Link to what will replace machinist one day

[Dale Lusby]

Perhaps not replacing machinists but think of it's use in manufacturing related to plastics. Lot less tooling and setup time assuming the process spreads up. Would be neat for one off replacement of plastic type items. Maybe in 50 years when i need a replacement plastic part for my disposable car I didn't dispose of and now it's "collectible" I can have it printed. I think it will find its place but not sure if machine tool or machinist replacement is too soon.

 

[5 axis Fidia guy]

I have been keeping an eye on these for quite some time, I think in the prototype world they have their place, for myself who makes plastic injection molds, it will be quite some time before the cute blonde is hired. We in fact had a mold core made with this method last year, a German company made a core with a very intricate waterline system inside as a demo. It worked out just ok, would be my comment. First off it was extremely expensive, and also needed alot of secondary work to get it to fit and function, the core was made out of stainless steel and had the finish that looked like porus spray weld to describe properly. It has a LONG way to go in my world. There are tons of articles on "additive machining" lately.

 

[9100]

Guglielmo Marconi tried to interest the Italians in his radio, but they were not interested because it only had a range of a couple of miles. His mother had taught him English, so he went there and found a more receptive audience. Lee deForest was charged with fraud when he predicted that radio would be able to communicate all over the world. As they say, the rest is history. In time, devices probably only loosely related to the present ones, will be able to lay down atoms in a controlled pattern and produce parts of perfect alloys, much better than can be achieved by melting them and stirring. Techniques to do that on a very small scale already exist. It is still a long way to make high strength accurate parts, but it has been demonstrated that it is possible. There will need to be a great deal of development, but it is coming. Predicting when these ideas will mature is a real crapshoot. Some never do, like the predictions in my youth of everyone having personal helicopters, others, like DNA mapping, come much sooner than the experts predicted, but I personally think that the day is coming when we can grow a knife blade harder and stronger than a machinist can make. Time will tell.

Bill

 

[jscpm]

This is my replacement:

 

[philmeik]

NASA | EBF3 - Electron Beam Free Form Fabrication - YouTube

This is called EBF3 or Electron Beam Free Form Fabrication. While 3D printing is great for plastics these days. On a side note most 3D printers these days don't require much programming at all. In SolidWorks it is about as hard as pushing print to 3D rather than just print. Anyway there is also DLS or direct laser sintering which is great but you are still left with a sintered material at the end. I do believe EBF3 or LBF3 will become a pretty common tool in manufacturing. As you can see from the video it is not very accurate. Keep in mind the NASA machine was the first of it's kind to even attempt it. One of my best friends is continuing the idea at Colorado School of Mines using a laser which produces much better quality. Anyway even as it is now it could be very useful to replace casting but still clearly requiring secondary machining processes.

 

[philmeik]

With that said I do not believe the machinist will be replaced by these machines. At the very least I think it means that machinists will be operating multiple machines and producing many many more parts. Until there is a machine that can think for itself there will always be a need for a person to operate it in some way. Whether it be cranking handles manually on a Bridgeport or operating a line of 3D printers the machines don't run themselves.

 

[philmeik]

Sciaky's Direct Manufacturing Solution - YouTube

Same process but 2 years later. Things improve quite quickly these days.

 

[Forestgnome]

It'll never replace the engineer half of the machinist. You know, the one who listens to someone who says "I got this thing that I want to adapt to this other thing. What can you do for me?" Then the machinist figures out what metal is best for the job, what type of fit is best, then makes the part. You're not highly paid machine operators, you're poorly paid engineers!

 

[jCandlish]

Actually, there is a fundamental missing piece of technology.

3D non-contact gauging is not yet available in the industrial domain.

2D sure, but at the current SIAMS no 3D was being shown, and there was some very over-the-top stuff on display.

Specifically, both the Agie and Trumpf subtractive (ie. laser) systems run open loop. That is the material removal rates are calculated in the CAM, and they're non-linear, so FEM or something simular is involved in guessing the optimum dwell times. Run the CAM, then can check your vaporized away piece against the wished outcome and adjust your model accordingly. For the record the floor reps said the machines stay dialed in, and they were showcaseing eff'n amazing product

The situation with additive systems is somewhat worse. It is also non-linear. So until reliable, inexpensive, precise 3D vision exists, these systems will not be able to cut (or add) to plan, but instead run open loop to model. And in practise, theory and practise are different.

Anyhoo, in the real world of plain old cut the metal away techology, the Robots definitely have the upper hand. Check out these modular inline robotic cells.

 

[Alchymist]

I.m thinking there will always be room for guys like this:
Fabrication d'une lampe triode - Vidéo Dailymotion

 

[Hightemp]

The sintering is a misnomer - the laser process fully melts the material.

People are correct when they say that mechanical properties are intrinsically worse than forgings because of the lack cold/hot working. However, the process is often better than cast properties for various engineering alloys because of the very fine grain structure.

 

[stephon0913]

Amazing 3D Printer - YouTube

Imagine what this will be able to do 20 years from now.Once they figure out a material they can print like carbonfiber that is as strong as steel,all that will be needed is this fancy printer and a cute blonde with a scanner.

Kinda scary in a way if you think about it,they say in less than 50 years a CPU will be able to process information much like the human brain except faster.Now,turn a PC with a grudge alose with a 3D scanner and we are all FUBARed

theres quite a bit more to 3d printing than they show in this video especially if you are making a part with internal components but no doubt it is kinda scary thought, and for oldbikerdude im sure it would be no problem to make a 3d printer on a much larger scale just like cnc's...

 

[Radar987]

Everyone on this forum will be retired by the time 3D printers become mainstream.

Just think about how long it will take for 3D printed materials to be approved for use in aerospace and medical industries. WOOD is still being used for certain aircraft components due to material restrictions.

 

[BC21OSH]

Check this out

Bernard

E03 - Metals - Additive Technologies - YouTube

 

[HiNi]

Everyone on this forum will be retired by the time 3D printers become mainstream.

Just think about how long it will take for 3D printed materials to be approved for use in aerospace and medical industries. .

Medical Daily: 3-D Printer-Created Jaw Implanted in 83-Year-Old Woman

Better to run toward it, than to run away from it.

 

[HiNi]

Revolutionary "Smart Wing" Created for UAV Model Demonstrates 3D Printing is Merged with Printed Electronics
3D Printing Merges With Printed Electronics - YouTube