Iteration and Repair of Existing 3d Printed Objects Without Re-printing

I have seen the future! Changing already 3d printed objects without the need to 3d print them again! Group of researchers developed this method that uses multifinctional 3d printer with laser 3d scanner and CNC milling head to make changes to the already 3d printed object to add or subtract from the previous design.

You can also repair failed prints and make changes on the fly. The developers call this system "Patching". It saves a lot of time and material. Imagine spending few minutes repairing object that would take hours to reprint!

Seeing it in action is very impressive:




Hopefully this technique will find wider application and adoption on mainstream machines and design/control software.


Project description:

Personal fabrication is currently a one-way process: Once an object has been fabricated with a 3D printer, it cannot be changed anymore; any change requires printing a new version from scratch. In this paper, we propose a different approach: instead of re-printing the entire object from scratch, we suggest patching the existing object and replacing only the unsatisfactory parts. This saves material and reduces waste, making a first step towards more sustainable 3D printing.

This project is a collaboration between Hasso Plattner Institute and Cornell University.

More Information: 

https://hpi.de/baudisch/projects/patching-physical-objects.html

The machine has several additional axis of movement with laser 3d scanner and CN mill head

Patching Physical Objects is a research project by:

Alexander Teibrich, http://www.teibrich.de

Stefanie Mueller, http://www.stefaniemueller.org

François Guimbretière, http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~francois/

Robert Kovacs, http://robertkovax.com/

Patrick Baudisch, http://www.patrickbaudisch.com