What is 3D Printing? An Overview.

Each of these layers is a thinly sliced, horizontal cross-section of the eventual object. Imagine a multi-layer cake, with the baker laying down each layer one at a time until the entire cake is formed. 3D printing is similar, but just a bit more precise than 3D baking.

It Begins with a Digital File

Each 3D-printed object begins with a digital Computer Aided Design (CAD) file, created with a 3D modeling program, or which was scanned into a 3D modeling program with a 3D scanner. To get from this digital file into instructions that the 3D printer understands, software then slices the design into hundred or thousands of horizontal layers.

The 3D printer reads this file, and proceeds to create each layer exactly to specification. As the layers are created, they blend together with no hint of the layering visible, resulting in one three dimensional object.

Off to the 3D Printer

The 3D printer could be a Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printer, somewhat similar to current 2D inkjet printers but with an additional axis, which deposits droplets of melted material through a nozzle to form each layer. It could be a selective laser sintering (SLS) printer, where the object is built up in a bed of powdered material by a scanning laser beam that fuses bits of the powder together, again, one layer at a time. Or it could be one of several other technologies.

3D printing is also called “additive manufacturing,” using an “additive process.” This is as opposed to what is called a “subtractive process.” To explain the difference, imagine a sculptor chiseling a block of stone — he chips away until he has the sculpture just as he wants it, and then throws out what’s been whittled away.

He began with block of material and then subtracted from it. This is a subtractive process. In the manufacturing world, this is analogous to material being cut, drilled, milled or machined off. But in additive manufacturing, the 3D printer doesn’t take anything away — it simply creates each bit of the object where it needs it, layer by layer, successively, in an additive process.

Commercial 3D printers

While most people have yet to even hear the term 3D printing, the process has been in use for decades. Manufacturers have long used the printers in the design process, to create prototypes for traditional manufacturing. But until the last few years, the equipment has been expensive and slow.

Now, fast 3D printers can be had for tens of thousands of dollars, and end up saving the companies many times that amount in the prototyping process. For example, Nike uses 3D printers to create multi-colored prototypes of shoes. They used to spend thousands of dollars on a prototype and wait weeks for it. Now, the cost is only in the hundreds of dollars, and changes can be made instantly on the computer and the prototype reprinted on the same day.

Some companies are using 3D printers for short run or custom manufacturing, where the printed objects are not prototypes, but the actual end user product. As the speeds of 3D printing go up and their price comes down, look for more and more of this. And expect more availability of personally customized products.

Personal 3D Printers

A Huxley RepRap 3D printer that has printed out its own parts.

So far we’ve only talked about commercial 3D printers. There is a whole other world of 3D printers: personal and DIY hobbyist models. And they are getting cheap, with prices typically in the range of $300 – $2,000.

The RepRap open source project really ignited this hobbyist market in the same way the Apple I microcomputer ignited the hobbyist desktop computer market in the late 1970s. For about a thousand dollars, people have been able to buy the RepRap kit and put together their own personal 3D printer, complete with any customizations they were capable of making. And what’s more, these printers print most of the parts for more printers. Complete self-replication, including electronic circuit boards, is the goal.

The interest in RepRap spawned scores of other low-cost 3D printers, both DIY and fully-assembled, and as the prices keep coming down, it puts 3D printers into more and more and more hands.

But do you have to be an engineer or a 3D modeling expert to create 3D models on your own 3D printer? No, not at all. While complex and expensive CAD software like AutoCAD and Solidworks have a steep learning curve, there are a number of other programs, many free, that are very easy to learn. The free version of Google SketchUp, for example, is very popular for its ease of use; and the free Blender program is popular for its advanced features.

If you don’t have your very own 3D printer, not to worry, there are 3D printing service bureaus like Shapeways and Ponoko that can very inexpensively print and deliver an object from a digital file that you simply upload to their user-friendly website. It’s almost as easy as ordering a custom t-shirt from Cafepress or Zazzle.

Even if you don’t design your own 3D model, you can still print some very cool pieces. There are model repositories such as Thingiverse, 3D Parts Database and 3D Warehouse that have model files you can download for free.

What do all these people print? It’s limitless. Some print things like jewelry, some print replacement parts for appliances such as their dishwasher, some invent all sorts of original things, some create art, and some make toys for their kids. With the many types of metal, plastic, glass and other materials available (even gold and silver), just about anything can be printed.

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3D Printing Methods

Stereolithography (SLA)

3D Systems explains the process of Stereolithography

The first commercially available 3D printer (not called a 3D printer back then) used the stereolithography (SLA) method. This was invented in 1986 by Charles Hull, who also at the time founded the company, 3D Systems. A SLA 3D printer works by concentrating a beam of ultraviolet light focused onto the surface of a vat filled with liquid photocurable photopolymer (resin). The UV laser beam draws out the 3D model one thin layer at a time, hardening that “slice” of the eventual 3D model as the light hits the resin. Slice after slice is created, with each one bonded to the other, and next thing you know you have a full, extremely high-resolution three dimensional model lifted out of the vat. Unused resin is reusable for the next job.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

Also invented in the late 1980′s, by Scott Crump, was Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. With patent in hand, he and his wife founded Stratasys in 1988. With FDM, the object is produced by extruding small beads of melted thermoplastic material to form layers as the material hardens immediately after it leaves the extrusion nozzle. It is one of the lesser expensive 3D printing methods. Most FDM printers print with ABS plastic (think Lego), as well as PLA (Polylactic acid), a biodegradable polymer, which is produced from organic material.

The actual term “Fused Deposition Modeling” and its abbreviation “FDM” are trademarked by Stratasys. RepRap uses a similar process, but has called it “Fused Filament Fabrication” (FFF), so as to not step on the trademark. With FFF, the material is fed via filament from a spool of the material.

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

The 1980′s were big for inventing 3D printing technologies.

Not only were SLA and FDM invented and patented then, but so was Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), by Carl Deckard and colleagues at the University of Texas in Austin.

SLS works similarly to SLA, but instead of liquid photopolymer in a vat, you’ll find powered materials, such as polystyrene, ceramics, glass, nylon, and metals including steel, titanium, aluminum and silver.

When the laser hits on the powder, it is fused at that point (sintered). All unsintered powder remains as is, and becomes a support structure for the object. The lack of necessity for any support structure with SLS is an advantage over SLS over SLA — none to remove after the model is complete, and no extra waste was created. All unused powder can be used for the next printing.
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Keeping supply chains clear by Mobile Devices Liquidation Channels

New high-tech devices are always in demand by consumers. Electronic companies are competing to have the latest technology included in their computers, tablets or mobile devices.

As customers look to upgrade, they often seek a solution for getting rid of their old devices. To improve customer services, chain stores can offer to recycle the unwanted items, e-waste recycling. However, this can place additional strain on supply chains. The outdated computers need to be transported and stored until they can be dismantled and recycled.

Instead of recycling the parts of the devices, companies can create alternative revenue by selling the unwanted electronics through liquidation channels. Clear-Cloud.com is a large reseller in this manner.

Mobile Device Brokers will often purchase used Enterprise-Corporate smartphones or laptops, update them, clean them and resell them at reduced prices, as the old merchandise still has value to consumers looking for a bargain. Liquidating electronics and other unwanted goods can help keep inventory clear and streamline the company's distribution network.

Many Mobile Device Brokers make very decent income this way.

Customers often choose retailers that will take old devices because of simplicity and convenience. Thousands of electronic units are recycled every month as customers look to upgrade their devices. Firms that liquidate the merchandise may be able to improve their overall profit margins.
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"Clear-Cloud.com has been my primary source of income for the last six years and I enjoy having my own business. I have purchased pallets from Clear-Cloud.com and have made a profit of about 500% on my original investment. I continue to check Clear-Cloud.com daily for good deals." – Terry L.

"I always wanted to work for myself but the time was never right. I found Clear-Cloud.com and Amazon, and I have not slowed down yet. I will continue to buy here and make nice weekly money." – Peter Y.

"Clear-Cloud.com has allowed me to become very successful with such a varied lot of Mobile Computing Devices to choose from. – Susan M."
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If you can follow these basic-simple regulations, you’ll make VERY decent income.......see our current inventory of over 7,778 valuable semi-new Mobile Devices....(just acquired from Enterprise-Corporate Off-Loads and Liquidation Channels) and you can acquire , for pennies on the dollar, these NEW Mobile Devices.....make an easy $110 per sale (on your website, Blog, or via swap meets in your area)
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or go our hm page on http://clear-cloud.com to see our current inventory of Liquidated, Off-Loaded like-new Corporate-Enterprise Mobile devices.
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Venture capitalists John Doerr and Ted Schlein of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers have had a front-row seat at Silicon Valley's recent Web froth and its fallout.

Their venture firm in the past decade made a big bet on clean technology. In the last couple of years, Kleiner has also put money into high-profile and fast-growing digital startups, but only after they were valued at $1 billion or more—a far cry from the firm's traditional strategy of investing very early in young companies.

Some of those more recent investments—in companies such as messaging service Twitter Inc., mobile-payments service Square Inc. and music service Spotify AB—have at least doubled in value based on their last private funding rounds.

Ted Schlein, left, and John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, at the venture-capital company's office in Menlo Park.

Kleiner also invested relatively late in daily-deals site Groupon Inc. GRPN -2.61% and in social network Facebook Inc., FB -1.08% whose stocks have disappointed since their initial public offerings.

In recent months, particularly since Facebook's May IPO, Silicon Valley has been grappling with a less-heady startup investment environment. Still, Mr. Doerr, 61 years old, and Mr. Schlein, 48, say they remain confident that the mobile-device revolution will catapult more startups to greater heights.

The two investors recently sat down at their Sand Hill Road offices in Menlo Park to discuss Kleiner's investments in tech and clean tech, as well as their thoughts on the "four horsemen" of the Web.

WSJ: Why did you pay such high prices to get into Twitter, Square, Spotify and others?

Mr. Doerr: If you're working with great entrepreneurs in a rapidly growing marketplace, you have a conviction to work with them and you can be rewarded all along the way. Every one of those investments is leveraging the trends of mobile, social and commerce. These aren't waves of innovation; they're tsunamis.

WSJ: Given such investments, do you think you have retained your identity as a company-builder?

Mr. Schlein: The vast majority of what we do is 'series A' [early-stage company] investing. It's the core of what Kleiner Perkins has always been about.

Mr. Doerr: In the digital sector we have [magazine app] Flipboard, Chegg, the world's best textbook-renting company; and Coursera [offering college-level courses online], which is five months old but already has two million students. Path [a social networking mobile app] is another very successful company.

WSJ: Is the sharp rise in the value of private tech companies sustainable for investors?

Mr. Doerr: What we're experiencing right now is not different from the very early days of the Internet when there were huge winners who more than made up for the losers, and that's happening right now in mobile.

Mr. Schlein: There's a lot of talk about how there are too many angel investors [who invest small amounts in very young companies]….But the main event is that we have 1.2 billion people with smartphones, and that's up 40% year over year and that's still just 17% of the world's population.

WSJ: There's much talk about competition among tech's "four horsemen" of today—Google, GOOG -0.13% Apple, Facebook and Amazon. How do you view these companies and the way they are expanding into each other's turf? (Mr. Doerr sits on the board of Google and two other Kleiner partners are board directors at Apple and Amazon.)

Mr. Doerr: Today, these two products at Apple [holds up an iPhone and an iPad mini] that didn't exist a few years ago are now $100 billion a year of very profitable revenue. That has never happened in any industry in any economy in any planetary system we know of.

The best is yet to come. This is day zero. Apple is not done, Facebook is not done, Google is not done, and Amazon is not done. Those companies have massive opportunity. I would be a long-term shareholder of all of them—and I am.

WSJ: Do you still have the conviction that your clean tech bets from the past decade will pay off?

Mr. Doerr: We're very committed to green and the numbers are showing how that pays off. In 2011, $1.3 billion was the cumulative revenue of all of Kleiner's clean-tech portfolio [comprising about 70 companies, with more than half not publicly launched]. Do you know how much it was this year? $2.4 billion—that's up 80% year over year.

The biggest single trend is urbanization, people moving from rural to urban areas. And if they urbanize the way we did—they can't, the planet can't afford it. Our green investing doesn't depend on government policies. It's about basic supply and demand.

WSJ: When will U.S. policies restricting the number of foreign entrepreneurs and computer scientists who can come to this country start to hurt us?

Mr. Schlein: That takes decades, but if we think we own the right to innovate, we're just wrong. We're doing everything we can to export that when we should be doing everything we can to embrace it. Can you believe there's a cap on H1-B visas [to hire foreign workers]? Innovation is a strategic weapon around national security, our economy, job creation, and I don't believe we do enough in this area.
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Below is a small list of our large inventory of off-loaded Enterprise-Corporate like new Mobile Devices.

For complete list see:

http://www.clear-cloud.com/mobile_device_liquidations.html

4GB 7” capacitive multi-touch touchscreen Tablet Android 4.0 camera, 3G
New
Min order 44
Price per unit $110.00
Off-loaded to Enterprise-Corporate liquidation channels. Original acquisition was 334 units. Now 77 left. If interested email us at clearcloud101@gmail.com or
call 1-661-670-6092. Min order is 44 Tablets. Prior Enterprise owner was Allstate Insurance, Chicago, Il....USA only, NO foreign orders accepted.

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Like New - 8GB 7" capacitive touchscreen Tablet Android 4.0 webcam, 3G
Min order 97 units, $46.75 per Tablet
Prior owner of lot was Farmers Insurance San Francisco, Ca.
A very popular Tablet...an easy sell on your website, or, locally via swap meets.
Original acquisition was 884 units. Now 122 left. If interested email us at clearcloud101@gmail.com or
call 1-661-670-6092. Min order is 97 Tablets. Prior Enterprise owner was Farmers Insurance, Austin, Texas....USA only, NO foreign orders accepted.

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What You Get When You Enroll In the Clear-Cloud How To Be A Mobile Device Broker Program

Up to date training in latest techniques for success in the HUGE market of reselling Enterprise-Corporate semi-new valuable Mobile Devices. Such as Notebooks, Netbooks, Smartphones, Android Tablets, Mobile Hotspots, and more.

Your own personal Mobile Device Broker Instructor-Mentor. He will guide you each step of the way - from how-when to acquire the Enterprise-Corporate Mobile Device Off-Loads....then, how to effectively sell them on your Blog and, or your Website. Your Broker Mentor-Instructor will also show you how-when to commence your participation in the $7.7 Billion Dollar “USA Underground Economy.” What’s that mean ? you ask....well, it’s 100% legal! It means selling the Mobile Devices you’ve acquired at local and regional SWAP MEETS. It is huge, and easy and fun too! Your Instructor will guide you through every step.

As a Registered Mobile Device Broker you gain the ability to acquire the semi-new, in demand Mobile Devices from us (Clear-Cloud.com) or via the many powerful, trusted Web Sites that carry the Enterprise-Corporate Mobile Device Liquidation Off-Loads. At prices literally “pennies on the dollar.” Then you’ll sell each Mobile Device you’ve acquired at VERY handsome profits.

We at Clear-Cloud will also help you to “spruce up” your Blog and-or Web Site....to announce to the world, effectively, your Status as a Registered and Professional Mobile Device Broker.

Yes, you CAN fairly easily make around $2000 to $5000 weekly doing this.

Contact us NOW at
clearcloud101@gmail.com

http://clear-cloud.com/enroll.html

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