3D Printing Not Just for the R&D Lab Anymore

Headlines are filled every day with new, radical applications for the rapidly advancing 3D printer phenomenon. 3D-printed prototypes for developmental models have been around for a few years now, but the paradigm is changing to include finished products. Just as you can send a file for a printed circuit board that you design to a vendor for rapid turn-around fabrication, you can now ship a 3D CAD file to companies that will print your object.

Gears, enclosures, statues, even wearable clothing can be turned out as single or multiple components for assembly. Last week a story appeared about a 3D-printed airway being used to save a baby's life. Available material media and step resolution is not yet advanced enough to make a metal ball bearing, but it will get there. The May 2013 edition of Smithsonian magazine has a good article on the state of the art.

Posted June 2013

Anatech Electronics RF & Microwave Filters - RF Cafe

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...