Scan foot and print shoe

You are currently viewing Scan foot and print shoe
Joe DiMarco demonstrates 3-D printer (Photo Credit: Sofia Clinger)

The past met the future at the historic Chadds Ford Inn Wednesday night.  A 3-D printer was busy producing a linked chain for the members of the Business and Professional Association of Western Delaware County. The Inn, home of Brandywine Prime, served dinner as members saw objects produced by a printer.

No assembly is required. One of the most amazing features of the printer is that fully formed objects are produced. Linked chains have loops connected. Boxes with hinges are assembled and fully functional directly from the printer.

For larger projects, components can be printed then assembled.

Joseph DiMarco, Vice President of Excel Office Equipment, demonstrated the printer and teased the audience with the possibilities of such a device.  He suggested that someday you may have your foot scanned and a custom shoe will be printed.

While the printer is not viewed as a process for mass manufacturing because of its speed, it is very well suited to prototyping and custom individual products.

The printer works by feeding a cord from a spool into a heater which melts and shapes it into layers. The layers are applied successively until the object is complete.  It took about 20 minutes to produce a 5 inch chain.

The cord used was made from corn based filament. Other materials can be used as well.

The printer can take directions from different computer programs. An engineer or an architect can design an object using a CAD (Computer Aided Design) program. Alternatively, objects to be copied can be 3-D scanned. The printer will reproduce the object from the scanned image.

The chain produced was one color. DiMarco picked his company color, orange. There are 3-D printers which can produce full color objects. Instead of one spool feeding the printer, there are four Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black, just like the four toner cartridges in a common computer color printer.

The model on display was Maker Bot Replicator 2. DiMarco said that his current approach to selling the range of 3-D printers they plan to carry is to show people the possibilities.

The price point printer makers are aiming for is from $500 to $1000 for the printer to come into common usage. As the objects were passed among the audience, one could literally touch the future.

DiMarco is available for questions at 302-453-1500  x 102 or visit website at www.exceldigital.com.

 

About Emily Myers

Emily Myers has lived and worked in Chadds Ford for over thirty five years.  She founded the parent company of Chadds Ford Live, Decision Design Research, Inc., in 1982.  ChaddsFordLive.com represents the confluence of Myers' long time, deep involvement in technology and community. Myers was a founding member of the Chadds Ford Business Association and currently serves on its board of directors.  Her hobbies include bridge, golf, photography and Tai Chi. She lives with her husband, Jim Lebedda, in Chadds Ford Township.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply