3-D Printing Set To Break Out Of Niche

[eridani]

And if unemployed people can't do what a 3-D printer can do, it's just because they're lazy/

http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2014/01/3-d-printing-set-to-break-out-of-niche?et_cid=3707609&et_rid=54679148&type=cta

Some of the oddest items on display this week at the International CES gadget show were edible, origami-like sculptures made of sugar, their shapes so convoluted as to baffle the eye.

The treats are one of many signs that we'll all be getting a taste of 3-D printing soon —and the phenomenon won't be relegated to the realm of engineers and tech enthusiasts.

The sugar sculptures are the output of the ChefJet Pro, the first commercial, kitchen-ready food printer. It looks like an oven, and deposits sugar layer by layer in a tray, then melts the parts intended for the sculpture with water so they solidify much like sugar in a bowl will harden with moisture.

Ink can be selectively added to the water so the sculptures come out in full color — a feature sure to set the minds of wedding and party planners spinning. Next to the geometric sculptures was a wedding cake supported by a delicate lattice-work tower of sugar that would be nearly impossible to make by conventional means.

Oh, and the printer can print in chocolate too.

[lob1]

1. Great! You print a gun, shoot someone,

and then a wedding party eats the evidence.

[LuvNewcastle]

2. Mmmmmmm. Sugar guns.

[lob1]

3. Oh, the irony. Sugar bullets will kill you, AND make you fat!

[LuvNewcastle]

4. God, I hope I don't get hit by a sugar bullet.

I'd hate to be worried about getting fat while I'm dying.

[redgreenandblue]

5. The printed gun IMO is a baseless fear.

If it comes from a small scale consumer printer, the gun will be made of plastic. Making guns out of plastic was already possible before the 3D printer, and it was never seriously considered for the obvious reason that plastic is a horrible material to make a gun out of. You can make a metal gun with an industrial printer, but making guns out of metal is already possible as well...

In other words, the 3D printer doesn't really add anything new to whatever problem already exists or doesn't exist.

[Thor_MN]

6. Most people do not have the skill or access to equipment to machine metal or plastic.

Being able to buy an affordable device that can "print" 3D parts opens that access to the average person. Someone with no machining skills can now produce something that can chamber off the shelf cartridges and fire them. Sure, one has always been able to make a zip gun, but it required at least a bit of skill and equipment. Now, all one needs is to buy a printer, download a file and print it.

And easily made, completely untraceable, almost undetectable firearms (that could easily be completely destroyed by soaking in solvent or burning) certainly adds something new.

[redgreenandblue]

7. My understanding is that the material is the problem.

Plastic simply isn't durable enough to make a gun which can fire more than a single round.

[Thor_MN]

8. If firing that single round is one's intent...

Yeah, no one is looking to make a target shooting or hunting firearm on a 3D printer. So for legitimate purposes, 3D printing sucks.

That's EXACTLY why 3D printing of firearms is a problem, there are very few legitimate reason to do it.

[hobbit709]

9. And the chances of anyone other than a trained assassin doing this are?

And 3D printing doesn't suck any more than any other new technology.

It's way too easy for someone to get a regular gun to bother with the hassle, expense and expertise of making a printed one.

[Thor_MN]

10. Reading comprehension classes would do wonders...

[hobbit709]

12. Better look in the mirror.

[Thor_MN]

14. I'm not interested in feeding your desire for conversation

I had to take you off ignore in order to see who replied to me. If I want a conversation with no intelligent replies, I'll go talk to a lamp post.

Before I put you back on ignore, I'll spell it out for you. Don't expect that I'll read what ever inanity you wil reply with.

3D printing currently sucks for making legitimate firearms. Cheaper to buy a real gun than to print a metal one and plastic is just not durable enough for any legitimate use.

One needs no training whatsoever to print a firearm. All then need is a 3D printer and the brains to click"Print"

"Trained assassin"


Bye bye. have a nice day.

[hobbit709]

15. The feeling is mutual.

[redgreenandblue]

11. If the worst case scenario is someone being able to fire a single bullet...

... I somehow don't see this as warranting a huge amount of concern. Sure, there may be individual circumstances where a single bullet is sufficient, but I somehow don't see a huge threat to public safety resulting from 3D printed guns that fire one bullet at worst. Regular store-bought guns still pose a much bigger threat.

One still needs regular bullets, so if hijacking a plane is the goal then one still has to smuggle a bullet on board, which is almost as hard as smuggling a gun on board.

Also, as far as I understand, the 3D printed gun is never entirely made from plastic. One still needs some metal parts.

[Thor_MN]

16. Agreeded, store bought guns can be a problem

But we don't have to fall victim of conservative binary thinking that we have to solve the entire problem or do nothing at all.

If one's intent is to kill someone and destroy the murder weapon, a plastic gun is an ideal weapon. Preempt the screwdriver/hammer/ax/knife arguments with the above.

A single cartridge is much smaller and less massive than a normal handgun, so vastly easier to get through a security check point. Any metallic cylindrical object that wouldn't warrant a second glance could conceal a cartridge. I'm thinking that one could get a handfull through in a vibrator. Is your average guard going to turn it on to make sure the "batteries" work?

The firing pin, which is quite small, is the only object that needs to be metal. There have been laws proposed/passed that requires a manufacturer of plastic guns to include a detectable mass of metal, which obviously would not be included on a home printed firearm.

And a single bullet is not the worst case, I've seen videos of plastic guns firing multiple times before failure. We are not talking a mass shooting scenario here.

Home printed handguns are a currently small part of a massive, complex problem with too many firearms in the US.

Dismissing them due to an "all or nothing" attitude is reckless. Unfortunately, it's a cat out of a bag and virtually impossible to stuff back in.

Besides, the OP is about cool sugar 3D printing, why the hell are we talking about guns? Talk about hijack, er... glad my flight is not today...

[Orrex]

18. Pfft. John Malkovitch did it 20 years ago.

True fact.

[WinkyDink]

13. Good-bye, jobs.

[Harmony Blue]

19. I think there will be more job opportunities to be honest.

and will turn into a great educational tool for kids to be able to create what they read about in textbooks into the real world, or close to it.

[WinkyDink]

20. I really like that last possibility! (Former teacher here!)

[Thor_MN]

17. Can molten sugar sculptures be far behind? Say good bye to some reality shows.

Dump some sugar in the printer, hit print and then take a nap until you have to move it to the judging table.