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GHVLJQHGFOHDUDQFHVRQERWKVLGHVf3D printing made easy
I don’t have a 3D printer. I’ve come
close to buying one several times
over the past five years, but other
priorities for the $1K-plus required
got in the way.
There are several projects that I put
off, saying, “When I get a 3D printer,
I’ll fix that.”
What I’ve discovered is that you
don’t actually need a 3D printer to
do 3D printing. Services abound
that will print your design and
send it to you. I was aware of such
services but I never thought of them
as an alternative to having my own
3D printer and doing it myself. Now
I’m not so sure.
3D printing technology is changing
at an amazing speed. What was a
novelty just a few years ago is now
a universal manufacturing tool for
rapid prototyping and other specialist
manufacturing purposes. Look at
Rocket Lab — the Electron rocket
engines are 3D printed.
So, is it best to have your own
printer, with whatever capabilityit has, or to shop at the bazaar of
service providers with all the options
they offer? It’s like computer printers.
I have a basic inkjet printer, but for
anything that has to look good I take
a data stick up to the local print shop
and have it done on their big $50K
colour laser. The cost is $1, but the
result is a $1M.
The 3D printing services offer a range
of materials that can be printed, and
a range of printing techniques and
size limits, way more that any home
printer could. And next year there
will be more options.Below: The printed parts as they arrived.
(Back row) Eight cover-plate halves for the
handholds and two door knobs; (middle
row) top and bottom hinge fittings, cover-
plate halves for the shower, two handhold
covers, and four hinge-cover halves;
(bottom row) base plate for bottom hinge
and two base supports for aluminium
channel, two screw-thread fittings, and a
centre pin to align themThe glass in its final position before bolt
installation. Supports front and rear kept
the glass level