Thursday, September 05, 2013
The Microfactory: A machine shop in a box
Kickstarter: The Microfactory project began one year ago when four friends, longtime members of an independent maker space in Somerville, Massachusetts called Artisans Asylum, came together to create a better prototyping and machining tool....one that was easy to use, self-contained, and capable of a truly impressive list of tasks. They independently financed the development and testing of five full versions of the Microfactory, resulting in the exceptional product featured here. The Microfactory was entirely conceived, designed and built by people who have spent their lives around machines, who wanted to make something truly revolutionary and highly usable for makers everywhere.
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9 comments:
The Microfactory has many applications for model making and possibly props. It doesn't seem that this type of 3D printing technology is economically accessible yet. It does however seem to be a rapidly growing field so I look forward to see what capabilities lie ahead which is why it is important to learn the functions now.
This seems like a really cool little box. I wonder though if there would be any applications of making a larger version for like a full sized shop. I thought the idea of combining additive and subtractive machining techniques was really innovative, and especially in theatre where there are often really large, but strange shaped pieces needed, this could be useful. I also liked what they were saying about the noise reducing capabilities and wonder if those could also be transfered to a large scale production application.
The idea that in one box you have both an additive process and a subtractive process is really great. I personally think that all the affordable 3D printer technology is not really useful for what we do due to speed and resolution. The fact that this machine has a variety of plastics that can work with it is really interesting but I wonder how many inclusions and internal defects come when it prints clear brittle plastics. The number of things that can be printed and milled on this is great for a garage but the speed and the power just aren't useful to scene shops yet. This could be really cool in a prop shop that fabricates lots of detailed carvings and molds. Overall it is cool but until this has a positive reviews and proof that it works with minimal maintenance problems I would not waste my time.
I don't know about this Microfactory thing. It seems to me like this is a great example of people building and buying far more then they need or will use because they say to themselves "I might need that one day". I thing that cnc/3D printing is a great and all around awesome thing, but I don't think that this all in one machine is the right way to do it. I can't see it actually doing a better job at milling the a stand alone milling machine or better at 3D printing then a stand alone 3d printer. The problems that they say they have with the tools that they were using before they made this can all be solved without making an all in one machine. The fact that it costs over $3000 for the cheapest model means that it is going to have a very hard time in the hobby/education market. This means that they will be fighting for the professional market that doesn't have the same problems (like not enough space) that they were trying to solve. In the past I've seen a Kickstarter project that has since been successfully funded, that was working on a cnc machine that could be used as a milling machine or a 3d printer or an etcher as well as many other tools. The difference was that it was just the tracks that move a head in 3d space. You had to add the tool of your choice by your self. This means that it's not as easy to use but it's far more flexible and costs far far less(just a few hundred dollars).
The microfactory is really cool and yet again I ask, how will the the microfactory help me be a better TD. I have not figured out how to make this happen. ALso currently the school is in the process of buying a 3d printer and why am I excited so I can geek out and print a 3d model of a Stargate. So not sure about this thing. It is really cool.
Akiva raises a good point. While both a 3D Printer and a CNC router have their advantages, by combining them both into one machine it would most likely result in the diminished functionality of one or both of these processes. There are soemthing in the world that should be combined, printer/faxer/scanner, but I don't think that all of the tools of the shop in one box will make for a good idea.
The new explosion of 3D printing technology seems to be taking off in entertainment very quickly. This machine combines both printing and milling into one package.
This is one of the ultimate tools for props masters, scenic designers, and technical designers.
For properties, the machine has a large enough working envelope to produce decently sized hand props or negative molds for casting. The machine also has a tight enough tolerance to etch printed circuit boards for small stage electronics.
Scenic designers can literally print entire scenic units for their models. Instead of a foam and mat board suggestion of a unit, designers could have an actual scaled model of the real units.
Technical designers may actually have the most director production use for a machine like this. Prototyping scaled versions of larger machines would be possible without having to send the job out for fabrication. Production components of smaller machines could be manufactured completely in just this box.
According to the manufacturers website, the largest version of the machine can also mill softer to mild alloys of aluminum. The smaller machines only mill wood and plastics.
This is a very cool machine. I’m very interested to see how large the working envelopes on 3D printers get in the coming years, and how the entertainment industry puts them to work.
This looks like a really cool product but from the looks of the kickstarter page, it doesn't look like they'll be able to fully fund it. I've never worked with a 3D printer or a milling machine but I would love the chance to and if this machine makes those more accessible I'm all for it.
I do see Akiva's point about maybe trying to do too much with one machine and that maybe they should have focused more on one aspect than trying to combine everything.
I also definitely see the possible applications in the theatrical world for building props or printing scale models instead of making them by hand. It definitely looks cool.
I think the tendency to remove the process from machining that this machine embodies is a mistake. It seems to me a lot of these new machines really serve the purpose of allowing designers and technicians to be good at only one thing: using a computer. Our physical connection to the materials, machines and processes that have literally built our world are slowly eroding away, replaced by a digital hegemony that increasingly encourages us to rely on the computer to do just about anything. I think it's similar to the way the supermarket (and really I guess refrigeration us to blame for the supermarket) has completely changed our connection to what we put in our bodies, the computer has changed our connection to what comes out of our minds. Some would say the computer has "revolutionized," our way of thinking. For me the jury is still out on the true cost of our slow descent into the screen.
And while I applaud small groups like Mebotics (why does every new company name have to include a pronoun?) of people having an idea, funding it privately, and making a go of it, I share some of the concerns voices in previous comments. I wonder how good a machine that does everything can be at doing anything. They claim a highly stable "z" axis table, but a machining table is a very different sort of animal than a 3D printing or even routing table, and I wonder what kind of tolerance we're really talking about here. Also, I noticed that the "upgraded spindle" on the "Machining-Only" model appears to be a Porter Cable Laminate Router, in which case, I'd hate to see what the "standard spindle" might be.
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