solidscape

Larry Granec (from Haldeman - Homme, Inc.) brought Jim Westberg from Solidscape to the DCRL yesterday to show us the capabilities of their wax 3D printers. I had invited a few of my colleagues as well as my graduate students, but Pete and Chad were the only people to attend (expect for a few students that happened to be working in the lab). Jim presented a talk on the history of the Solidscape company, their market, the intended and unexpected uses of their machines as well as a detailed overview of how their machines work. I have always been interested in their machines but I have to admit that the small build platform as always been something that made me "walk away". Jim explained how there is a surfacing process by which the wax is "milled" after each layer of deposition that allows the printer to have great accuracy. Jim pulled out samples for us to look at after his presentation. Jim had commented that the Solidscape printers were capable of 6-75 micron layer height. The samples he pulled out were "medium" level in terms of  layer height. These parts were incredible! The hollow "intense pave" ring was unbelievable! You can guess that after meeting Jim and Larry and seeing their wares, that I'm craving to get ones of these machines.