These machines are lots of fun. We have the Z406 at work. I will warn you, they say “rapid” prototyping, but that is still a very relative term. Printing times are usually measured in hours (depending on the height of the object being printed). But still much faster than other methods and totally reproducable. The materials that you print with are a little expensive, but you should be able to get a return on the investment in no time.
Happy Printing!
I’m looking forward to it Kelly! 
As a gemcutter, gemstone carver, and jeweller, I already have a market for the output, in the form of lost-wax ‘masters’ for jewellers…I do a little of that now for gemcutting clients, and they pay $200.00+ for models now. Being able to design them on a computer, and eliminating the use of wax pens, and other tools would be a great step forward, but my main interest stems from a desire to have the pieces OUT of my computer, hence the subject line of this topic.
Also, Electronic Arts, the game designers have their head office where I live, and they would jump at the chance to have reference models for the animators done here, rather than L.A.
(And as a carver of stone, hours mean VERY little to me, compared to the millions of years it takes the materials I use to form! 
)
Heh, good point on the millions of years to form a gem stone versus a few hours to print a part!
That EA deal sounds like something to really consider. Sounds like you are getting ready to have a lot of fun.
Have you ordered it yet?
Actually, at this very time Kelly, (and I’m typing this on a break…), I’m carving a family of dolphins out of a 2.5" Tourmaline crystal as part of a package that will probably pay for this…So the answer is that I haven’t ordered it yet, but hope to in a few weeks. There is a wait of 6 weeks for delivery, and I will be using that time to move to new studio space, which I have wanted to do for a while now anyway…
I do a variety of things, and want a place to set up Rapid Prototyping, a recording studio to do soundtrack work for an animation I’m working on, and gem and jewellery sections…
Since I intend to electroplate and electroform the models I produce, as well as airbrushing them, I will also need an expanded workspace for those purposes as well, with a fume extractor setup so I don’t poison myself…! :eek:
So, I’m on the first step of a GREAT adventure at this point!
So what do you guys do with your stereolithography equipment?
Hey Stonecutter! I always wanted one of those! After you start making some cool cash from your new business, check out this link http://www.sensable.com . I think you will love the software/hardware they have. I know you will love the phantom arm! Please post some images of what you create from your new toy!
Thanks for a GREAT link, Sirquadalot!
I’ve bookmarked this baby!
(You had me when I saw the ‘Chicken Run’ figure! That’s one of my favorite movies, and one of the few that I LIKE Mel Gibson in…(He makes a HELL of a rooster! 
)
And as soon as I have this hooked up, I fully intend to post some of my old ZBrush models here…
I don’t know how I missed this thread for so long.
Great stuff! 
Good luck, Stonecutter!
I had my wife’s engagement and wedding rings custom designed. The wax models sent to me for inspection were very unfinished. I assume that the wax model needs to be oversized and ‘blocky’ so that the cast metal object can be polished down to the finished size. I also assume that there cannot be any undercuts in the wax model. Is this true?
What advantages does the Z-printer have over the wax model process?
Actually Jay, models don’t need to be ‘blocky’ at all…The models I do in wax look almost exactly like the finished piece. I’m assuming that the jeweller you dealt with was just being cautious, and not ‘painting himself into a corner’ in terms of design.
The Stereolithography process has no problem with undercuts, hollow designs, or anything else. The only requirement is that there be a way of vacuuming out the loose powder from the interior. On the link I posted to the company site, they show a working ball bearing model! All the spherical bearings are free to move within the ‘bearing race’…
This temple is an example of the finished product, (In this case done with a Poser ‘prop’ as a source…) The question that Frenchy asked, regarding a ball inside a cage illustrates perfectly the lack of restriction in production. There is another illustration I’ve seen, that has a temple, with a circular shape, surrounded by columns, with a human figure based statue inside…
As far as jewellery models or any other models go, if you want an exact size, there is a formula to allow for ‘shrinkage’, and if you want, you can make an exact ring size for instance by employing this formula…
The advantages over the normal wax process are too many to name, but you could start with the fact that this machine has a layer resolution of .003" to .010", and that it is MUCH easier to design on the computer a finely detailed geometry, without making yourself crazy! If you look at Frenchys’ question and illustration of the ball inside the cage, that would be VERY difficult to produce in wax…
You would have to make a sphere out of water-soluble wax to build the cage on, use a wax pen to draw the cage itself on the surface of this ball in non-soluble wax, wash out the water-soluble wax, split the cage, add the ball, then weld the cage together around it…
The stereolithography method?
Build the model in the computer, hit ‘Print’…
In addition to your lost wax models, are you going to be offering your services for people in the ZBrush or computer graphics arts community to have their models printed?
Hey W/O!
As a matter of fact, I see the lost-wax masters production as a ‘pot-boiler’…In other words, that pays the rent on my studio space, and covers the overhead…
The main reason I’m getting into this is artistic. So the answer to your question is very much YES! Since I’ve been a member of the forum, I’ve seen dozens of people saying things along the lines of:
‘Gee…I wish I could make a LIVING from CG work!’
Well, why the hell not? The problem is that if you do a fine piece of work, then what do you do with it? Sell prints? Use it to get work in the industry?
Well, if you take that piece you did a long time back, I think it was called ‘Loneliness’, but I’m not sure…It was a figure sitting in a room, composed of a 3D grid, in a large chair…(I thought it was BRILLIANT by the way…)
Now in Stereolithographic methodology, you would take the models you made, starting with the grid structure, and import them into the computer…Once you had the structure in the computer, you would import the chair, and place it into the structure, followed by the figure…You would then print the whole thing, and suddenly your graphic piece is a ‘real-world’ sculpture!
Alternatively, you could produce all the pieces, finish each part, and then assemble the parts…Given the accuracy available, all the parts can be a perfect fit with each other…You also have the ability, within the software to scale and modify the models any way you want. (And you could also place an image into the window, or alternatively a hologram…)
The larger model of the equipment, which I plan on obtaining in the future when financing is secured, (since it costs $190,000.00… :eek: ), enables printing in full color, with 24 million colors or thereabouts!
So, when I have ths up and running, I will post some ZBrush pieces here, and along with that, info for the members regarding pricing and options of finish…I hope to make some dreams come true! For others, as well as myself…
Droool :eek: 
They do look very very cool indeed. I got to see a similar machine at the 3Dfestival in Copenhagen. Didn’t hang around to watch it do its thing but saw a couple of finished works. Looked quite good. Can’t remember what it was called/who made it. But I do remember it being fairly big and not as sleek looking as any of the machines Zcorp has on offer. You might find pictures of it in one of the recent 3Dfestival threads over at CGtalk.com.
Anyway, hope you get one and share pictures of a couple of Zbrush models. Then I might consider buying one myself… after working 1800 consecutive night shifts
It sure is cool when you can afford such a machine and maby let it earn itself back
But the topic made me think of a futuristic thought Ive been having over the years wich seems to come closer every day
We all want our computer to produce real effords like in 2D plots or Graphicprinting
and CTP platemaking and in the music world where there are pads wich you can hook up to a computer music setup to play in the air like it seems
I think one day we will be able to interact with true materialised projection
wich will be the input and output at the same time so we can sculpt and paint splash in real 3D.
See it like a plasma colon build of nano elements wich can constantly reorder in shape texture and color maby even odor
The only thing better than the real thing is you can record it
But by that time we probably will live in a retro back to our roots carving stone and
mixing paint
Well just got carried away again
It is a cool machine you are going to buy
and I wish you all of luck in establishing your buissiness
Interesting conjectures, Dave…
(But I DO already carve stone! )
cool thread, Monsieur Stonecutter – of course every kid on the block will want one now
“2003 C.E. – after this point, all archaeological findings are suspect”
p.s. Dave Dunn – I have a disturbing feeling that our current organopresence is something like the entry-level graphire pad, and we will all be upgrading in 10 or 20 years – but maybe that’s a red herring (false lead) and we will all be wandering network nodes then :eek:
and some more p.s.'s
WingedOne, our friend on Monster Island … some guy at MIT wrote a book about nanotechnology, “Engines of Creation” which was exactly about crafting micro-organisms programmed to create something in a soup with the right elements – that was a while ago, and I think we are almost there
[off-topic tangent of a tangent deleted – this is what Jay responded to below]
gary komar :): cool posts overall since you have joined ZBC, and the model on page 1 of this thread reminds me of me, some guy who wears sport-boxers but drinks too much beer, and practices levitation, just in case it might work
[EDIT]
Removed remarks that are out of context, especially since the previous post was changed. [/EDIT]
well, i admit that i opened the door to off-topicness, but i will respond privately to Jay
Is it just me or would this be a great time for some people to edit or delete anything that does not relate to the original topic? :qu:
Sir If this message is not to the point Im most willing to remove it
But as the matter is I am not allowed to do so I tried
I didn’t want to turn Jay’s response into a non-sequitur, but I have deleted my political remark – I will try not to digress that way in the future
Hi StoneCutter! Sounds like you will be cutting new trails! (Pardon the pun) It is wonderful that you are starting this new business venture and I am anxious to see the results and the price list. I’m also curious about the size of the finished product. What a brave new world for you! 