3D Printed e30 Parts

[anabolice30]

Generally, they make a soft plastic replica of the thing you want. Sometimes they have rough grooves / lines along curves and complicated shapes. You have to reverse cast that shape into a real metal part, then machine it to be accurate and within tolerances.

Right, but there are printers out there that can print in a cobalt compound and I hear they are developing a 3D printer that even uses graphene, which is a really cool material!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene

[LateFan]

Generally, they make a soft plastic replica of the thing you want. Sometimes they have rough grooves / lines along curves and complicated shapes. You have to reverse cast that shape into a real metal part, then machine it to be accurate and within tolerances.

[anabolice30]

Well, I think it is safe to say that within the next decade 3D printing is gonna be really big. Like, how computers blew up in the nineties, 3D printing is gonna blow up in the 2010s. They'll still probably be expensive, and the ones you can afford will probably have some issues. But think of it. All those glorious e30 parts printed for the price of the raw materials.

How does r3v feel about 3D printed parts? Do you think it will ruin the culthood of the e30? Do you think people will be snobs about having original nonprinted parts? Are you excited that parts will become so cheap, or upset that the supply is gonna go way the hell up? Just for those who say this isn't feasible for the near future it is already being done.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130927-40-chinese-students-made-a-race-car-using-3d-printing.html

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/extras/articles/jay-lenos-3d-printer-replaces-rusty-old-parts-1/