Our New 3D Printer Has Arrived

Today, the lab got a 3D printer delivered (and assembled)!

This is a fairly amazing machine -- able to turn computer-drawn models into physical objects in ABS plastic! What makes this significant is the fact that ABS plastic is strong enough to be used in production parts, not just prototypes or mock-ups.

The most likely use for this machine will be to print "mechanical fuses" -- parts that are designed to fail early in order to protect more complex or expensive parts -- because it will make it easy to fabricate identical replacement fuses.



The printer works by extruding a very thin (0.01 inch) bead of plastic out of a heated tip. Layer by layer, the printed item is built up.

You can see the criss-cross pattern here, created from the first 2 layers of white plastic. The black plastic underneath is for support, and is removed (dissolved in a caustic bath) after the printing is complete.