Re: RP Limitations

From: Paul Burr (tigerpb@ids.net)
Date: Wed Sep 01 1999 - 20:26:19 EEST


At 11:37 AM -0400 9/1/1999, Elaine Hunt wrote:

>
>I am still looking for the "3D Printer" to support the masses....... while
>one spectrum rushes after the dollars of global funding agencies, I wish
>for an economical system for education which attracts little or no funding.
> I am amazed that the overall reason for not using or purchasing a RP
>system is always price yet the prices of systems have yet to drop to levels
>of affordable.

>Elaine

Elaine: I just stood up on my chair, appaluded wildly and shouted "Here
Here"! Everytime I read of a new RP system being introduced, it always
involves a larger build platform, higher purchase price and operating
costs. I build jewelry with RP! 99.9% of the parts I've built in the past 3
years would fit inside a 35mm cube! I don't need a 1/2 million dollar
machine with a 2 meter square build platform! And I can't believe that the
jewlery indistry is the only one that needs small, accurate parts quickly,
at the lowest possible price!
My dream system would be comparable to the 1400 dpi Espson color printer on
my desk- fast, clean, drop dead reliable, at a cost that thousands of users
can easily justifly.
Coming from a graphic arts backgound, I think RP needs a revolution like
the Apple Mac unleashed on Publishing in 1984. Any one remember dedicated
typesetting machines? Room sized procees cameras? Millions of dollars in
eqipment replaced by a $2000 box and a laser printer, pratically overnight!
That's the kind of upheaval RP is going to need in order to become a real
mainstream manufacturing technology.

For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/



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