Rapid Prototype Blog

Archive for May, 2011

Plastic mould, Rapid prototype, and other types of comparison, rapid prototype Shenzhen mold with five distinctive features, as follows:

Cavity and three-dimensional surface cores were:

Plastic parts of the external and internal shape of the cavity and core by direct molding, these complex three-dimensional surface machining more difficult, particularly within the molding cavity surface of the blind pass processing, if the traditional processing methods, not only require workers with high technical level, supporting more than fixtures, cutting tools, and that the processing of long period.

Long process to create a tight schedule:

Mold expert Luo Baihui that, for injection molded parts, the other parts are mostly composed of a complete package of products, and in many cases are in other parts have been completed, eagerly awaiting the injection molded parts of the package listing. Because of the product shape or size precision is high, And because of the characteristics of different resin 材料, mold manufactured, you may need repeated 地 tryout and revision, enabling developers and the delivery time very nervous.

Remote design and off-site manufacture:

Mould is not the ultimate goal, but the final products made by the user design, mold making factory according to user requirements, design and manufacture of molds and in most cases, the products of production are also other manufacturers of injection. This resulted in product design, mold design, manufacturing and product production off-site is proceeding.

Professional division of labor, the dynamic combination of:

Mold production volume is small, generally belong to a single piece of production, but the mold needs a lot of standard parts, large mold, small thimble, they can and can not be completed by only one manufacturer alone, and manufacturing process complexity, general equipment and CNC devices use very uneven.

For general mold cavity design and manufacturing cycle of constructed feature-based injection mold cavity design and manufacturing systems. The system uses interactive features of the library based on feature recognition methods to identify the characteristics of products, the establishment of product feature model. By undercut features were distinguished to determine the direction of optimization parting, and to determine the parting line and parting surface.

Mold cavity parting surface segmentation method to obtain the template. Rapid prototype Shenzhen Also made the mold cavity feature extraction algorithm to extract The characteristics of the mold cavity, the mold cavity and the manufacturing strategy formulation. The results show that the system could effectively reduce the mold cavity design and manufacturing cycle, to speed up the process of mold development.

Each year companies face pressure to introduce new products and capabilities to market while at the same time integrate latest technologies and adapt new business models. It is here that product engineering companies need a strong technology partner who can utilize their business knowledge to convert a product idea into a world-class product.

Partnering with another engineering/technology partner helps companies to accelerate product development cycles to bring software products to market quickly. More importantly, clients benefit from the experience and advice of the partner company in building and supporting multiple products. The partner company’s services start from validating of the business idea, to product lifecycle, development, beta, deployment, maintenance and support solutions.

The measurable business benefits of partnered product engineering include

Quick ramp up of resources Successful reverse knowledge transfer to the new client Reduced engineering costs & better time to market Minimum risks Highly efficient team to fuel product innovation Reduced re-work and schedule slippages

Partnered Product engineering is a strategic decision based on mutual trust and collaboration. Choosing the right partner is critical so that companies can focus more on sales, marketing, and business development.

Leo Technosoft a leading cloud computing solution services provider in SaaS Product Engineering, Web 2.0 Services, and Infrastructure Support is also a global provider of product engineering outsourcing services. The company is distinguished by a singular focus on end-to-end, collaborative product development solutions.

Leo Technosoft’s capability extends to helping companies set up an engineering unit in any global location of their choice. Leo’s processes, engineering and infrastructure support is at the disposal of the company to facilitate rapid installation and scaling of operations. Their value-based engagement model is a perfect match to the goals and circumstances of the client.

The 21st century has a lot to thank, for the invention of 3D scanning technology especially those powered by the powerful 3D scanning software for FARO.

This technology has proven to be extremelly reliable for companies that require 3D digital data from various objects. The scanner works by passing a beam of light or laser over the object. The position of the laser is then recorded by a camera located inside the scanner.

The 3D data can be observed on the screen once the captured image is transferred to the computer. This efficient transfer of the three-dimensional image to the screen is made possible by the 3D scanning software for FARO.

3D scanning software for FARO

One of the software that has been specifically designed and developed for FARO’s laser scanner is called Scene. It makes use of scan registration and positioning, as well as the laser’s automatic object recognition capability, to efficiently process and manage scanned data.

What makes Scene a stand-out between the other software is its ability to produce high-quality data even when using the colourise scan feature. The software is also user-friendly and does not require a lot of technical know-how to use. Once the scan data has been redied, evaluation and processing can continue.

The Scan 3D scanning software for FARO is also extremely accessible because with a push of a button, it can now be published on a web server. Using a standard internet browser, users are now able to easily access the laser scans which now come with the Scene WebShare feature.

For those into reverse engineering, cultural heritage preservation and forensic investigation, the new laser scanner Photon from FARO is a must-have. Measuring up to 976,000 points per second, this FARO scanner boasts of up to 2mm at 25m of distance and accuracy.

Companies that need to produce a 3D image of large scale environments particularly when it comes to the preservation of archaeological sites for cultural heritage or in architectural reconstruction will do well with this FARO laser scanner.

Digital scanners are sorted into contact and non-contact, and the latter further classified as passive and active scanners. An example of a contact 3D scanner is a coordinate measuring machine or CMM, which is used in manufacturing because of its ability to get precise scanning. Nevertheless, contact scanning does not work for some objects that may be modified when touched, such as historical artifacts.

More users prefer the non-contact active scanners which make use of light or radiation to probe the object being scanned. The choice of which scanners to use actually depends on the object being scanned.

FARO recently released the new FARO laser scanner Focus3D which makes use of the 3D scanning software for FARO. This is a revolutionary and light 3D scanner that is very useful for the documentation of large environments.

When 3D scanning is needed for crime scenes, factories, structural deformations, building construction and accident sites, there is really no doubt that this new mobile and compact 3D laser scanner from FARO is the best choice.

uraniumenergy.com • 604.682.9775

Amir Adnani

CEO, President & Director

Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE-AMEX: UEC) is a U.S.-based uranium production, development and exploration company operating North America’s newest emerging uranium mine. The Company’s near term goal is to expand production of uranium using low cost in-situ recovery (ISR) while developing a pipeline of additional significant uranium resources for ongoing major growth.

Resource Intelligence: You have numerous uranium projects at different stages of development. Which are you focused on today?

Amir Adnani: UEC controls 27 projects in the U.S. with over 35mm lbs. U308 and one of the largest databases of historic uranium exploration and development in the country.

Today we are focused on our regional strategy in the South Texas uranium belt where we own the operating Hobson ISR processing plant. The plant is central to all of our projects in South Texas, including the Palangana ISR project, which is ramping up production, the Goliad ISR project which is in the final stages of mine permitting for production, as well as two additional exploration stage projects.

RI: Why have you focused your efforts in South Texas?

AA: The South Texas uranium belt extends along an approximate 300 mile or 480 km belt from west of Houston and south of San Antonio to the Mexican border.

This region has historically been one of the most concentrated areas for uranium mining in the U.S. In the 1970′s and early 1980′s, the South Texas uranium belt was one of the largest uranium-producing areas in the U.S. Major companies were exploring and producing from this regional trend of uraniferous sandstones, including names like Union Carbide, Mobil Oil, Tenneco, Kerr McGee, Continental Oil and many others. UEC has gradually acquired a substantial percentage of historical exploration data based on this work, enabling UEC to target properties for lease that have already been the subject of significant exploration and development by senior energy companies.

Furthermore, this region holds substantial known resources that are amenable to in-situ recovery of uranium. ISR mining requires lower capital and operating costs than conventional mines and is the most environmentally friendly method of uranium mining.

UEC owns and operates one of only four ISR processing plants in the U.S., which is in close proximity to all of UEC’s projects in South Texas.

Texas is America’s energy capital, and has a unique streamlined permitting framework for uranium mining. The state has four operating nuclear power plants and six additional facilities are under consideration.

UEC’s Regional Strategy in the South Texas Uranium Belt

RI: What is in-situ recovery (ISR) of uranium and what are the advantages to conventional mining methods?

AA: In-situ recovery of uranium accounts for about 30% of global uranium production. ISR-suitable uranium deposits must meet very specific geological requirements, including a permeable sandstone host, which is found in the South Texas uranium belt. ISR mining enables lower grades of uranium ore to be extracted economically. Other advantages of ISR over conventional mining methods include: lower capital and operating costs; small environmental footprint; shorter construction and permitting timelines.

In the uranium ISR process, the natural occurrences that deposited the uranium in the sandstones are reversed. On-site ground water is fortified with gaseous oxygen and is introduced to the uranium ore body through a pattern of injection wells. The solution dissolves the uranium out of the sandstone host rock. The uranium-bearing solution is recovered from production wells and then pumped to recovery ion-exchange columns. This pattern of injection and production wells, plus surrounding monitor wells that serve as a safeguard, is called a wellfield.

The subsequent ion-exchange process involves removing the uranium from the pregnant wellfield solution and loading the uranium onto millions of synthetic resin beads. When the resin in an ion-exchange column is loaded to capacity, it is transported to a processing plant for stripping, filtering, drying, and packaging into marketable yellowcake.

RI: When did you start ISR uranium production from the Palangana project?

AA: Initial production at Palangana commenced on November 17, 2010. This milestone represents the first time the Company has been in production. It is also the first ISR uranium mine to begin production in the U.S. in over five years.

Palangana is only the first step in the Company’s regional strategy of greatly expanding its resources and production profile in the re-emerging South Texas uranium belt.

UEC’s Fully Operational Hobson ISR Processing Plant

RI: Can you further explain your regional strategy in Texas?

AA: Uranium Energy Corp’s regional strategy in South Texas is focused on consolidating assets along the extensive South Texas uranium belt.

Currently, UEC controls four uranium projects with combined 43-101 resources in all categories of about 12 mm lbs. U308. All four ISR projects are located in close proximity to the Company’s Hobson processing plant. Hobson forms the basis of UEC’s regional operating strategy as it is designed to process uranium-loaded resins from satellite projects to a final product, and eliminates the need to construct a new processing plant on site at each project.

Through our regional approach we have the platform to increase our lease area and expand our resource while continuing to grow production.

RI: Briefly, what are your plans for your South Texas projects in the next year?

AA: On the production front, Phase 1 is under way and represents only the initial stage of production at Palangana. We will continue to ramp up production later this year with the startup of Phases 2 and 3.
In terms of development, the Company’s Goliad in-situ recovery project has been granted its Mine Permit and is in the final stages of permitting for production. Once all the permits are received we will start construction of our second ISR uranium mine in South Texas.

On the exploration front, we are aiming to advance our strategy of consolidating assets along the South Texas uranium belt by expanding our leases in this area and have budgeted for an aggressive exploration drilling program on our existing projects.

RI: What is your exploration budget for 2011 and do you need financing to take you there?

AA: This year, we plan to drill over 300,000 feet or 100,000 meters in South Texas for
million. Because the uranium deposits we are targeting are shallow and hosted in sandstone, we are able to execute an aggressive drill campaign on a small budget, which is fully financed.

RI: What are your debt obligations and what is the plan for paying it off?

AA: We have a very strong balance sheet with million cash, no debt, and 100% unhedged production.

RI: What would you like to leave investors with today?

AA: The Company’s South Texas regional strategy is being realized. This year’s three-fold objective in South Texas is: 1) to ramp up production at Palangana, 2) to complete permitting at Goliad and to initiate construction and 3) to expand resources with intensive drilling programs.

UEC is well positioned to act on these objectives with no debt, million in cash, one of North America’s strongest technical teams, 27 projects in the U.S. with over 35mm lbs. U308, and an upbeat outlook for the uranium market.

Investor Highlights:

Market cap: 9 million
Share price: .76
as of February 24, 2011
Stage: Production, Development, Exploration
Commodity: Uranium
Share price percent growth (last 12 months): 55% increase

Highlights:

Operating the first new U.S. in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mine in the last five years
Strong balance sheet: million cash, no debt, and 100% unhedged production
Controls 27 projects in the U.S. with over 35mm lbs. U308
Controls 4 ISR projects in uranium friendly South Texas
Owns a fully licensed, operating, and centrally located processing plant in South Texas
ISR projects = lower capital and operating costs than conventional uranium mining
Last two major ISR projects put into production in Texas, constructed by UEC team
Aggressive exploration program underway – total of ~320,000 feet of drilling
Analysts see the upward trend in uranium prices as the start of a multi-year bull run

Dimension is the brand of three-dimensional printers by the company Stratasys which provides the computer-aided-design or CAD users with an inexpensive, networked option for printing the functional 3Dimensional models of printers from desktops. The Dimension printers build up models layer-by-layer utilizing ABS plastic, which is perhaps the most extensively applied of thermoplastics amongst the current injection-molded products. The 3D printers of Dimension allow the users to evaluate the design concepts as well as test models in support of form, their fit plus functionality.

Stratasys has also devised the technology called Fused Deposition Modeling or FDM which is patented and it has led the progress of its 3Dimensional printing technology since then. Stratasys employs its FDM know-how in the Dimension line of 3D Printers and also in the 3D Production Systems of Fortus, which it developed for express digital manufacturing plus accurate rapid prototyping.

The different types or models of Dimension 3D printers include the following-

1.1200es Series of Dimension’s 3D Printers

These print large and useful 3D models directly in the offices. With a great build capacity these 1200es 3D Printers of Dimension supply you with the space to print huge functional and durable models which can be of build sizes of maximum 10″ x 10″ x 12″ designed for valuation as well as testing under the real-world conditions. This printer family of Dimension is robust and fairly easy to operate.

2. Dimension’s Elite Printer

Build with the technology of Soluble Support this printer range of Dimension helps you in bringing all your ideas into life and that too with great detail. The Elite printers are perfect when it comes to printing of the complex 3D product replicas as well as functional models meant for parts like those of medical gadgets, mobile electronics together with the precision instruments. With this printer range it will take you only a few hours and not days to get the models you require. Besides, you can utilize the build envelope of Elite Dimension printer for packing your multiple models. The Elite line of 3D Printer operate silently plus unattended in any office environment.

3. Dimension’s uPrint Personal three-dimensional Printer

The uPrint Personal Range of 3D printers from Dimension allows most flexibility for you to effectively build the 3D models intended for visualization or collaboration and otherwise for functional testing. uPrint 3D printers are so compact enough that they can fit on even your desktop; they are simple enough to setup as well as to operate without any hassles; and most importantly these printers are quite affordable for most of the users, irrespective of their profession or the size of their office.

Moreover, all the printer models of Dimension are made of strong ABSplus Thermoplastic and these printers are capable of undergoing drilling, sanding and painting. They can even be machined as well as chrome-plated. Thus, for increasing sections of designers who depend on the 3D solid CAD, the three-dimensional printers of Dimension are fast becoming an indispensable extension of CAD system on the whole and also a vital part of the whole design process.

Digitization is all around us these days. One of the most important contributions devised by digitization is the idea of customization. Business cards are a simple selling instrument that have a lengthy story in their typical forms. On the other hand, now market competition is rising in an accelerating speed and so every businessperson wishes to build on an unique identity. Not just this, it needs to be out of the ordinary so that it makes you stand apart from the norm. Business cards are a great marketing source to launch the personality of a business owner to the challenging market. It can truly bolster the standing of your business in the market. Thus, nowadays, the business communities are also drifting towards customization of their greatest source of identity so that they can gain popularity and regard from their customers.

These days, business cards come in countless forms, few of which are stamped business cards, full color, magnetic, photo, shiny, double sided cards, laminated and plastic business cards. Custom business cards have to be sure amplified in visibility in the market nowadays.

Permit us to take a look at a few of the most principal points that require to be taken care of when ordering custom business cards:

1) Shape and size of the card: The whole thing about custom business cards is to be inspired. You want the cards to be appealing and inspire a sense of wonder in all that look on them. So, a lot of people choose to go for customized shapes like circle, square, free form, diamond shape, etc. Be shrewd with what shape you use since it will reflect on you and your business. Size is another aspect to take into consideration. But, even with customization, a normal size is on the whole often the best so that it can be stored in a wallet or business card holder.

2) Texture of the card: One can also alter the surface of the card. For instance, someone might prefer a coarse texture, someone might choose pressed texture, and somebody might go for a soft texture. The texture must be selected to strongly resemble what your business is concerning. For example, if you are a gravel company, you may want to use a coarse, stony texture.

3) Quality of the paper: In order for a business card to keep as long as feasible without fading, a heavier stock paper is generally used. However it is not uncommon for other varieties of paper to be utilized too. Some business cards by nature have to be lighter; such as, the folded business card.

4) Style of write-ups: You can decide among many font and color choices when deciding on your customized business cards. Nonetheless, Times New Roman and Arial are the normal fonts that most follow. The font size is also commonly typical at 10-11 for the wording body and 7-8 for the contact fields. Along with this, you must not use bold scripts to make something prominent; instead they should change the font size and color. Even the choice of color can be an crucial issue. The write-ups can be written on the parallel lines, the upright lines, or some people prefer an sloping version of the same. Some even opt to use their own handwriting on the write-ups or use 3D elements or they may want to give the impression that it is a sticky note or in the structure of a receipt, bill, ticket, etc. As long as you have an imagination, there are choices obtainable.

5) Images: For the most part people fancy customized logos today in order to duck duplicity. Major business organizations get in touch with logo designers to customize their theme and give it a distinctive logo. Hence, the logo is a perfect selling tool for business cards. You may even come to a decision on a 3D image. For people such as Realtors, a personal picture may also be used.

Custom business cards can be designed online and after that sent instantly to a printing company to speed up your order. With growing demand, the custom business cards have also become an critical area of business for the resourceful mass and printing industry. For the less inspired, but still wanting some customization, there are websites to select templates from, key in the information and send for printing.

A new form of art has born, Micro Origamic Architecture, the 3d buildings or objects are now as small as 3×2 inches, one of a kind art
Video Rating: 4 / 5

The old applications of reverse engineering

Reverse engineering can be described as procedure that is very widely used right now in lots of arenas. It has got its foundations in engineering and it’s about taking a finished product and engineering in the opposite direction to know its inside operation.

It previously was used widely during the world war when opponent concepts was attained. They would open it all up to enable you to find out the way it has been designed.

Let’s discuss a few of the uses of reverse engineering throughout the military services.

The German “Jerry Can”:

The English and U . s . forces noticed that the German armed forces had gasoline containers with a excellent design and style.
They used reverse engineering to make replicates of those fuel cannisters. The carriers became commonly referred to as “Jerry cans” as the phrase “Jerry” had been a rather unfriendly name for Germans throughout the war. The British army 1st came across the cans within the attack of Norway which was in 1940. They found that the model was top-quality as well as the assembly robust. Individually the storage containers have three handles and criss cross molded indentations.

Rockets-V2:

The V2 was a long range airborne missile that had been created at the start of the Second world war in germany that specially targeted locations such as Belgium and south eastern Britain. Technical documents and drawings of the V2 rocket were captured by the Companions at the conclusion of the conflict.
german and soviet technical engineers that were seized were made to make plans whilst working from captured computer hardware, so as to make their duplicate of the rocket.

Air crafts:

The Tupolev Tu-4 was really a piston-engine tactical Soviet bombing craft that supported their own air-force from your late 1940s to mid-1960s. It had been a reverse engineered clone of the US.-made aircraft called the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The airplanes were obtained when, on a few different occasions in the course of 1944 they had to make crisis lands in Soviet land after bomb raids in Japan. The bombers were consequently held by the Soviets, regardless of U . s . calls for their return. However this is how they attained the reverse engineering.

And so here are 3 given examples of technologies that have been reverse-engineered for military usage in the past. The world war was actually a hot bed for such technological innovation as each side needed to get much better than the other and get better weaponary and technologies. Reverse engineering is certainly a crucial design methodology which has expanded and developed over the years with an increase of complex items being analyzed.

To comprehend a good deal more glance at reverse engineering.

Many companies need high-tech devices just like printers and scanners. Offices must have printer to print their crucial documents. If you need to scan your own pictures and other documents, get a scanner. Because of the advent of internet you can shop online right now which is stress-free. If you’re searching for comfort products just go to Netwav Inc. Now various groceries are selecting lightweight Honeywell barcode scanner reader. The barcode scanner is useful in having the cost of an item.

Well-known barcode scanner like high performance Honeywell barcode laser scanner wedge is what you are longing for.
Select the branded items since it will last long in comparison to several products. If you will purchase brand less product you can utilize it for a short period of time.
Purchasing a brand less products is not worthy for you are wasting your money. Select top quality products since it can give you contentment .

Remember buyers are always right.. To obtain a scanner, you ought to have funds for it.
It’s been useful in small and big companies although it is pricey. You can purchase printers and scanner on the market today. The businesses need this stuff for reasons unknown. Why not choose the convenient Honeywell barcode scanner reader to see the difference. Honeywell have created good standing in the world due to their barcode scanners are excellent.

It’s tested that this scanner is giving high performance. If they need an additional scanner, they will buy once more with the same brand name . Companies are contented utilizing this scanner.

Why not try shopping on the web? I am pretty sure that you’ll find a ideal shopping galore on the net.
You don’t need to pick up the items you bought on the internet because they will ship it to you. If you’re searching for a scanner a safe Honeywell barcode laser scanner wedge is best for your business. You will hear positive feedbacks among the users of this scanner. This scanner has great features that is user friendly. By utilizing this scanner you’ll save more because it is durable.

Still looking for more? Visit Netwav Inc if you are looking for any scanner and printer. Netwav has inventory tracking Honeywell barcode laser scanner reader that suits your business’ need.

They supply low-cost electronic devices to one and all. They aim to provide the outstanding scanner that suits your company’s finances.
You’ll find much more of their products inside their site. Feedbacks from users will help you decide on what to purchase.

A laser spot bounces on a figure being drawn on paper, trying to escape the labyrinth of lines. There is no camera nor projector; this is an experience where the audience can touch and interact with a beam of pure light – and even play a pong game with bare hands. The quality of the laser light, and the fluidity of the motion makes for a very unique experience. The piece is based upon a 3d tracking technology developed earlier in our lab, using a laser diode, a pair of steering mirrors, and a single non-imaging photodetector called the “smart laser scanner”. For more on this: www.k2.tu-tokyo.ac.jp/perception/StickyLight
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Vacuum casting

Vacuum Casting is widely used for low volume 3d real models or prototypes. Typically with one soft tool 20-25 duplicates can be made out of polyurethane material.

The Vacuum casting process is a 5 step process that starts with the creation of an accurate and highly finished master model which can be created using various RP techniques such as Stereo lithography, FDM, SLS, CNC or an existing part.

The second step; this mother model is placed in a mould box and liquid silicon rubber is poured over the master.

Once the silicon is cured, the mould is cut as per split line established and master model is removed, leaving an accurately formed cavity.

Step 4:  the mould cavity is used to cast large variety of polyurethane or epoxy materials available. This allows fast production of high quality parts in a short lead time

In the next chapter the advantaged and disadvantages will be elaborated.

The costs to create a silicone mould are much lower than steel moulds, the manufacturing of these moulds can be done in a short lead time. A lead time from 4-10 days is possible, but this depends on complexity and how the master model will be made.

There is a large variety of urethane materials available, which properties are very close to the injection molded materials ranging from soft rubber grades to hard plastics. Some polyurethane can be colored directly, It is also possible to sandblast or paint the finished parts. Because of the flexibility of the silicone moulds undercuts in the product can be made without sliders or cores. Also inserts can be placed in the moulds and even over-moulding 2 or more components is possible.

Disadvantages:

The tool life time of the silicone mould is limited; one cavity can only make 20-25 parts, than a new mould has to be created

Vacuum Cast parts are not identical to injection molded parts, because the conditions and method of manufacture are different.
Very thin wall sections are not recommended and chances of cracking or warping.

Recommendations:

The Minimum wall thicknesses are recommended not to be smaller than 0.8mm. Recommended size is above 1mm

Generally 20 pcs can be made from single mould so multiple of 20 can give you better pricing to cover up the silicon mould cost. E.G. Qty 20 or 40 has better pricing per piece than 30 or 50 pieces.

Find More Polyurethane Casting Articles

Rapid Prototyping Comes of Age with This Solid Freeform Fabrication Kit

We’ve been waiting a long time for a product like this and now it has arrived. For the home user and those who don’t have ,000-,000 to drop on a high end rapid prototype unit, the Fabber gives the tools to build your own home manufacturing system that can build just about anything as long as you can design it. Designed by a guy who got tired of losing Lego pieces, the Fabber lets anybody have a desktop Rapid Prototype unit that can manufacture pretty much anything – let’s have a look at this dynamic hobby tool.

Solid Freeform Fabrication or Rapid Prototyping has been around for quite a long time now. Many commercial companies offer various type of machines that can manufacture high precision parts out of both plastic or metal to exating tolerances. The downside, they cost anywhere between ,000 and upwards of ,000. Some machines can even run up to 0,000.

The Fabber is a joint project started in the Computational Synthesis Lab at Cornell by Dr. Hod Lipson. He initially visualized the Fabber as a tool to reproduce lost Lego pieces. It is a low cost reasonable detail sold freeform modelling or fabrication tool with a build volume of about 512 cubic inches. or an 8″ cube.

What the Fabber really represents is a grass-roots approach to what has been a niche product for more than 20 years. As they explain, they are comparing the Fabber to the Altair 8000, one of the first microcomputers and one of the things that triggered the home computer boom back in the mid 1970′s. The Fabber even costs about the same with inflation, at about 00 for parts, whereas the old Altair would have cost about 00 in today’s dollars.

The real beauty of the tool is that it is all made from off-the-shelf components. For a little over ,000 you can buy the complete kit and put it together, or buy a fully assembled unit from a company called Koba Industries, which has partnered with Fab @ Home to build and sell the product at only a little bit above assembly prices.

The Fabber will take a standard STL file format used by any of the 3D design applications and produce an actual model based on that file. They have used the Fabber to produce a watch with embedded electronics, a working flashlight with circuitry injected, as well as some other really cool things.

This is a brand new technology and certainly not as refined as the high end production machines that can be bought for multi-thousands of dollars. But as a concept, it’s something that can be developed and evolved. All it takes is ingenuity and a desire to see how far you can go.

What the Fabber is specifically, is a Solid Free Form Fabrication tool. It uses a lifting table combined with a XY axis stepper motor that guides a print head or engine that contains a number of syringes. Each syringe can hold a different fluid material, and depending on the size of the nozzle, you can potentially use the Fabber to build very small and detailed objects.