Short answer…it’s probably not expensive relative to what you’re asking for. It’s that society programs us from birth to think plastics and other physical goods are “cheap” thanks to clever design for manufacturing at scale. Here’s why… We recognize that AM parts can be “expensive” relative to other plastic parts you might have seen available off the shelf. In this post, we’d like to walk you through one way of thinking about pricing on plastic part fabrication, both conventionally and with digital manufacturing. A common example we give is the “spork” offered at your favorite fast food restaurant. Fast-food restaurants can give these away for free because they make them in the 10M+ / yr and therefore their $500K mold that produces them can be amortized. It’s part of a pleasurable eating experience in the United States to have a fork + spoon combined. But to make just 1 (one) plastic spork with that manufacturing process (plastic injection molding) would
design
And we’re off…SFmototype has begun!
What did you do last Saturday? We kicked off the first of it’s kind, 3D Design and Prototyping challenge for motorcyclists, enthusiasts and pretty much anyone who can sketch their motorcycle ideas on paper. BuildTak–a 3D printer build platform manufacturer and SFmototype Sponsor–made these beautiful custom 3D printing surfaces for our Type A Machines Series 1 Pros and Printrbot Simple Metals that are on display at SF Moto (275 8th Street, San Francisco, 10a-6pm) Last Saturday, September 10th, we had the official kickoff of our first ever SFmototype Design and Prototyping challenge–where for 45 days, err, 40 days now–people have the opportunity to sketch out on paper, napkin, envelope, whatever…a concept related to motorcycles and submit it to our SFmototype competition. If their concept considered to be the best by a panel of expert judges, they can win a number of prizes: A motorcycle 3D printers CAD training Shop Training and much much more… We had an amazing set of panelists
You3Dit Logo Design Competition – Summer 2014
Hello You3Dit Design Team, We have a Design Competition for you! We need your help designing a 3D printable object based on our current logo! We’re looking for this to be easily 3D printable and small enough to give away. Here’s the logo file and creativity will go a long way here!! Winner will get $25 credit to print objects in our network! https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/3646162930/0f55d82c22e501408ca7fc23f78c7af0.jpeg Rules: 1) The design should be easily 3D printed – see our articles relating to design for 3D printing. 2) Should be designed using common 3D printing materials 3) All designs for submission should be submitted by August 15th 2014 @ 17h00 PST in the form of an STL file. 4) Any questions can be directed to: info@You3Dit.com 5) Have fun! We’ll announce the winner in our August 2014: Make Anything, Anywhere Newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter now if you’re not already subscribed: (right on the homepage: http://you3dit.com/) If you have any further questions about the competition, please let us know! We’ll
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