The technology is not as far along as some would lead you to believe. The parts are printed with ABS plastic and are not in their finished form. You still need to do a lot of machine and finish work. Also, being ABS they are only good as some interior plastic parts.

Thanks, Tom Hargrave
www.stir-plate.com
www.towercooler.com
www.kegkits.com
www.grow-sun.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of Dave Mcneely
Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2012 11:11 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: printing parts

Does anyone know more about this than I do?  I don't know much, but have read about it and heard a report on NPR.  A year or so ago I read about a couple of guys who were rebuilding a vintage vehicle who had to fabricate their own parts.  They printed them on a 3-dimensional printer.  A day or so ago, NPR had a report about printing parts for washing machines, fishing reels, and cars.  Evidently, if you already have the printer and can program the printing, it is cheaper by far than buying parts.  According to the NPR report, software is now available free or inexpensively.

Perhaps suitable for individuals to make their own parts, or more likely, entrepreneurs could print those no longer available Vanagon parts we all need.

--
David McNeely
-----
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