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January 25, 2013

Open Source, Powder-Based 3-D Printer Has Full-Color Potential

By Amanda Lang

PWDR is an open source, inkjet-based 3-D printer that has the potential to bring a Wizard of Oz-like range of color to the previously black and white world of additive fabrication. Unlike the MakerBot and RepRap printers that build objects by melting plastic, or the Form 1 that uses a laser to cure resin, PWDR works just like a desktop printer. An HP inkjet deposits a liquid binder, mixed with ink, onto a layer of white gypsum powder. After th ...

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PWDR is an open source, inkjet-based 3-D printer that has the potential to bring a Wizard of Oz-like range of color to the previously black and white world of additive fabrication. Unlike the MakerBot and RepRap printers that build objects by melting plastic, or the Form 1 that uses a laser to cure resin, PWDR works just like a desktop printer. An HP inkjet deposits a liquid binder, mixed with ink, onto a layer of white gypsum powder. After the printhead passes, a roller bar drags a thin layer of powder across the surface and the process repeats a couple hundred, or thousand, times. When completed, the printer looks like a fish tank full of baby powder and the model needs to be carefully removed, dusted off, and dipped in clear glue that infiltrates the part and solidifies it. This process is essentially the same as what ZCorp 3-D printers offer and opens the potential...

Authors Bio:

OpedNews volunteer from 2005 to 2013.

Amanda Lang was a wonderful member of the Opednews team, and the first volunteer editor, for a good number of years being a senior editor. She passed away summer 2014.


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