3D Printing Pen

Don't know if anyone has checked this out but I think Craig was talking about it.

A 3D Printer that you physically draw with!

Uses ABS or PLA $99 if you are interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r05gjLfDX2E

http://www.the3doodler.com/

PDE Coffee Stirrers are on Youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZziQ3ZSAS_c&feature=youtu.be

Fantastic Plastic website

http://www.fantasticplastic.org.uk

http://www.fantasticplastic.org.uk/km_sustain_shapememory.html

LittleBits

Little Bits

What is littleBits?

We aim to move electronics from late stages of the design process to its earliest ones, and from the hands of experts, to those of artists, makers, students and designers

Girls girls girls - GoldieBlox

http://interestingengineering.com/goldieblox-for-young-engineers/

McGavigans Field Trip 1/11/13

McGavigans Field Trip 1/11/13

Euan Spalding Gordon Ritchie Harry Agyeman Nadia Bassiri Craig Meakin

http://www.mcgavigan.com/

Founded 1861

-100 years of plastic production.

-Sites in Glasgow and China.
-Currently Autoparts Manufacturer, on a tier two level supplier.

Accreditations:  ISO14001 (Environmental)

TSI16949

ISO9001

There must also be accreditations from the auto manufacturers they supply. 

Main functions:

Printing onto Polycarbonate using Japanese JSI printers.

Multiple passes for different “bleeds” and to make sure there is no dark and light areas on a lit design.

This is done in a 10,000 compatible clean room.

Uses UV reactive Ink.

Painting:

Injection 20-400T, 50 - 2000

E.g. Car Speedos.

- Graphic sent from customer.

- Evaluated and refined.

- Printed

- Vacuum formed, high-gloss foil mold (IMD)

- Injection-molded with Plastic into the back, Can be 1 or 2 shot. (If a clear and black effect is 

   required)

Vacuum forming allows deeper molds but there is less Graphics control.

There is 100% Inspection to get around this.

PS3 controller

Playstation 3 dual shock controller  

Not a lot of information out there about the manufacturing and actual plastics used, there must be a  Sony patent on the design. 
Outer shell made from HDPE (high density polyethylene) injection moulded in two parts. The front and back clip together and are screwed in place by 5 screws at the back of the controller.

      

My evaluation 

Evolution of Playstation controller design 

Inside the controller 

 

Experimenting with Plastics

I decided to have a bit of a play about with plastics and recycling plastics, so got out some plastic bags and had a think about how I could reuse them in some way!

I started by shredding them up

 And then put them in a pan on a low heat with some oil to stop the plastic just melting onto the pan  (bit dangerous maybe but I'm still alive!)

The plastics melted down and didn't give off any nasty fumes or smoke. I stewed them about and mashed them with a potato masher and got some tongs involved and had a play about.

Once all the bags were completely melted down and combined I took the plastic out and put it into a circular mould.

And then put it in the freezer to cool

I took it out a couple hours later and it was completely solid recycled plastic!

COOL EH!?! 

Some lovely DIY ideas

http://theimaginationtree.com/2013/11/30-diy-gifts-make-kids.html

My 3D Printing Experience

Last night I took a trip to Maklab (a workshop just off Buchanan St) to do some prototyping for my plastic product.

The parts I was getting printed were 3 sets of interlocking parts, all with slightly differing dimensions. My aim was to find what tolerances I needed to work to for printing my final product, making sure the pieces would slide smoothly together and not lock.

The studio is used by students but there were also people who just use the space in their free time. There were lots of examples of gorgeous 3D printed objects lying around

This bike chain had soluble supports which when dissolved in water, allowed the joints to move

However, none of them could really compete with my masterpiece.

As you can see, one of the printers was having some issues. The plastic wasn't properly sticking to the printer base, and was getting lifted about by the nozzle. Not really sure what to do when this situation arises, I just used a different printer.

You can print in a variety of different plastics and colours, by feeding a different type of plastic thread into the machine before you start your print.

Here are the steps you need to follow to 3D print a model:

1. Make a Solidworks model of your part. Save it as an STL file.

2. Load it in Makerware (http://www.makerbot.com/makerware/) This can either be done at home or at the workshop. It is important to make sure your model isn't too big for the 3D printer! This software checks dimensions and allows you to move your model around on the base.  

Try to make your parts have as much of their surface area on the board as possible

3. Save the file on an SD card (the workshop have these) and put it in the 3D printer

4. Scroll down the menu until you see your file name, press start. The machine will take around 10mins to heat up to starting temperature (220deg).

5. With this printer, the nozzle height has to be adjusted manually once printing has started. The printer faffs around a lot before it actually starts your model so there's plenty of time. Rotate the base of the thread to raise or lower the nozzle.

6. Have a cup of tea

7. Remove print with tweezers

8. Peel off raft. The raft is a sacrificial layer which the machine prints first. It encourages the model to stick to the printer base.

Some of the completed prints: 

The marks are from clumsy tweezering while the plastic was still hot

Dymo Embosser Junior Labeller

This label maker is simpler than other label makers on the market. It still uses a mechanical printing method; This involves turning the front dial to the letter you want, then to print you squeeze or press down on to the handle, this then presses a letter in to tape which discolours to white.

The product is made of ABS, with nylon gears and dial inside. The cartridge for the tape is made of polypropylene and the tape itself is made of an adhesive vinyl. There are no metallic parts at all in this product and the design makes use of living hinges as well as snap fix.

The design is very chunky, considering it is marketed towards children. In my opinion there is a lot of unnecessary curving in the design and it is inefficient with space. The noise it makes is very distinctive and I like the fact it incorporates sound as an interactive feature.

Plastic Product Analysis

Koziol Kai Dental Floss Holder, Red

Injection Moulded 
Weighs 91 grams 
Currently unavailable to buy
Was $14 on http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/koziol-kai-p-piranha-dental-floss-dispenser