For quite a few now we are literally stuck in terms of new FDM developments.
At least on the consumer level machines we use.
Firmware updates happen rarely and slicer updates only too often also come with new challenges we did not have before.
Seems that after getting a higher accuracy, then much more speed we all forgot about the fundamentals here…
What good are high print and movement speeds if our hotends and extruders can’t keep up?
What good are fancy slowing down, PA and pathway manipulations if they are just workarounds for problems caused by physics we keep ignoring ?
And why do we call it 3D printing to begin with if only the resulting model as 3D features while the process is two-dimensional only ???
The only way forward now that would makes sense comes in two forms that should not be exclusive to each other.
Constant flow rate printing and non-planar slicing.
What’s that you wonder ?
Constant flow rate printing is a term used to describe that rather than based on speed the print and extrusion calculations are based on keeping the flow rate as constant as possible.
Won’t be of much help if all you are after is speed but is very beneficial for quality, especially when it comes to flexible and filled filaments.
Non-planar slicing is something you should look up on Youtube - very nice indeed.
Imagine you wanted to print a wing for a plane model or a propeller for boat.
We all know the hassles of FDM, layers and the resulting steps on those curved surfaces.
Hence using a resin printer to get very thin layers we can further smooth out during the curing process.
With a non-planar slicing option we can move the bed during print moves!
So rather than printing flat stair cases we can print smooth and rounded top surfaces with ease.
Of course it requires a less compact head with a low profile hotend to get the best angular approach possible.
Combined it would make a printer more versatile than ever, while also producing far better prints.
So what happened to those pioneers who started it all?
Nothing, they just moved on to things more important in life.
If you have something really great but no one who should have it takes it then you need to think about the money side of things.
We have those nice features and much more already - for industrial printers way out of reach for our budget.
Imagine printing a nice, floating handle for the fishing knife blade you just finished.
Wouldn’t it be nice it the outside would be some grippy and soft plastic?
Not a problem using a 5-axis FDM printer…
You just print is as surface layers on the outside of the handle…
Means that whatever code and coder did not just disappear is long covered by patented or otherwise protected software.
Bring it back to the intended hobby consumer now means having to start from scratch while making sure not to violate existing license systems.
There also the problem of having to drop users into the deep end of the pool to see whether or not they can stay afloat.
You can’t make these fundamental hardware based changes without also supplying a matching slicing engine.
It’s like replacing your gas heater with a heat pump.
Both keep you warm but the later also keeps you cool in summer but they operate on totally different principles.
You can’t provide both, constant flow rate printing AND constant speed changes.
In order to make the first happen almost all calculations that make the later possible at our fast speeds go out of the window.
Same story for non-planar printing.
No big deal to move the bed up and down during a print move.
But those vital calculations to ensure the EXTRUDED plastic is exactly where it should be and that without causing over- or under-extrusion artefacts are a whole new can of worms.
Isn’t it funny then how we now see consumer grade SLS printers entering the market?
Forget about supports, forget about overhang issues, forget about struggling to get enough detail…
If the trend catches on prices will fall as quickly as there will be new SLS printers popping up.
Will be a long while until SLS becomes affordable enough to justify buying a printer for just hobby use.
So is FDM already dead before it reached it’s full potential?
Who knows…
For those needing to make money from their creations it can already by a tricky and costly business leaving little for profits if you pay yourself a wage you can live on.
Those only needing a printed 3D model, even in metal, now have more print services to choose from than ever before.
Also more and more people selling printed models at little over material cost prices LOL
Crying out loud here:
We already print dentures, cakes, houses and pottery items using FDM printers.
It’s like with the freaking car ROFL
Our first cars were electrical but the concept did not work with badly performing motors and batteries heavy as and filled with highly corrosive acid.
So we were only too happy to jump onto the internal combustion engine and to keep topping up oil, fuel and water all the time.
Since those early days we did not really make any meaningful improvements to the overall concept…
Same for FDM printing, we get so creative for things we don’t actually have to print and just keep the crappy engine running it.
FDM, resin, SLS - all just two-dimensional solutions for the same thing, just different materials, liquid, soft and hot, powder.
We had and still have printers with tilt-able hotends, providing two or more individual print heads at a very small foot print.
Does not take much to make this tilting linear rather and on-off.
There even was a printer with revolving hotends.
Rather than tilting left, right, centre it had the hotends mounted on a rotating plate turning left and right.
Imagine someone would abuse these concepts to make single hotend tilt and rotate…
I know, right !? >> Suddenly we could print curved surfaces or overhangs with much better results and far less need for supports.
With added non-planar slicing options we could even get perfectly smooth outer surfaces where so far we require sanding to make it happen…
Think about it and MAYBE with enough people seeing again a real benefit in constant flow rate printing, non-planar slicing and adding two more ‘axis’ to our machines …