Bionanotech sorta runs with that concept, using biologically based molecular engines and assemblers, for secreting stuff and working with certain "self assembling" types of composites. Synthetic organisms or tweaked existing organisms (particularly heat/metal tolerant extremophile bacteria) appear to be one path towards this, particular for surface coatings. For the cores of structural materials, the lack of fine control might be an issue though depending on the properties desired.
My report on 3D printing in space will be out next month. It will discuss some of these issues.Don't believe the hype. The hype is crazy. People who use and design these machines will tell you to not believe the hype.Agrees 100%As for increasing manufacturing speed, it can be done with a lot of caveats. Keep in mind that up to now, there has not been much effort to increase 3D printing speeds. But it could be done in certain ways for certain kinds of materials and parts. For instance, multiple print heads that are all on the same movement device. That way you could build up multiple versions at once. For some objects and with some materials, that may be a solution.But 3D printing is never going to replace all aspects of production. It is likely to replace a few things in the overall process. But there are production processes that have been refined to very high degrees over many many decades, and 3D printing isn't going to leap ahead of them. It's a manufacturing technique, not magic. And in fact, for some things it is difficult to see how 3D printing could replace parts of the production process. For example, 3D printing just is not very high resolution, so for something like optics, where you want high precision, you're never going to get it out of a 3D printer.
But fundamentally, this statement is true. Tradition manufacturing set up in a factory line has unbeatable per-part speeds. I mean, you can have stamped parts flying out in just a few seconds while a good print of a functionally similar part would take hours. That's 3 and a half orders of magnitude different.
Jan.10, 2014Epson is developing industrial, multi-material 3D printers, said president Minoru Usui recently when he attended Epson's 30th anniversary celebration in Sydney, Australia.Usui said the company would be focused on developing 3D printers for commercial applications – such as in large-scale production environments – and not for consumers.>>So what kind of printer is Epson working on? "We are developing our own printers, but our aim is to change everything. When it comes to 3D printing... we want our machines to make anything." Usui told Engadget at CES 2014. This "anything" could mean "cars" - Usui believes cars or its parts can be printed using additive manufacturing. It will take time to improve the technology and materials, but Usui expects Epson will launch its first industrial 3D printer within 5 years.
Quote from: Robotbeat on 06/19/2014 03:27 amBut fundamentally, this statement is true. Tradition manufacturing set up in a factory line has unbeatable per-part speeds. I mean, you can have stamped parts flying out in just a few seconds while a good print of a functionally similar part would take hours. That's 3 and a half orders of magnitude different.Or you can use a 3D printer to create a cast for traditional casting, so the line between traditional manufacturing and 3D printing blurs.
http://www.3ders.org/articles/20140110-epson-to-launch-industrial-3d-printers-within-five-years.htmlQuoteJan.10, 2014Epson is developing industrial, multi-material 3D printers, said president Minoru Usui recently when he attended Epson's 30th anniversary celebration in Sydney, Australia.Usui said the company would be focused on developing 3D printers for commercial applications – such as in large-scale production environments – and not for consumers.>>So what kind of printer is Epson working on? "We are developing our own printers, but our aim is to change everything. When it comes to 3D printing... we want our machines to make anything." Usui told Engadget at CES 2014. This "anything" could mean "cars" - Usui believes cars or its parts can be printed using additive manufacturing. It will take time to improve the technology and materials, but Usui expects Epson will launch its first industrial 3D printer within 5 years.
L2 sources also note that parts for SpaceX’s next generation engine, the Raptor, are currently being 3D printed at the company’s Hawthorne base in California.
Do you think biological deposition could work as well as nanotech? It occurs to me that there are a number of metal eating bacteria that, properly tweaked genetically, could be spread upon a basic form, and then start building up a metallic structure, much the same as coral deposits are formed.
Some guys at Michigan State used Cupriavidus metallidurans to extract 24ct gold from gold chloride.
Aerojet Rocketdyne To 3-D Print Rocket Engine Parts under Air Force DemoWASHINGTON — Aerojet Rocketdyne will demonstrate the use of additive manufacturing techniques to produce selected, full-scale rocket engine components under a Defense Production Act (DPA) Title 3 contract awarded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, the company announced Aug. 20.>
A 3D printed propulsion system for cubesats from Aerojet. http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/12/16/aerojet-completes-hot-fire-3d-printed-cubesat-propulsion-system/#more-54182
