Sep 17, 2014
Personal 3D printing has been limited by the size of their X, Y, and Z axes: to print an object, a 3D printer has to be larger than the object. But industrial designers at NEXT (three-dimensional experimentation lab) and LIFE (physical computing lab) of PUC-rio's design program has come up a brilliant idea: a mobile, 3D-printing robot that moves on flat platform and is capable of printing products much larger than its size, They call it the 3&DBot Robotic 3D Printer.
The team says they envisioned a portable and autonomous machine capable of performing 3D printing job freely in space. Using various technological tools and techniques, they have created this hexagon-shaped robot which is completely autonomous.
To make such a mobile 3D printer work, the main challenge is to develop a video tracking system that ensures accuracy of its position within a field of motion in order to accurately create a 3D model. The robot communicates with a host computer through a built-in wireless receiver. With an embedded arduino micro-controller, the 3&DBot printer is capable of an impressive degree of accuracy. And its omni-directional wheels give the robot unlimited freedom to travel in any direction it needs to.
The other limitation of traditional 3D printing is the height, since theoretically the object could not higher than the printhead. However, the 3&DBot printer has its own solution. Once a 3D model is too tall for the robot, it could 3D print a temporary raised structure around it to drive up onto and continue the path to produce the 3D object.
The 3&DBot printer is capable of printing in a variety of materials such as modeling clay, ceramics, and earthenware.
via: Designboom
Posted in 3D Printers
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It's an initial prototype. It doesn't even have a normal FDM Extruder installed yet. Of course the prints aren't going to be perfect yet.
Bri wrote at 9/18/2014 12:49:31 PM:
Scale this up and you suddenly have the future of building construction. At the very least, foundation construction.
Craig Billings wrote at 9/18/2014 12:32:59 PM:
Cool idea. I think they will nail down the resolution. I don't see it being used like the typical 3D printer but it will have other applications...like a repair bot maybe?
marli wrote at 9/18/2014 8:43:58 AM:
this is a prototype, the print head is simply there to show acuraccy potential. the idea is brilliant as it effectivly has no maximum X and Y. this video isnt for consumers but printer designers. I envisioned somthing like this but a Drone connected to a feed. The technical abilities is beyound me but it would effectivly remove all restrictions an size. Also quality isnt alway the overiding factor for prototyping and one off work. "now" and "cheap" come into it.
Rev.Dick Burns wrote at 9/18/2014 4:14:03 AM:
What is up with all the crappy layers on recent printers? Nearly every new printer pictured, and in the videos, have very many seriously flawed prints. Do people accept those as "normal"? I would never purchase something showcasing the prints above. I would never consider purchasing the majority of printers recently listed until someone adjusted for better quality prints. Christ not only are the prints above, for example, crappy but ANYONE promoting their product in such a negative light does not comprehend basic marketing. Reminds me of the Segway desk video in s3e1 of Bad Education.
Julio wrote at 9/18/2014 12:41:29 AM:
Just the idea is brilliant. I see little potential for this.
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