Design Article
Robot Takes humans out of 3-D printing equation
Cabe Atwell
3/12/2013 2:41 PM EDT
Even though 3D printers act as if they do all the work, the current methods require lots of human labor, especially after the printer has made the seed part. Milling, trimming excess, drilling holes, and adding wires still must be done by hand. As a result, mass manufacturing or DIY projects can still be very time consuming and laborious, even with a 3D printer.
iRobot Corp. sees this problem impeding the future of 3D printers and automated manufacturing, so it has filed a patent application for a fully automated robotic 3D printer for manufacturing. This type of system could finish printed pieces without human intervention. It could also be equipped to perform quality control, reducing many risks of using printed parts such as fasteners that often cause failures.
Click to read the rest of this story on Design News.
iRobot Corp. sees this problem impeding the future of 3D printers and automated manufacturing, so it has filed a patent application for a fully automated robotic 3D printer for manufacturing. This type of system could finish printed pieces without human intervention. It could also be equipped to perform quality control, reducing many risks of using printed parts such as fasteners that often cause failures.
Click to read the rest of this story on Design News.
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EREBUS
3/12/2013 4:52 PM EDT
I think this patent might be pre-emptory.
I will have to see a design and implementation before I will accept that it is possible.
I like the concept, but I am not sure you can make things without humans in the loop.
Just my opinion.
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