FDM manufacturers like to make their claim, because they are really using ABS plastic, but it is nowhere near as strong as a molded version. The fibers are very easy to separate, so there is at least one direction in which the part is very weak. In addition, most injected parts nowdays use reinforced plastics…

You could of course be right (and hopefully you are) but your example is about as non critical of a component as it gets.

Shorter version. There are three major uses for a 3d printer.

Can't comment on '93, but I have been using rapid prototyping in '03, and the changes have been less than dramatic. Sure, it gotten considerably cheaper, but not in a way that really matters. I should explain that, product development typically, even for a relatively simple product, is usually in the $100k+ range.…

I really wish that the people who heap praises on 3d printing used the technology. Yes, its getting cheaper, and yes the resolution is improving, but the materials suck. Sure, it's very neat to draw something up on the computer and hold it in your hand in a few hours, but for the most part, you can't actually use it.…

Having the little yellow light come on and having to pay thousands of dollars to turn it back off, all due to a broken gizmo I didn't know existed, or a loose electrical connector that took 65hrs to find (while replacing virtually every functioning part in my car).

If the only thing that's keeping everyone from making $2/hr is minimum wage laws, how come most of the workforce makes over minimum wage? I mean, the employers don't have to pay them that much, yet most do.. wonder what's going on there.

When the NSX first arrived (I'm told) it was about the only high performance car you could drive everyday. All the rest needed too much work on a regular basis, the ferrarris of the world spent too many hours in the shop. Today, that is no longer true, most high end cars can handle the daily commute, and can deal with…

You could, but you'd need to make up the power somewhere else.

I thought it was well understood that very fast cars were rather thirsty. If you can afford to spend a quarter million on a car, then spending a hundred dollars a week on gas should not be a big deal (assuming its your daily driver). Now we get the two cars in one, where you have a super fast car, but we add a few…

No, no, electric motors can be quick, due primarily to their wider powerbands. But they are lacking in power, which is why every electric sport car out there has shockingly low top speed. The faster you go, the more power you need just to keep pushing the air out of you way, which is where the weakness of electric…

When given the choice between a machine that will be fastest for the owner and one that will be fastest for some theoretical perfect driver, most people will go for the latter.

Tires with less side wall flex less, giving you slightly better turn in. The car responds faster when you jerk the wheel, making it feel racy. Also, it becomes much easier to cause understeer. I've seen a number of people demonstrate the superior handling of their car by jerking the wheel to the side slightly at 30-50…

I read home made turbo's and thought someone was making their own turbo chargers. Presumably the housing is cast out of lead by carving a rubber mold with a knife.

1. We have a 16T debt, not a 16T deficit (thank god). A self proclaimed fiscal hawk should know the difference

Is it just me, or does that thing drive like a 14 yo girl? All the jerking back and forth, over correcting, and random slamming on the brakes... I mean, it's nice that computers can now drive as good as a terrible human driver, but I wouldn't call this ready for primetime.

only slightly relater, but does anyone know why trophy trucks have not done well in Dakar?