Subject:
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Re: making your own LEGO parts
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Thu, 16 Dec 1999 16:22:26 GMT
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Viewed:
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634 times
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In lugnet.general, Rose Regner writes:
>
> Michael Horvath wrote in message ...
> > A while ago I was watching the Discovery channel and saw a program in which
> > some scientists somewhere were building plastic models using a computer.
> > From what I understood, there's a big vat of molten plastic which cools and
> > hardens as it rises out of the heated tub. A laser then trims the cooling
> > plastic to the desired shape and dimension. I was wondering if this process
> > could be used to build your own LEGO parts? It would be like having a
> > printer attached to your computer that builds objects instead of just
> > displaying them.
> > Mike
>
> The process is called Stereo Lithography. At least one of the processes...
> It is a laser-hardened low grade plastic that acts as a 3-D plotter for CAD
> files. It is used for prototyping plastic parts.
>
> Problem is cost of the equipment $175,000-and up (way up!). Also, the
> tolerances of the prototyped part are typically less than desirable for
> small Lego-type parts.
>
> Hope this helps
>
> Eric
I believe he process uses an ultraviolet laser that cures a liquid resin into
a solid form.
I know LEGO uses this to prototype parts - in last year's catalog the first
images of Darth Vader's helmet you could see the horizontal lines from the
process. In the current catalog, you can see it in the head of the grey
Triceritops. (sp?)
A good friend of mine used to work for LEGO Futura in Denmark, he has told me
all sorts of stories about prototyping pieces!
JohnG, GMLTC
(youbetcha, remove dat dere ".nospam" to replay, don't cha know...)
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: making your own LEGO parts
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| Michael Horvath wrote in message ... (...) From (...) hardens (...) to (...) attached (...) The process is called Stereo Lithography. At least one of the processes... It is a laser-hardened low grade plastic that acts as a 3-D plotter for CAD (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.general)
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