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Rotating 3d printer
Looking Around the 3D-Rotoprinter « Fabbaloo
By Kerry Stevenson on January 19th, 2022 in news, printer
Tags: 3d-rotoprinter, cylindrical, rotation, stereotech
The 3D-Rotoprinter [Source: 3D-Rotoprinter]The 3D-Rotoprinter has a motion system you have to see to believe.
Most 3D printers operate with a cartesian motion system, where the build chamber is tracked with X, Y and Z points. There are some other systems that use a cylindrical build chamber with a height and diameter, often seen on delta-style equipment.
Two other examples of rotational motion systems would be the massive dp-Polar i2 HSR system that has a spinning build plate, and the small scale Polar3D device.
However, the 3D-Rotoprinter has something quite different.
It’s basically a standard FFF device, except that the motion system is cylindrical. This is a bit hard to understand at first, but just imagine if instead of a rectangular build plate, the build surface was rolled up into a cylinder.
Using this approach, a 3D printer need only have a direct-drive rotating motor for the Y axis, and standard cartesian-style motion systems for the X and Z axes. Watch this video to see how it works:
But how can this work? Each 3D print job requires a “blank” to serve as the cylindrical build surface. This is inserted onto the 3D-Rotoprinter much like you’d mount a chunk of wood on a lathe. However, as the printer spins the blank, the extruder can lay down material on it.
The question is, what happens to the blank? The answer is that it is simply removed after printing completes. This means that each print produced on the 3D-Rotoprinter will have a cylindrical hole in the middle, but that’s actually OK or even desirable for many applications.
According to the 3D-Rotoprinter website, it was developed by Jonas Duteloff as part of his studies at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design. He has apparently been working on the device since then, but as of now it does not appear you can purchase one.
The 5D STE520 rotational 3D printer from Stereotech [Source: Fabbaloo]As unusual as this approach might be, I have actually seen something like this previously. At Formnext 2019 I had a chance to examine Volgograd-based Stereotech’s “5D STE520” 3D printer. That device had a single mount for a cylindrical blank, and could 3D print in a manner similar to the 3D-Rotoprinter. However, they have more axes of movement (hence “5D”), allowing more complex 3D models to be printed.
I hadn’t heard from Stereotech for quite some time, so I checked up on them and found they’ve continued development of their device, and now offer a larger volume version. It seems that if you’re interested in this approach and are looking for a commercial option, then Stereotech might be where to go.
Via 3D-Rotoprinter (Deutsche) (Hat tip to Benjamin)
TwitterKerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!
View all of Kerry Stevenson's posts.
A new spin on 3D printing can produce an object in seconds
Spin me right round —
Ron Amadeo -
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Your 3D printer is not a real 3D printer until you print 3D Benchy, a popular torture test that takes the form of this cute toy boat.
EPFL
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Here's how this works. The blue laser beam hits a DLP chip and produces the resin hardening image for each rotation angle, while the yellow resin container spins around in sync with the image being projected.
All the red beams are just a camera system, which is used to monitor the print.EPFL
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And here's the real thing in action. It's purple and pretty.
EPFL
3D printers are great for rapid prototyping and building low-volume, specialized parts, but they sure can take a while.
Today's 3D printers might be called "3D printers" but really, the print heads work in 2D. A 3D model is sliced up into hundreds of 2D horizontal layers and slowly built up, one layer at a time. This layer-by-layer process can take hours or even days, but what if we could print the entire model at once? A new technique demonstrated by researchers from Switzerland's Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)—and further detailed in this Nature article— does just that and can print an entire model in seconds.
The new technique builds a model by hardening a photosensitive resin with a laser, not unlike existing stereolithography (SLA) printers. The big difference here is the application of tomographic techniques, the same used in x-rays and ultrasounds, that allows for rotational printing. Laser light is modulated with a DLP chip (just like in old rear-projection HDTVs) and is blasted into a container full of resin. The laser covers the entire build volume, and the container of resin actually rotates while it's being exposed to the light.
The laser projects the model at different rotational perspectives, which is synced up with the spinning resin, and a whole 3D model can be produced in seconds.
The EPFL writes, "The system is currently capable of making two-centimeter structures with a precision of 80 micrometers, about the same as the diameter of a strand of hair. But as the team develops new devices, they should be able to build much bigger objects, potentially up to 15 centimeters." In this first public demonstration, the build volume is 16mm × 16mm × 20mm, making it one of the smallest 3D printers on earth. An 80 um resolution is also nothing to write home about and can be bested by ~$500 consumer SLA printers. It is very fast, though, and the technique is just getting started.
Today, the most common form of photosensitive resin printers use stereolithography (SLA).
These printers have a vat of resin with a window at the bottom, and on the other side of the window is a DLP projector. SLA printers still print one layer at a time: a build platform lowers into the resin from above and nearly touches the window, leaving just enough room for a single layer of resin between the window and the build plate. The DLP blasts the single layer of resin with the specific light pattern for that first layer, then the build platform moves up one layer, more resin pours in, and another layer is projected by the DLP. So a stereolithography printer hardens resin one layer at a time with a 2D display, while this rotational 3D printing method hardens resin all at once with something more akin a 3D laser hologram.
Another benefit to this printing technique is that by printing an object suspended in the print solution, there is no need for additional support structures. The EPFL says this makes the technique a good idea for printing delicate or soft objects, including 3D bioprinting.
The researchers have set up a spin-off company called "Readily 3D" to develop and market the technology.
Listing image by EPFL
developments on the creation of rotating 3D printers
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3D printer Pimaker 3D
Three-dimensional printers with a rotating platform allowing a larger volume than devices using a rectangular system coordinates (x, y, z). PiMaker was one of the first rotating 3D printers on the market. The device has the same dimensions as the Makerbot Cupcake, but at the same time has twice the volume of the working area and reduced the number of parts by 30%.
How does PiMaker work? The printer uses a polar coordinate system (radius, angle) to calculate the extruder path, instead of the standard Cartesian system (x, y). The device accepts standard values when receiving model drawings, but automatically converts them to the appropriate polar coordinates.
This approach allows you to use any standard software: ReplicatorG, Prontorface, Repetier.
Blacksmith Printer 3D
Singapore-based Blacksmith Group has been working on another rotary 3D printer since early last year. Blacksmith Printr 3D has a constantly rotating platform while the extruder moves in a radial direction - from the center to the perimeter and vice versa. This mechanical design allows the extruder stroke distance to be cut in half. In addition, this minimizes the required support structure for the extruder, making the Blacksmith more compact than other 3D printers.
The team office is located in Nanyang Technological University. According to John Phan, one of the founders of the fledgling Singapore company, Blacksmith prints objects the same size as Makerbot, but takes up half the space.
Theta Polar 3D Printer
In January 2013, RepRap owner unlimitedbacon introduced his Theta polar 3D printer. “Basically, it's a printer that works like a giant record player,” explains unlimitedbacon. The device is equipped with four extruders for multi-color printing and a plate platform with a diameter of 320mm. Objects are printed on a plate that rotates back and forth. The platform is driven by a stepper motor and a large gear. The plate is held in place and in a horizontal position by rollers located around the perimeter. Each of the four extruders is mounted on the end of its own rod manipulator.
These 3D printers are experimental or under development. It remains to be seen whether polar printers will have additional advantages over devices using a rectangular coordinate system. You can follow the development process of the Theta printer here.
Polar Automation
The Polar Automation (Polar-3D) team is another group working on a new (experimental) concept prototype. The design of the machine has the potential of a printing device and an automatic machine capable of performing several sequential operations, including printing, milling and scanning. The possibility of milling significantly expands the choice of materials, adding metals, wood and acrylic to the list. In addition, the rotational movement of the platform is ideal for high-precision scanning.
Article prepared for 3dtoday.ru
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Examples of positive and negative applications of a 3D printer
Every year 3D printing becomes more and more popular. The 3D printer, as a tool for turning a digital model into a physical object, is gaining popularity, outperforming other production methods in many ways due to its affordability.
But do not forget that a 3D printer is just a tool.
A lot depends on how this tool will be used.
Available 3D printing technologies
All 3D technologies can be conditionally divided into 4 types.
Layer by layer welding with molten material.
The principle of operation is similar to the familiar glue gun. The print media is melted to a semi-liquid state in the print head and applied with a nozzle to the print surface where it solidifies. This is how the finished 3D model “grows” layer by layer on the printing table. Not only thermoplastics can be used as consumables, but, for example, chocolate, icing, concrete, etc.
This is the most common type of printer. Inexpensive FDM printers are often used as home assistants. This is facilitated by an inexpensive price and a variety of consumables.
Selective curing of resin (photopolymer printers).
The material used is a photopolymer resin that hardens under the influence of UV radiation. As a source of UV radiation, a thin laser beam, a DLP projector or an LCD screen with a UV matrix, or any other design can be used.
For example, some industrial 3D printers apply a photopolymer using thin nozzles and immediately illuminate it with a UV lamp.
Previously, these printers were quite expensive. Today, with advances in technology, photopolymer 3D printing has become affordable and photoresin printers have become popular as home hobby printers.
Selective bonding of powder material.
On the print head of the printer there are several nozzles through which a binder is supplied, which is selectively applied to the powdered material. Various materials can be used as a material: for example, gypsum or metal powders. But gypsum is most often used.
Since dye can be added to the "glue" during printing, such printers are usually used for the production of color demonstration models or souvenirs.
Laser sintering of powdered materials.
The youngest technology, but with great potential for use in large-scale production. With the help of a laser or a heated print head, selective sintering of the metal powder occurs in an environment filled with an inert gas.
These are already serious industrial printers that are used for the production of functional metal assemblies and parts. Currently, such 3D printers are actively used in the aerospace industry.
Unethical use
3D piracy
Where there is duplication of objects, there are always disputes about copyright and piracy.
The production of any product is a long and painstaking work, and often more than one person. Before you get a finished decorative product, for example, a figurine, you need to think through everything to the smallest detail. Usually, before modeling, the artist draws a lot of sketches, the details of clothing and accessories are thought out. Only after that the 3D modeler gets to work and begins painstakingly recreating the 3D model.
Functional models are often redesigned by engineers after the prototype has been made. There can be a very long way between the initial idea and a stable working mechanism. And it’s very disappointing when such work is simply copied and posted in the public domain.
LEGO
It was one of the first mass manifestations of "3D piracy". At that time, 3D printing was only gaining popularity, and many users, having printed a dozen figurines, were looking for a useful application for a 3D printer. Given the low plastic consumption, the printed LEGO blocks were very inexpensive.
3D printed LEGO bricks
Despite the far from ideal surface, many were satisfied with such a copy. Some have argued that the accuracy of a home FDM printer is not enough for the bricks to fit well with the original LEGO, but for most users everything fit perfectly.
At the moment, LEGO is actively removing models that copy the original sizes of the famous bricks and men from the network. On popular sites, only custom elements of LEGO-men and LECO are left that are not the original size.
Custom Heads for LEGO Men
Games Workshop
Games Workshop, which produce the most expensive table soldiers in the world, sued Thomas Valenti (USA) back in 2012.
Thomas has modeled, printed and made publicly available several miniatures inspired by the Warhammer universe. The court sided with Games Workshop and the models had to be removed.
3D Printed Chaplain
Warhammer 40k 3D Chaplain
Games Workshop went one step further by banning fans from creating art and other work based on the original settings and characters. As a boycott, users of the Warhammer 40,000 section on Reddit are proposing to abandon the company's products as much as possible - print game figures on 3D printers, use paints from other companies, or switch to other universes.
Hollywood
The production of modern films is not a cheap pleasure, and film companies try to recoup their costs not only by showing them in cinemas, but, for example, by producing souvenirs.
DreamWorks has an entire consumer goods division that helps recoup the cost of a movie if it fails at the box office.
Film companies recognize that fan-made productions often surpass the official "souvenir" in accuracy and detail.
DC Batman fan model
Many film companies are closely following the development of 3D printed merchandise, but do not yet know how to respond. For example, Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. they themselves began to upload models for 3D printing to the network, before the release of new films.
Weapon Seal
Weapon Seal
24-year-old law student Cody Wilson was the first to make a gun on a 3D printer. Cody designed and 3D printed a combat pistol on his own. After 8 years, the idea of making firearms using 3D printing has not only not died out, but flared up with a bright fire.
It started in Texas in 2012. It was there that the company Defense Distributed was registered, the ideology of which was the development of models of firearms that anyone could make on a home 3D printer.
Guns
Liberator
The first “swallow” was the Liberator - a compact plastic pistol printed on a 3D printer from ABS plastic. The only thing that could not be made on a 3D printer was the striker, which was successfully replaced by an ordinary nail. The first printed pistol was made on a Stratasys Dimension SST 3D printer.
Liberator - the name is borrowed from a cheap pistol that was developed in 1942 in the USA.
The Liberator fired a fairly weak .380 ACP round and could only last a dozen rounds at most.
Failed Liberator
Zig Zag
In the spring of 2014, a video appeared on the Internet with a man shooting from a plastic revolver with a huge drum. The video greatly stirred up all of Japan.
Zig Zag
Unknown was Yoshitomo Imura (Yoshitomo Imura) - 28-year-old employee of the Shonan Institute of Technology.
Despite Imuru's claim that he fired blanks on the tape, he was arrested and sentenced to 2 years in prison.
The Zig Zag design was a reimagining of revolvers popular in the 19th century, which used a rotating .38 caliber barrel block mounted on a pistol grip.
Washbear
In 2015, mechanical engineering student James Patrick posted a video online showing a 3D printed PM522 Washbear in operation.
PM522 Washbear
The PM522 visually resembled a children's pistol from a science fiction movie, but at the same time the pistol had a strong and rigid frame. Washbear is also safer than its predecessors. At rest, the firing mechanism was not in line with the primer, so the PM522 was protected from accidental firing, for example, when dropped. The only metal part was the nail that replaced the striker.
Rifle
Grizzly
Canadian with the nickname CanadianGunNut, ThreeD Ukulele or simply Matthew, inspired by the Liberator project, designed and posted his project - Grizzly.
Grizzly is an ABS+ plastic rifle. It took the Canadian 3 days to design the rifle and another 27 hours to manufacture it using a Stratasys Dimension 1200es industrial 3D printer.
Grizzly 9 Rifle0175
The first version of the Grizzly had a smooth and straight .22 barrel. But this turned out to be not a very good decision, and the barrel cracked after the first shot. Subsequently, Matthew replaced the barrel with a tapered barrel with rifling inside.
Plastic “cutting” could not affect the ballistics of the bullet in any way, but added strength to the barrel.
Shotgun
Liberator 12k
The Liberator 12k is a 12-round shotgun made by a well-known, in narrow circles, enthusiast in the world of 3D printing - Jeff Rodriguez.
Liberator 12k
Rodriguez managed to create a simple and at the same time reliable design, "mixing" a pistol and a pump-action shotgun in the design of the Liberator 12k.
A huge plus for manufacturing and reliability was the absence of small parts in the shotgun mechanism.
Since the plastic was not strong enough, Rodriguez reinforced the design of the Liberator 12k with metal pins and added metal tubes inside the barrel and drum. The metal parts were purchased from a regular hardware store, so anyone could easily make a Liberator 12k with their home 3D printer.
Semi-automatic weapons
Shuty-MP1
The first sign was the Shuty-MP1, a semi-automatic pistol made by an amateur gunsmith with the nickname Derwood, in April 2017.
Shuty-MP1
Shuty AP-9
The Shuty AP-9 still uses a pistol barrel, but the trigger and return spring are taken from the civilian version of the M16. This improved the reliability of the rifle.
Ethical use
Despite the negative examples of application, 3D printing is actively used in many areas, helping to save time and create products that cannot be produced by other methods.
Medicine
Implants
Metal-printing 3D printers are actively used in medicine for the manufacture of titanium implants. For example, a patient needs to have a hip joint implant made. According to the results of CT, the necessary area of bone tissue replacement is agreed with the doctors and a prosthesis model is created that is ideal for this patient. After all approvals, the finished model is sent for printing.
3D model of implant
The main areas of 3D printing of implants in medicine are maxillofacial surgery, traumatology, orthopedics, oncology and veterinary medicine. A big advantage over classical methods of manufacturing implants is the ability to create a cellular or porous structure. This allows for better integration of the prosthesis into the bone tissue.
Samples of printed implants and pins
Dentures
The manufacture of even a relatively simple traction prosthesis is a rather laborious and lengthy process.
3D printing has reduced costs and accelerated the production of prostheses. In addition, it became possible to customize the prosthesis.
Customized child prostheses
Some enthusiasts are modeling and posting models and detailed instructions for assembling traction prosthetic hands and fingers in the public domain so that any user can print and make a prosthesis at home.
Simple Traction Hand Model
Production
Building custom drones
Aerialtronics is a small Dutch company that specializes in building unique, customized drones. Aerialtronics manufactures and develops unique drones, the characteristics of which can vary depending on the needs of the customer.
Initially, a basic concept model was designed, which consists of a platform and a set of elements that can be changed at the request of the customer. Changes can affect almost any part of the drone.
The customer can choose the number of motors and their power, payload, flight time, supported software and much more.
Aerialtronics base model
But any, even minor changes in the characteristics and design of the drone required the manufacture of new elements and design changes. Classical manufacturing methods turned out to be quite laborious and long. To save time and money, a Stratasys uPrint SE Plus 3D printer was purchased.
Drone Assembly
Thanks to 3D printing, it was possible not only to speed up production, but also to devote more time to improving individual components, because the finished model is ready the next morning. Rapid manufacturing allows you to print a part, test it, make the necessary changes to the 3D model and make a new sample. Aerialtronics engineers manage to manufacture and test 8-10 variants of a part in a few days in order to achieve maximum quality.
Prototyping
Gas turbine prototyping.
Prototyping by traditional methods is often time consuming and expensive. Because of this, the price of an error in calculations and 3D modeling can be very expensive.
For example, the production of turbine engine parts is usually based on careful preparatory calculations, but even this does not always prevent errors in the production of a test prototype. After all, even the most modern software methods cannot replace physical tests. But due to the high cost (over $20,000), it becomes impossible to produce multiple prototypes for testing.
Turbine Technologies (Wisconsin, USA) and its subsidiary Kutrieb Research have found a way out - 3D printing. Thanks to the 3D Systems ProJet 3D printer, it was possible to reduce the cost of prototyping by about 10 times to $2,000.
3D model and printed part of turbine
A turbine model is printed on a wax 3D printer, tested and then cast from metal. In addition to the cost, it was possible to significantly speed up production.
