Ideally what new 3D printing materials would you like over the coming months?

Discussion in 'Bug Reporting' started by joris, Nov 26, 2009.

  1. joris
    joris Member
    Ideally what new 3D printing materials would you like over the coming months?

    And why?
     
  2. photosfromrob
    photosfromrob Member
    Wax for lost wax casting, please

    also, something strong and translucent for lamp shades
     
  3. 22984_deleted
    22984_deleted Member
    Do you have anything we can make ashtrays out of? Obviously heat resistant non deforming. If so, what colours??????


    THANKS SHAPEWAYS
     
  4. TomZ
    TomZ Member
    Black, strong and flexible! It would be very convenient if I could just order the parts already dyed black instead of doing it at home, and I think many of my customers would agree. Twisty puzzles just look so much better in black.

    Have you looked into mass finishing for the SF material? Would it be very expensive to offer tumble finishing?
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2009
  5. 27337_deleted
    27337_deleted Member
    I would love to see sterling silver again if the process can be perfected.
    Ideally jewellery-quality silver so that we can make skin-friendly pieces.

    Maybe Aluminium? It might be cheaper than stainless steel and very easy to polish up.

    RTV Silicone rubber or any Silicone would also be really cool for jewellers and other makers as you could get one RTV mould made by Shapeways and use that to make:
    1: pewter casts - you can melt pewter on your stove at home - polishes easily
    2: wax copies for lost wax silver/gold casting.
    3: resin casts - including water clear resin - very cheap

    I really love what Shapeways are doing - It keeps improving!





     
  6. 26000_deleted
    26000_deleted Member
    Hi. Elastomer materials at shapeways prices!
    This would be helpful for prototyping diaphragms and gaskets. I think this can be done on the Objet printers, and the material is known as TangoPlus / TangoBlack etc

    Also Transparent material - SLA? "transparent detail" is no good for optical applications.

    As an aside, it would be helpful to show the process next to the material description. Eg "White strong and felxible (SLS)" or "Cream Robust (FDM)"
     
  7. Venksta
    Venksta Member

    I would like to see this type of material as well. :D
     
  8. rjlang
    rjlang Member
    Two requests for materials:

    (1) Bronze. (Bronze infused stainless would be OK, as long as the bronze forms the surface.)

    (2) Reduce minimum wall thickness for stainless, so that finer detail can be made.
     
  9. settinger
    settinger Member
  10. renegourley
    renegourley Member
    I would love to see a material with the minimum wall thickness of WSF with the detail and smoothness of White Detail. In fact, I would really love to see minimum wall thicknesses come down in general.

    Oh the places I would go if you could print to say .5 mm!
     
  11. dadrummond
    dadrummond Member
    Brass. Jewelry is a huge hit on SW. We need a golden material. Gold is out of the question. Brass is it.

    Ceramic. I want to print out radiolarians, some of the finest 3D designs ever not designed, and a white ceramic would probably have other takers as well. How many gift shops are filled with bone-white gorgeous sculptures? We should be competing there.

    Wood. Preferably teak, but I would settle for a nice old-growth oak. ;)
     
  12. tanix
    tanix Member
    Anything with higher detail... wax is probably the most likely choice.
     
  13. joris
    joris Member
    David,

    Was tocuhed by "We should be competing there."
     
  14. chris89
    chris89 Member
    something that can print multiple colors on a model directly would be handy.
     
  15. 30676_deleted
    30676_deleted Member
    the highest copper content possible would be ideal.
    otherwise wax would work
     
  16. fil47
    fil47 Member
    glass would be really nice... eco-friendly (except for process) and compatible with diner-wear, jewelery.. plus it should be quite cheap.. (it already exists, I saw it done in a US university but can't remember which one...

    any material with a very fine grade, basically which would look like a polymer cast...

    keep up the good work !!
     
  17. iguffick
    iguffick Member
    I'd love to see an SLS powder mixed with aluminium or carbon, providing it does not significantly increase the price (for me personally, double would be ok!).
    Also known as Alumide or Carbonide.

    The aluminium mixture gives a dull metallic finish that has the look of aluminium but is much lighter. It can be finished by grinding or polishing. Unlike standard SLS the resulting object should be non-porous, which leads to uses for liquid containers etc.

    The carbon mixture gives a black smooth surface finish, ideal for all those twisty puzzles! It is also MUCH more resilient to wear, so it makes better surfaces for bushes and other moving parts.

    I'm not sure if either of these materials are easier to electroplate for other metallic surface finishes ?
     
  18. 25182_deleted
    25182_deleted Member
    These materials are actually cheaper thanks to the fact that less Nylon needs to be used in the mixture. Nylon is much more expensive that both Aluminum and Graphite.

    I imagine the next step for Shapeways is one of the desktop printers, Z-Corp or Objet. Objet is better suited for engineering applications, as most of its features are for making different shore strengths and making overmolds etc. Z-Corp does your full colour prints, but unfortunately requires significant and involved post processing work. Failure rate is also astronomical. Though the Z-Corp casting materials may be worth a look.


     
  19. aortic001
    aortic001 Member
    Bronze or copper would be nice for jewelry pieces, as they're easier to polish and workable than stainless steel.

    Also any chance to introduce titanium? Since SLS/DMLS are probably the only economical options to its production.
     
  20. oddpxl
    oddpxl Member

    I second alumide!!

    Also tumble finishing and vibratory polishing would be very very useful...

    ..currently looking into buying my own - but if you can do it I'd prefer that not just from a cost standpoint but also time & space wise.

    Thanks SO much for bringing all these technologies to us...and so cheap too!

    cheers

    //O.