[HH] 3D print in metal via robot arm mounted MIG torch

[Drew Van Zandt]

I have seen a working sprocket printed with a MIG welder and a 3D table, so
resolution is not horrible.  Minimum line width is still somewhat high even
using the finest MIG wire, but definitely less than 1/4"



*Drew Van Zandt Cam # US2010035593 (M:Agapito Acosta) *


On Sun, Mar 2, 2014 at 6:08 PM, Tom Metro <tmetro+hhacking at gmail.com> wrote:

> This looks like a MIG welding torch mounted on the end of a robot arm:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFF0QQIQDXE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
>
> I'm not sure why we haven't seen more devices like this.
>
> It appears to form a rod shape from the weld bead. All the rods in the
> video are perhaps 3/8" to 1/4" in diameter. It isn't obvious from the
> video is how it produces that shape, but I'm assuming the robot arm is
> either moving the torch in tiny circles, or it is pausing in each
> position just long enough for the weld pool to expand out to that diameter.
>
> It seems to put down materially really fast, but the video may be sped up.
>
> Amazingly it seem to be able to "draw" these rods at 45 degree angles or
> even horizontal without supports, follow graceful curves, and spanning
> tens of inches without falling over.
>
> I've only seen the video, and haven't tracked down any articles explain
> how this works or why it was built. One unanswered question is whether
> it is limited to this 1/4" resolution, or can it make finer details.
>
>  -Tom
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