Next Ultimaker³ Laser Sintering ?

[xeno 108]

Could the next Ultimaker³ be a laser sintering printer ?

 

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/06/04/open-source-community-academia-working-develop-new-3dp-sintering-process/

 

I cant wait

edit gr5: fixed link

[gr5 2,192]

30,000 volts and 40 Watt (not milliwatt!!!!) laser? This seems a bit dangerous. Not to mention the powder. I can't imagine a company like Ultimaker selling these things.

 

[anon4321 16]

Hmmm, I wonder if laser printer toner could be used.

 

[jonnybischof 60]

Hmmm, I wonder if laser printer toner could be used.

 

Are you looking for the most expensive printing material possible?

 

[gr5 2,192]

Well laser toner comes in multicolors and maybe anon has some extra that he hasn't thrown out yet.

 

[IRobertI 520]

What gr5 said. The legal crap you'd have to go through... ugh. And I imagine maintenance on these types of printers are a bit of a pain as well. Sneeze at them and the powder goes flying all over the optics and into all the moving parts. I'm not saying it couldn't be done, what I'm thinking of is how these things would fare in the care of "normal" people who aren't quite aware of what they're getting into and how to handle that as a company.

That said I really hope that development goes forward in this area as it opens up so many possibilities. I mean, look at what RepRap machines produced just a few years ago. Crap, really. And look where we are now.

 

[nick-foley 5]

I've done the same thing with my laser cutter and a bed of granulated sugar.... It's fun, but a laser cutter is not the right machine to use for anything other than a fun experiment in 3D printing. Something purpose built can be a lot faster, more precise, more cost effective.

 

[skint 61]

I liked the fact that the author, like to " write about bacon " . lol

 

[anon4321 16]

Gold dust ?