Brooklyn-based 3D printing factoryVoodoo Manufacturinghas unveiled a prototype of its automated 3D printing production line. Under the name Project Skywalker, the team are using a robotic arm with the hope of increasing production rates by up to 400% in the next 3 – 5 years. The aim is to be able to compete with the production capacity possible in traditional mass-manufacturing methods.
Project Skywalker机器人手臂的时间过夜。剪辑通过Voodoo Manufacturing在YouTube上
“from 160 printers today, to ten-thousand 3D printers tomorrow”
在公司YouTube频道上发布的视频剪辑中, Voodoo Manufacturing CPO Jonathan Schwartz, shares their vision for the future. He says,
Our goal is to make manufacturing more like software, and make it accessible to anyone who wants to make a physical part or product.
In the same clip, Voodoo CEO Max Friefeld adds,
当我们启动Voodoo时，很明显机器人技术将是公司的关键部分。这就是我们将如何将未来的公司从今天的160张打印机缩小到明天的一万架3D打印机。雷电竞app下载
The integrated robotic arm is indicative of an Industry 4.0 Smart Factory of the future,as seen in the University of Sheffield’s Factory 2050 in the UK.
How does it work?
Skywalker Project的机器人臂已编程，以从9台3D打印机的簇中收集成品。雷电竞app下载
它通过滑出构建板并将其添加到输送带中来做到这一点。然后，它从堆栈中取出新的盘子，然后在3D打印机内取代它。随附的软件然后告诉3D打印机，它可以再次开始打印。
整合机器人组的生产率提高，伴随着潜在的90％的生产成本，在接下来的3 - 5年中。CPO Jonathan Schwartz补充说，
看到它全面运作the first time was amazing. We ran it unmanned overnight, and in the morning it had been producing parts for 14 hours straight! We’re now excited to deploy it at scale and increase our factory’s capacity by close to 400%.
Freeing people to think
凭借一台能够每周7天每天工作24小时的机器，Max Freifeld回答了自动化周围的主要问题之一：所有的事情都会发生什么人类jobs? He says,
The robot arm is almost actually entirely about flexibility, and making our system more flexible for the people. The robot might take over these menial, repetitive tasks that aren’t really meant for humans, and that’s going to free up people, so that they can go do what people do best: which is think.
He also comments on manufacturing jobs returning from overseas outsourcing,
The jobs that are coming back are going to be more focused on building a system, working together with automation, and running a factory in a way that is actually a lot more human friendly.
与大众制造竞争
2016年11月，3D印刷行业报道了a $2 million investment in the robotic operation of 3D printers. The money was awarded to Oregon based startup companyTend.ai谁开发了基于云的编程，以使机器人臂“趋向”多台机器。
另一个项目看自动化对3 d打印ing is run by Dutch independent research companyTNO与大型3D打印机制造商合作BigRep, based in Germany. TNO’s Print Valley project uses a conveyor belt system for FFF 3D printing of multiple objects.您可以在此处了解有关合作伙伴关系的文章中有关该过程的更多信息。
FFF自动化在印刷谷项目中。剪辑通过TNO在YouTube上。
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特色图显示了Skywalker机器人手臂项目，将成品构建板添加到输送带。通过Voodoo制造照片
