Hello all, See if anyone here can help me out with this. I need a level of detail in my design of about 10-50microns, that is to say 0.01mm, which is at least one order of magnitude higher than the ones I found here or any other 3D printing company (and 100x for metals, which is the material I actually want). It would be awesome if someone here recommend me a research group, that can deal with these demanding conditions? Truly appreciate it! Thank you -Manu
Hello You could try lost wax casting. Sorry i dont have time to go into the process but if you google it im sure theres a wiki Rapidshape specialise in 3d printing for this process, keep in mind the print is lost when casting. Slice Thickness: 10 / 25 / 50 /100 µm Native Voxel* ~60µ, roundish harmonizer on click http://www.rapidshape.de/s60-maxi/articles/rapid-3d-generati ve-prototyping-and-manufacturing-system-s60-maxi.html Regards PS 10 micron for a feature is a 'bit' small, even for the human eye
There are people who can do this level of detail, but I don't have details to hand. However this company may be able to help.
Hello BillBedford and pdb! Thank you so much for your help!! In any case, I was wrong about the level of detail I needed. It's in fact even higher: around 1micron. Yes, I know, it's going to be difficult but let's see if somebody comes up with a useful idea! (Very likely not in 3D printing). So far, best option I have is go to arc machining shop...but I'd like to see some other approaches (even better if they're cheaper!!). Thanks! -Maldini
For fabicating things on micron scales, I'd have thought you'd need to be looking into photolithography (see also wpedia). While the process is normally associated with relatively flat silicon chips (albeit with multiple layers), there's also a whole world of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) at similar scales; actually that page lists some other fabrication technologies besides lithography.