Parts duplicator
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Joined: Jan 2001
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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)
Fleet Owner
Joined: Dec 2000
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From: Central PA
Did you check out the video of the 789 Corette? Wow! The guy that does it said there are only 2 limitations: your imagination and your pocketbook! Leno asked him what this will cost you. The guy said only your new corvette and 75 thousand bucks!
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Joined: Oct 2005
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From: northwestern Ontario
Couldn't have said it better Julie, truely incredible, now if they made one of those big enough we'd be able to park one of the best in it and start producing full scale models of our trucks.
Lead Driver
Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Brentwood, TN
That is amazing. I had the opportunity to tour the Ford Research Facility near Dearborn in 2000 and they demo'd a 3D plasma spray tool that took a 3D image and built a metal 3D part from it. 7 seperate nozzles spraying molten metal onto a rotating turntable, building a 3D part from the bottom up...pretty cool stuff. They showed how this machine built a spindle for a front suspension...the part was strong enough to use on a car but cost prohibited it from use in production. Great way to test a design before going into production though. I would like to see that plasma unit connected up to this 3D scanner...good to see American ingenuity at work!
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Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Harpswell Maine
Truly a neat machine. Those of you who haven't explored Jay Leno Garage website should do so. My son got me hooked on it several years ago.
I am with Bob on this one though, the duplicator needs to work in metal rather than plastic. I do play around with the early cars some and find myself needing to make parts. I work some with a foundary that pours bronzes and aluminum and have duplicated a number of parts. What we typically do is build up the broken part slightly with bondo to accomodate for shrinkage due to cooling (I seem to remember that bronze is 1/8 shrinkage per foot), sand cast off the built up original and then final machine it.
I am with Bob on this one though, the duplicator needs to work in metal rather than plastic. I do play around with the early cars some and find myself needing to make parts. I work some with a foundary that pours bronzes and aluminum and have duplicated a number of parts. What we typically do is build up the broken part slightly with bondo to accomodate for shrinkage due to cooling (I seem to remember that bronze is 1/8 shrinkage per foot), sand cast off the built up original and then final machine it.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)
Truly a neat machine. Those of you who haven't explored Jay Leno Garage website should do so. My son got me hooked on it several years ago.
I am with Bob on this one though, the duplicator needs to work in metal rather than plastic. I do play around with the early cars some and find myself needing to make parts. I work some with a foundary that pours bronzes and aluminum and have duplicated a number of parts. What we typically do is build up the broken part slightly with bondo to accomodate for shrinkage due to cooling (I seem to remember that bronze is 1/8 shrinkage per foot), sand cast off the built up original and then final machine it.
I am with Bob on this one though, the duplicator needs to work in metal rather than plastic. I do play around with the early cars some and find myself needing to make parts. I work some with a foundary that pours bronzes and aluminum and have duplicated a number of parts. What we typically do is build up the broken part slightly with bondo to accomodate for shrinkage due to cooling (I seem to remember that bronze is 1/8 shrinkage per foot), sand cast off the built up original and then final machine it.
First, I think a printer could be made to work with metal and produce actual usable metal parts.
Second, the technique you mentioned about having to increase the size of the part to allow for shrinkage would be eliminated by inputting the material that is going to be used and automatically increase the size of the model.
I don't have any idea how this all works but I am always amazed at the fast pace technology operates at to meet our needs. I just wonder when this will all come about and it becomes cost effective for the average old vehicle owner to go down to the local parts fabricator have have a part scanned and fabricated while you wait, something like a Kinkos. Think of all of the stuff that we have today that we either didn't have or we couldn't afford when were were kids. I could list at least a dozen things the were considered way too expensive 10-20 years ago that we take as granted now, cell phones being one.
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Harpswell Maine
Bob,
In conversation with a friend that works with early cars and does some significant machining, he indicated that a mutual friend/old car buddy worked on the programming for one of these duplicators. I agree with you on technology advances over the years. A number of years back reading the book on Truman by McCollough It really hit me thinking about his life growing up in St Louis when it was really the frontier with horses and wagons and then dropping the Atomic bomb when he was president.
In conversation with a friend that works with early cars and does some significant machining, he indicated that a mutual friend/old car buddy worked on the programming for one of these duplicators. I agree with you on technology advances over the years. A number of years back reading the book on Truman by McCollough It really hit me thinking about his life growing up in St Louis when it was really the frontier with horses and wagons and then dropping the Atomic bomb when he was president.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Fairmount, Georgia
That has come a long way since the days of old. Years ago people would use what is called a panagraph or a "copy mill". It is basicaly two milling machine heads that are side by side. One has a probe in its spindle and the part to be copied on a table. The other has a cutting tool (end mill) and the material that the part will be made from.
The machine with the part and the stilus controls the machine that is doing the cutting by running backward and forward across the part and moving the cutting head across and up and down as needed.
There are also digitizers that can be run in CNC machines that do basically th esame thing. They take thousands of points from a part and store them in a memory file. The points can then be downloaded to a computer and plotted in a CAD or CAM system.
The machine with the part and the stilus controls the machine that is doing the cutting by running backward and forward across the part and moving the cutting head across and up and down as needed.
There are also digitizers that can be run in CNC machines that do basically th esame thing. They take thousands of points from a part and store them in a memory file. The points can then be downloaded to a computer and plotted in a CAD or CAM system.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 7,493
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From: Erie, pa
When I was in the Air Force we were upgrading the human body dimension sets used to make uniforms oxygen masks, chemical protective gear etc.
There were several colledges in the area that we used the students from and laser scanned them as that machine at Lenos did - this was in the mid 80's and the machine turntable etc were the size of a small house.
After scanning we would use a state of the art duplicator - it was a large vat of liquid polimers that another type of laser would travel over following the scan data points while firing at the polimer.
This would harden the liquid and on the next pass the polimer would rise an n'th of an inch and build another layer.
We would end up with a set of head forms to use for the masks.
It didn't allow for the internal moving items as this new one.
And I still want to duplicate my OldLady.
There were several colledges in the area that we used the students from and laser scanned them as that machine at Lenos did - this was in the mid 80's and the machine turntable etc were the size of a small house.
After scanning we would use a state of the art duplicator - it was a large vat of liquid polimers that another type of laser would travel over following the scan data points while firing at the polimer.
This would harden the liquid and on the next pass the polimer would rise an n'th of an inch and build another layer.
We would end up with a set of head forms to use for the masks.
It didn't allow for the internal moving items as this new one.
And I still want to duplicate my OldLady.
I'll have the Roast Duck
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 9,622
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From: Northshore, MN
I watched the video when it was posted on the hamb, then I forwarded the link to a coworker. He comes up to me today with several hand-held sized shears that we make, saying our R&D engineer already had it done. I was impressed!