RE: Some reliable equations for RT

From: Brock Hinzmann (bhinzmann@sric-bi.com)
Date: Wed Feb 06 2002 - 22:19:16 EET


Molly,

The number and length of the messages you have received should make it
obvious that these old and tired people aren't as tired as they think they
are.

What they gain as they age is perspective and knowledge. RP is a tool to
verify that the perspective in their minds is in agreement with the real
world. By real world, I mean both the physical world and the perspectives
in the minds of other people. As a 3-D visualization tool, you can make an
object and show it to other people and they can say, yes or no, that is or
is not what I was thinking, from my perspective. As a physical
verification tool, you can make an object and verify that it fits another object or
has a function, just as you envisioned it, from your perspective.

As students of all types acquire new information by means of technology
that is disconnected from the physical world, some people are worried that
they will have less and less understanding of the way things work. I
suppose you can argue that a difference has always existed between students
that have only read about something and never experienced it and those old
engineers that can glance at a drawing, even on a new-fangled CAD file, and
already know its weight and texture and how it will work. It takes a
specialized skill to recognize how a CAD will come out of an RP machine and
how an RP part will relate to its final end use. However, RP, within its
current limitations, helps you expand your perspective more quickly than if
you actually had to make all those objects by hand. You still have to learn
about other materials and other processes.

Quality in an industrial setting is often a cost/benefit ratio associated
with the number of defects against some physical or functional ideal, for
a given cost. In art, quality means different things to different people
and I don't want to even begin that debate. However, I think art has to do
with pushing the limits of our personal perspectives, which may remain
only personal or which may find resonance with others. By pushing the
limits, artists often intentionally create defects that improve the quality of
the experience. Industrial designers sometimes find usefulness there,
turning flaws into features, but in the end, the industrial designer has to
make all the tradeoffs between form, function, cost to manufacture, lifetime
costs, and aesthetics (may I call this quality of experience?), including
sales appeal. Craft seems to me to be a modifier that can be applied to
industry or art or any numbr of other things and, again, I expect that craft
is the subject of another debate.

Brock Hinzmann
Technology Navigator

mepstein wrote:
>Hello,
>I am new to this list and I wanted to introduce myself. My name is
Molly
>Epstein, I am art student and am very interested in rapid prototyping
>processes. I don't know if this list gets philosophical or if it just
>technical, but it seems pretty informal and welcoming. This post from
Lamar
>Davidge made me think of a lot of things that I believe to be a really
big
>problem in my experience with people. My school is the only college
that I
>know and it is what I am responding to, so bare with me but I really
feel that
>the next generation of students coming out of great art schools really
do not
>know the fundamental requirements of making things work well, and using
tools
>and machines correctly, not just making mistakes but really not
understanding
>the way things work. It seems that we are rushed and pushed away from
>learning how things work, or how to do something with the best
craftsmanship
>and quality. How do any of you feel about this? Have any of you seen a

>digression in quality and craftsmanship throughout your time doing what
you
>are doing?
>-Molly
>
>From: mepstein <mepstein@temple.edu>
>
>Will,
>>
>> You forgot to mention that tool life is also affected by the
ability of
>>the employees who are responsible for running the tool. I have seen
some
>>very simple tools ruined on the first shot due to mistakes, a 150 ton
press
>>closing on an aluminum or epoxy tool can wreak havoc, not to mention
what
>>injecting at 2500psi, instead of 350 psi, can do to a fragile tool.
Also
>>epoxy is very strong, but if you drop it on the floor with the core
side
>>down it wont last long. The best constructed tool, with the best
possible
>>design, wont last long if you dont have people who are skilled running
it.
>>
>>Lamar Davidge
>
>To: "Lamar Davidge" <lamar.davidge@airmail.net>,
>
>
> <rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi>

For more information about the rp-ml, see http://rapid.lpt.fi/rp-ml/



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