Or do you know anyone using them for anything special?

I'd be very interested in hearing what's out there.

🇨🇮

we split the profits 60-40

I rent time on a machine or go to one of those maker shipops Victo mentioned. There are 3D metal printers, going to be interesting when they start printing high grade collector coins.

Basically, you melt weed wacker yarn onto a plate and shape it into whatever you want.

Except a lot of filament materials suck.

If anybody has specific needs, let me know.

Victor, PM me if your friend wants to try new materials.

This is all plastic materials. No metals and no funky fillers for the time being.

Geek mode: Off.

That coin comment is interesting.

I wonder how it will be handled.

I suppose patina and real surface wear might be the most difficult to duplicate. Grading and authentication will be more difficult, possibly requiring the use of a microscope. The exact density and alloy would be hard to duplicate too, but I can conceive recycling worn or common coins of the correct alloy/age into rare and expensive coins. Just like fake historic documents are made with old paper from the same time period.

Duplication of metals produced before the first atomic bomb, i.e., pre 1945, would be very difficult using contemporary materials as they contain minute amounts of isotopes generated in nuclear explosions not present before 1945. I know a lab that built super sensitive instruments for measuring radiation that had to be shielded with thick armor plate produced before 1945 to avoid those isotopes.

It will be figured out, but not before some fakes get into the wild. Remember the first color scans of paper money printed on high end printers caused the government to radically change paper money to make it more difficult to duplicate. It's just a damn shame criminals don't put that effort to legitimate businesses.

True, but it will come, just like camera and printer resolution has gotten better over the years.

Any good hook up's on printers with a decent size heated bed?

They make things like this.

http://www.team-blacksheep.com/products/product:938 

I reckon that mater transposition will be worked at out at the quantum level some day. But that's a bit different from 3D printing. In order to duplicate a coin properly, you would have to match the formed metallic structure. Printing a dendroid is, well, rather detailed. Still, people have a long history of doing impossible things.

Molecular recombination and projection - makes breaking the light barrier seem simple.

Ed,

The material strength is only half the equation.

The industry standard PLA prints well, but is very brittle.

Other materials like ABS are strong, but a 3D Printed part is limited by layer to layer bonding, as well as other factors too boring to delve into here.

The bumper might do well with a nylon, and we've got some grades that might do the trick. Let me take a look and I'll let you know.

bring some to the Walpole Sportsmen's Club!

Thanks! Recommend me a good printer too. 🇨🇮

we are in, don't worry.

I wont. And I will bring you a cigar, BECAUSE FRANK DOESN'T HAVE ANY CIGARS.

Just for that, I'm paying for dinner.

Ha! You payed last time.

And what are friends for? Busting balls I would say.