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[–] 30 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (4 children)

https://www.3dtide.com/blog/best-3d-printed-cars/

The funny thing about this is that the entire hobbyist 3D printer market we have now grew out of rapid prototyping machines developed by the auto industry in the 80s:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

People were building their own printers in 2005, with development led by the RepRap project:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RepRap

In 2009 the patent for FDM technology expired, which allowed MakerBot to begin selling consumer machines:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MakerBot

...which is really when the whole consumer market took off.

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  • [–] 13 points 8 hours ago

    Most good cars have ABS.

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  • [–] 8 points 6 hours ago

    And cars suck anyway. Download good public transport and bikes!

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  • [–] 8 points 8 hours ago

    But I do NEED 1000kg of epstein files... would even get few printers to reduce printing time.

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  • [–] 7 points 7 hours ago

    My ABS engine is good! Warranty is one stroke of the piston.

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  • [–] 6 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

    That's when you use that sinterable filament that's like half metal powder 😈

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  • [–] 6 points 4 hours ago

    There is a process for printing metal parts, it's being used on one of NASA's new aerospike rocket nozzles. IIRC it uses lasers and metal dust

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  • [–] 5 points 5 hours ago*
    [–] 4 points 5 hours ago

    Like I have said it in the past, Australians have already done this. I saw a 2 minute fairbairn youtube documentary and everything, where a guy downloaded a car and offered his friend to go for a ride with him to test it out.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 hours ago

    I saw a 3D printer for metal parts about 15 years ago in a university setting. I don't remember the cost or limitations of the equipment, but they exist.

    If I remember correctly it was printing a batch of bottle openers.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

    Fun fact is that arc welding is sort of a deposition process too. So you definitely can print with metal and not just metal dust, metal "filament" would work. The problem is that you can't print at a precision level AND speed that would make it remotely worthwhile.

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  • [–] 5 points 8 hours ago

    Modern machinery is pretty incredible. I'm not sure how to go back to even steam power days to DIY. Hell, even some of that made back then was pretty precise. Those who do such craftsmanship are amazing.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 hour ago

    I have a bus fit into my PC a car is nothing.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 hours ago

    Well there are printable materials that are super hard like steel

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