Author: Fletch

Is 3D Printing Dangerous?

Post author By Fletch
Post date 04/01/2015

When a certain type of person– teen to mid-20’s guys — find out that I am a machinist, often the first thing they ask is, “Can you make me a silencer?” Yes, and no I am not breaking Federal law so you can pretend you are James Bond. But no one really questions if mills and lathes are going to make the world less safe through the spread of guns and backpack nuclear bombs. Can 3D printing be used to make dangerous plastic guns that can escape metal detectors? Will we all be able to be John Malkovich in ‘In The Line of Fire’, ready and willing assassins with undetectable guns? Do you have any idea what I have done for God and Country, Frank?
Most likely, no. First off, running a 3D printer will probably never be as easy as a photocopier. There will always be some skill and art involved in making things, even with 3D printing. Well, at least until they perfect the Star Trek replicator. But I digress. Adrian Bowyer makes an excellent point in the video– ANY manufacturing technology can be used for making dangerous objects. Any gunsmith has a lathe and mill, and could conceivably make a complete gun from raw stock. On the whole, we try to see the potential benefit from advanced manufacturing, because that will be by far the end result, not a massive spread of Jello Biafra’s “harmful matter.”
Check out Mr. Bowyer’s RepRap project, while we are on the subject– a 3D printer that can replicate itself.

Tags 3d printing, DIY

Machine Shop

DIY 5 Axis CNC Machine — Big!

Post author By Fletch
Post date 03/31/2015

I came across this Youtube channel earlier, with videos of a 5 axis gantry type router CNC machine a guy in Armenia built for a friend of his. It’s not the fastest CNC machine (at least not in the videos I watched), but he sure did give himself a lot of travel! It has a tool changer (of sorts) and everything. It looks to be running on Mach3 software. It’s been said before– the only limits are your imagination. And how much steel you can get your hands on. I’m pretty sure that is implied. If I had time– and a shed– I’d love to build a CNC router like this.

Tags CNC, DIY, home shop

TECH NEWS

The High Cost of China’s Manufacturing

Post author By Fletch
Post date 03/25/2015

China has experienced a huge amount of growth in the last 30-40 years, due in no small part to their vastly-increased manufacturing capability. Some of that has been aided by currency manipulation and government intervention, but a lot of it has just been an increase in capacity. While that has brought more proseperity to China, it has also brought a huge amount of pollution, through a lack of environmental controls or ignored environmental regulations. There is hope that China can change, for their own sake, as well as the world’s. One child interviewed in this claimed to have never seen a star in the sky, which is just heartbreaking.

Books and such

Factory Man

Post author By Fletch
Post date 03/23/2015

I haven’t had time to read this book yet, but I am hoping to soon. For now, I’ll mostly let NPR do the talking. Still, this is the kind of story I like: battling to keep manufacturing alive in America.

“We haven’t been on a huge growth spurt since the furniture factories started closing down [in the ’90s],” Macy tells Fresh Air‘s Dave Davies. “It’s better for the economy when we make things.” – Beth Macy

I couldn’t agree more. The book is the story of John Bassett III and his family’s Bassett Furniture Co., In Bassett, Va. The story is typical for a lot of manufacturing in America: production sent overseas in search of cheap labor. Bassett is different in that they company resolved to keep production here in America, which hasn’t been easy.

The full story from NPR Books

Tags Manufacturing

Shop Tips

Old machinist quotes

Post author By Fletch
Post date 03/17/2015

I’ve had the pleasure and honor of working with and learning from several older machinists over the years. The knowledge they’ve given me has been invaluable of course, but sometimes their sayings and bits of wisdom have been even more useful! A few examples:

“Look, there’s a lot of ways to do things in machining; some people do things my way, and other people do it wrong.”

“I’m no stranger to hard work– I’ve seen it done!”

“No matter how many times I cut this, I can’t get it long enough!”

“If he wasn’t afraid of burning his fur, I could teach a monkey to MIG weld.”

“It’s a CNC, not a microwave. There’s no magic wand in the spindle.”

“Some guys, the best day they have at work is when they aren’t screwing anything up.”

I know there are a lot more, I just can’t remember them all off hand. I’ll try to add to this list as they come to me.

Tags shop humor