
Stay tuned as we also have some material advances on the way.
I will also be speaking at two upcoming events: the EOS International User Meeting (IUM) and SME’s Bay Area Innovation conference.
For April’s IUM, the chosen topic is: Manufacturing at the speed of design; The UAV Industry is rapidly maturing. New techniques and workflows are necessary to take full advantage of laser sintering technology. Find out more about EOS’s yearly event at http://www.eos.info/en/news-events/ium-2011.html. I am looking forward to catching up with some former colleagues!
Regarding May’s Innovation conference, the chosen topic is: Talk Title: Additive Manufacturing (also known as Direct Digital Manufacturing or Rapid Manufacturing); Problems and Possibilities – A maturing industry grows up, layer-by-layer. Stay up to date with SME Chapter 098 at http://sme098.publishpath.com/innovation-conference.
Hopefully, it’s not as long until my next blog…Best wishes to all, ALx
Well, it’s that time of year…its finally (keep your fingers crossed) getting warm in Oregon. It’s so nice outside, but I am buried with work. Thank God for Interns!
Eager to work, they bring new excitement to the workplace but need a little coaching. Yes, this means less time in the sun initially, but educating interns (and people in general) is in fact very rewarding and pays off in the long run. Personally, I get really excited about design and sharing the possibilities with other people who share my excitement!
So what are some typical questions?
What materials do you have?
What kind of tolerances can I expect?
How much space do I need between parts?
What are your size limitations?
Can I send you my model to have a look at it?
Material choices include std PA 12, PALS, Flexible rubber-like, and Polystyrene patterns for casting metal parts. PA12 (also known as nylon, PA2200, PA2201, Duraform, etc.) has good all around properties with minimal tendency to distort. Its flexible and tough yet rigid depending on part design. PALS is a new proprietary light-weight structural nylon. It is stiffer than PA12, more like glass filled nylon (such as PA3200gf, Duraform GF or HST, or Windform XT) but it has an additional benefit. Its lighter weight! About 20% lighter than PA12 and as much as 50% ligther than glass-filled nylon. Huge benefit is that if you deigned a part for PA12, the cross-sectional thickness can be reduced by about 30%, for a total weight reduction of 50% even vs. std nylon 12. That’s huge!!! Our flexible rubber-like material (similar to Somos or Duraform Flex) is also a new addition and has many undiscovered possibilities, but it gives new freedom with around 40-60 shore A hardness. Cool stuff! Finally, creating patterns for investment casting is easy with our polystyrene material (similar to Primecast or Castform). We have available a new formula with increased green strength opening new possibilities for Aluminum or Titanium. Nearly any metal can be cast using this process.
Regarding tolerances, in general we recommend to design for +/- 0.010” or +/- 0.5% (whichever is greater). We can do better than that on critical features after becoming more familiar with a design. This also depends on material and process influences. Polystyrene is typically more accurate than PALS for example.
The required distance between parts in a moving assembly depends on a several design factors including feature size and mass, you need a minimum of 0.020” and sometimes more than 0.040” between surfaces to not melt the pieces together.
There is a minimum feature size of about 0.030” (sometimes as small as 0.025” in polystyrene and PALS) as long as the feature is more than 0.080” long. For example, pins smaller than 2mm easily break off when taller than a few thousandths, but lettering is fine because it is close to the surface, and longer thin walls are fine too. It’s a bad idea to design points and knife edges. Best practice is to give everything a 0.015” radius if possible. The largest single piece part we can build is about 27” wide by 15” deep by 23” tall in our EOS P730, though typical part sizes are 4-6” cube.
We are glad to consider your data, please visit our quotes page and upload all relevant information. There is so much design freedom with this process. I challenge you to find uses for these materials, old and new. Submit more than one design at the same time and we can probably build them together at a reduced cost. This allows everyone involved to learn quickly what is an optimal design or optimal features using concurrent engineering practices.
NW Rapid can take you from powder to prototype to production in a matter of days.
Powder to part overnight…imagine the possibilities.
