About 3D Printing...
3D printing
(or additive machining) builds
a three dimensional object using a CAD
(computer aided design) model, by depositing material layer by layer
onto the object.
There are
two basic methods of this, either
using a laser beam to selectively harden
liquid plastic in
a
tank or using melted
plastic filament deposited onto a baseplate.
Most home use printers
use the melted filament method to make objects.
This is a relatively new technology. It was
invented in the early 1980's for industrial
prototyping, but has evolved very rapidly since
then. Thanks to modern technology, it
is now possible to buy a small high performance 3D
printer for your home just like the
'2D' paper printer you probably use on your
computer right now.
What can the 3D printer do? It can print anything
from small tools or toys to these
artworks shown below... limited by your
imagination and your printer of course.
No
matter what you're into, you can probably find
something 3D printed that you
would enjoy.
The CAD programs for making all of these
objects are available on the Internet.
(FYI - These
photos below were taken from various web sources
solely
for educational uses only. The
original sources
are
unknown to me. If you feel that your
photo was used without attribution,
please
email me for
photo credit)
Thai Buddha
This Moon hanging
lamp is an example of a
lithophane. Lithophanes are 3D
pictures
that are
only able to be seen clearly when backlit. When not lit,
this looks like a ball
3D printed guitar with interchangable
bodies... themselves also 3D printed. Cool idea!
A full size, playable
steel string acoustic guitar. I'm really curious about this one
and wish my printer was bigger so I could try this myself
With artworks like these,
it is easy to see why I would choose to use a 3D
printer
to make plastic parts for my pickups. If other
people can make these,
my own
printer should have no problem making pickup
covers.