I'm sure you meant that to be sarcastic, but you might be surprised at just exactly how accessible they are these days. First, many public schools now have 3D printers, which are made available to the public for a small fee if you and/or your child are in the district. Other public facilities I'm sure will follow suit. Furthermore, there are now *many* options for cheap, home-use 3D printers on, or soon-to-be-on the market. The cheapest 3D printer that you can get your hands on on Kickstarter, for example, is around 5-600USD.
Many people view 2013 as *the* year that 3D printing is coming down to the masses (and I agree) and so ideas like this are not premature, and I actually think we should be seeing more of it.
See, wish I had access to a CNC (LOL). But you know what, I think this 3D printing thing is da shite. It's going to replace CNCing in many areas in the next 5-10 years. Instead of investing in the money, space, and training to do CNCing (which I have no means of doing anyway), I'm going to jump head first into 3DP.
BTW, I love your 6x12 camera page (fell in love the first time i saw it months ago). So much so that I'm building a 6x12 camera... but I'm a wimp, i'm asking a friend to do it for me (with a CNC, of course ).
Zak Baker
zakbaker.photo
"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."
Ansel Adams
I don't think it will replace it as 3D printed material doesn't have the strength of a machined solid piece but it is capable of some very intricate detail.
At a trade show last month a company was showing their 3D printers and they had made what initially looked like ordinary chess pieces, but if you picked them up you could look through tiny windows and see that inside they had detailed furniture and a spiral staircase and even the joints in the brickwork were visible.
The CNC router I use is at work. It's quite a big machine intended for PCB manufacture. I'm using it to make parts for my own desk top CNC router.
Steve.
I agree it won't replace it all, especially not immediately, but I think it'll replace it in many areas. Areas where a machined piece really didn't require the strength to begin with, but that people relied on CNCing because it would've been cost-prohibitive to cast it but also required intricacy that couldn't be achieved in any other way.
That's too coolI'm using it to make parts for my own desk top CNC router.
Here's my buddy's workshop who's making my 6x12 cam:
https://twitter.com/RawheaD/status/2...955392/photo/1
I've got two hard rubber tanks with lids and ss 8x10 film hangers you can have for $120 plus shipping.
Drew Bedo
www.quietlightphoto.com
http://www.artsyhome.com/author/drew-bedo
There are only three types of mounting flanges; too big, too small and wrong thread!
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