[Janine is] a super-skilled researcher, and she also has access to some of the coolest toys in existence.
This person is supposed to be a professional writer?
If it is large enough, why not move the laser instead?
In an SLM machine you have a cavity that is filled with a fine metal powder, the laser selectively melts/sinters parts of that, the base of the cavity moves down slightly and more powder is added to the top. Rinse and repeat until you have a solid part in the cavity surrounded by the powder that wasn't touched by the laser. I'm not going to cop-out and give a link to wikipedia, but if you go there and only look at the block diagram you'll see why the bed needs to be moved with precision at least equal to the minimum feature size that you're aiming for.
What this project aims to achieve is akin to 3D printed plastics where the raw material is deposited right where it needs to be instead of selectively converting parts of a much larger amount of feedstock. I suppose you could move the laser if you want, but it on the face of it I think it would be simpler to just use a few mirrors attached to servos to direct the beam where it needs to go.
Just as, nowadays, there's a difference between talking about "gay people" and talking about "the gays"?
Not to me, and I am one of them.
"One of them", however, gives me pause as the us vs. them mentality always seems to end badly.
Top of his blog it says TIG.
The top of his blog post says "using
Of course this would be easily settled if the video showed the machine in action or the blog had any sort of description or diagram of how the machine works on either of the two pages.
Welding identical parts with predictable properties in the same places is one thing, and robots are ideal for it*. So long as there's a need for custom fabrication and patching damaged parts there will be work for human welders.
*Probably why many earlier robots were used for just that, although spot-welding rather than arc.
Laser sintering is commonly used the term when plastic parts are produced: https://www.additively.com/en/...
I'm not sure what you're saying here. If you mean that the word "sintering" is used mainly when plastics are involved then I'm afraid you're mistaken. It's used when referring to sintering as opposed to melting; melting and sintering are quite different and produce very different finished parts. The question of whether plastics or metals are normally sintered or melted is unrelated.
Why would there be any size limitations to laser sintering?
Because the bed holding the part and the powder that's going to be sintered needs to be moved with very good precision. It also needs to be at least as deep as the part you're making. It's generally very difficult to get large things to move small distances.
"If you want to know what happens to you when you die, go look at some dead stuff." -- Dave Enyeart