picture byTravis Hessman
http://www.industryweek.com
Before 1986 the process of turning an idea into a prototype would take between 6 months to a year depending on the size and intricacy of the design. This would start with an idea. This idea would then be put on paper, in most cases a CAD(computer aided design) by a drafter who is usually an engineer or an architect.
picture by ABC http://www.abc.nl/blog/?tag=bright-idea
The Drafter would then give the draft
or schematic to a Modeler who would then build the prototype piece by piece.
Building an object to exact specifications could take up to six months, even for something as simple as a pen design. It would then have to be assembled. NASA engineers would have long wait periods before getting to see and test the designs.
picture by Auto Editors of Consumer Guide
Chuck got the idea for “stereolithography” while he was curing the polymer coating on his table with a UV lamp. Chuck formed a company named 3D systems and by 1986 they had build there first 3D printer.
first 3d Printer picture by Chuck Hull
Now the process from idea to prototype can take as little as 3 days. This new technology has changed the way the jewelry industry and the dental industry run. Jewelry companies can cast directly from the wax material of the 3d printers accurate up to 40 microns in less two days. You could even build a gun with a 3d printer now.
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