基于SLA的桌面级3D打印机Form 1

Professional 3D printing on your desk: hands on with the Form 1(您桌面上的专业级3D打印机：与Form1一起动手)
注：3D小蚂蚁英文水平有限，部分句子为意译，请大家参考。
  The Form 1 turned heads from the moment its hugely successful Kickstarter was announcedin September 2012. It's gorgeous, sure, but mostimpressive was what it promised -- to bringprofessional-grade 3D printing precision into a price range that just aboutcounts as "affordable", at just over ￡2,000.( Kickstarter 在2012年的九月宣布了Form 1的巨大成功，而时间却如回头一般那么短。它很漂亮，但是最让人印象深刻的是，它承诺带给大家专业级的精度，而且价钱是可接受的，大约只需2000英镑)

Its creator company, Formlabs wanted$100,000 (￡66,000).Itreceived $2,945,885 (￡1,949,884). Thefirst backers have been receiving their printers as Formlabs has beengearing up to start selling to the general public, and Wired.co.ukwas invited to the studio of product designer Yoav Rechesin east London last week for an exclusive hands-on with the Form 1.(创造它的公司Formlabs预期筹集$100,000 (￡66,000)。但是它却筹集到了$2,945,885 (￡1,949,884).这些第一批支持者将会在Formlabs公开向普通大众出售机子之前得到一台Form 1，而且Wired.co.uk上星期被邀请去位于伦敦东部的Yoav Reches（产品设计类媒体）工作室，做一期关于现场操作演示Form 1的节目。)

Reches,a graduate of the Royal College of Art, was approached by Formlabs to lead theindustrial design of the Form 1 last year. Like all 3D printers, the Form 1builds up layers of material -- unlike other entry-level printers, it usesstereolithography, a technique that gives an extremely high level of detail.Formlabs claims that the Form 1's resolution can be as fine as 0.025mm. The MakerbotReplicator 2's resolution is, for comparison, 0.1mm.(在去年，皇家艺术学院毕业的Reches被邀请担当Form 1的首席设计师。就像大多数3D打印机一样，Form 1也是通过逐层堆叠材料，但是不同于其他入门级的打印机，它使用光固化立体成型，一种可以呈现高精度细节的技术。Formlabs宣布Form1最高的分辨率可以达到0.025mm。与此作为对比的Makerbot Replicator 2精度为0.1mm。)

file:///C:/Users/ADMINI~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image002.jpgStereolithography, like all 3D printing, is additive --layers upon layers. It differs in that it exploits light-sensitive materialsthat harden when subjected to certain wavelengths. With the Form 1, a metalplate lowers into a tray of resin, with the gap between the tray base and the plate forming the width of the layer to beburned. A laser then burns the resin into place. TheForm 1's hood is orange acrylic because it needs to perform a dual function --it protects your eyes from the laser, and protects the resin from exteriorlight.(光固化技术，像大多数3D打印技术，也是一层一层堆叠的。但是与这些不同的是它用的是光敏材料，这种材料遇到某种波长的光时将会凝固变硬。Form 1内部有一个金属托盘用于将固化的树脂一层一层的降低，在托盘和基板之间有一定高度差，以此形成可供固化的样层。利用光对指定地方进行照射以成型。Form1 的橙色亚克力外罩有着双重职能，避免光照射到眼睛的同时防止外部光线照射机内的树脂。)

Part of what makes Form 1 so cheap, considering thetechnology it uses, it that is minimises the moving parts that make this work. There are two mirrors that direct the laser, the resin bathtilts to ensure an even layer and then the plate moves up and down. That'sit. Reches said: "Most of the other machines have a lot of components, sothe more accurate you want it the more expensive it is. But we risk less. Thisis how we can bring that quality to the desk of professionals. The leap here is that we managed to harness this technologyto this scale, at this price."( 考虑到Form1所使用的技术，之所以价格如此亲民，很大一部分原因在于其使用了很少移动装置。它有两面反光镜控制着光的方向，树脂液层可以倾斜以确保托盘上的树脂均匀，同时托盘上下运动。Reches说：很多打印机有许多部件和零件，当你追求更高精度的同时也意味着其价钱更高。但我们避免冒这样的风险。那也就是为什么我们可以带给桌面级打印机更高的质量和精度的原因。这次的飞跃，在于我们能够协调这项技术，在这个价格内保持这个规模。)

The Form 1 is roughly a third moreexpensive than the Makerbot, though, and it's probably the most expensivedesktop 3D printer out there with a price tag of $3,299 (￡2,184). It wasexplicitly designed with the needs of a certain class of designer in mind --those who require a higher quality product than can be provided by otherprinting methods, but who cannot afford to buy or rent time on the machinesfound in large firms that cost tens of thousands of pounds.(尽管Form 1大约比Makerbot贵三分之一，但是其 $3,299 (￡2,184)的标价很可能算是最贵的桌面级3D打印机了。它明确定位于某一类设计人员，这些设计人员要求很高的产品质量，虽然这些产品可以通过其他方式制作，但是谁又会花时间去购买或租用，那些动辄十几万的大公司所生产的打印机呢？)

"The goal is tohave a tool for designers and engineers to check their designs before they commit to huge moulds and huge quantities."

Yoav Reches, Lead product designer, Formlabs

(我们的目标是让设计师和工程师拥有一个工具，在产品大规模高质量的生产之前这个工具能够帮助他们核验产品是否存在瑕疵)

When someone buys the Form 1, they're not just buying amachine -- they're also buying a software package and a cleaning kit, so thatmodels can be finished properly. The cleaning kit features brushes and scrapingtools for detaching extraneous parts, and rubbing alcohol to remove sticky,unset resin. "Stereolithography is not the cleanest," Reches said."That's why we designed this kit, because we thought this could be verymessy and unwelcome in your house unless we took the responsibility to dosomething about it."(用户购买它，不仅仅是买一台机器，用户会同时拥有附带的软件包和清洗装置，以便于更好的制作模型。清洗和刮擦工具能够清除外来附着物，同时酒精可以去除未固化的树脂。光固化产品不是很干净，对此我们设计了工具箱，因为不对模型做处理的话，它将给人非常凌乱的感觉，这也是不受欢迎的。)

Since the Form 1's software is for loading up existing models-- rather than building your own -- it's pretty basic (Reches explained thatthe Formlabs team saw no point in trying to add to an already-crowdedcomputer-aided design software marketplace). The model appears floating on agrid and the user can scale and orientate it either by moving their mouse,typing in specific values for each of the three axes, or by using"auto-orientate".(因为目前Form 1的软件是针对已加载在托盘上的现有模型设计的，而不是一款设计软件——这是很基本的（Reches认为在设计软件市场早已饱和的情况下，再投入到其中是毫无意义的）。模型将会呈现在网格坐标上，客户只需动动鼠标就可以测量它或给它定位，定位可以通过输入三坐标或干脆使用自动定位设置。)

This last one is important when it comes to the supportstructures. While the program will work out how many of these are needed foreach model depending on how it's orientated, auto-orientate helpsmanoeuvre it to optimise the structural quality of the final product.Multiple objects can be placed on the grid at any time.(最后要说的重要的是支撑结构。程序将在定位的基础上，自动计算出模型所需要的支撑材料质量和大小，自动定位可以使这部工序得到最大的优化，以得到令人满意的最终产品。)


"The support structure will try to reach any area inneed," Reches said. "You can see the location and say maybe I needless, maybe I need more." The software lets the user customise the supportlegs depending on what they think the structure of the object demands,including thickness and number. However, right now it's only available forWindows. A Mac version is meant to be coming "soon".(Reches：“支撑结构将会出现在所有需要它的位置。”“当你看到模型位向时，可能会说，支撑结构也许可以更少或者更多。”这个软件可以让顾客，根据他们所认为的结构需要来设定支撑柱，包括数量和高度。然而，目前软件只支持Windows系统，预测很快Mac也将可以。)

The software feeds the individual "paths" (orlayers) to the machine, moving into action when done. We'd say it"whirrs" into action, but the truth is the machine is extremely quiet-- roughly no louder than the hum of an old fridge. It's probably possible tosleep with this running in the corner of a bedroom.(打印机里有一块特殊的面板，在机器工作时面板会移动。这就是我们说的呼的一声，工作就开始了。但是机器事实上还是比较粗糙的，机器工作时发出的声音和旧冰箱发出的嗡嗡声差不多。当它在卧室角落里工作时，我们还是可以睡着的，哈哈。)

As the Form 1 prints, it's also clear just how efficient itis with its acrylate photopolymer resin. Reches doesn't bother topping up the couple of centimetres of resin in the bathbefore turning it on, but that's more than enough for a demonstration object --a kind of wavy polyhedron that doubles in on itself (take a look at thegallery) -- to work with. The laser light dances and flickers as it traces theindividual support structures. Slowly, like a reverse-thumbs-upfrom the end of Terminator 2, our object grows outof the liquid resin.（当Form 1工作时，就可以看出以树脂为材料的它是多么的有效率。Reches不用在打开罩子之前，再为了补足两厘米树脂差料而烦恼了，而且对于一个可以成倍复制的多面体模型来说，这些料是足够的，与此同时你可以让它自动工作，自己却可以去走廊上散散心。激光可以根据支撑结构外形而自动调节位置，以使树脂固化。慢慢的，就像《终结者2》结尾描述的反向大拇指手势那样，我们的模型在树脂液上面成型了。) PS：最后一句为美式幽默。

file:///C:/Users/ADMINI~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image003.jpgPrinting takes around two hours, so as we sit and wait Rechesexplains who the Form 1 is actually for. "The goal is to have a tool fordesigners and engineers to check their designs before they commit to hugemoulds and huge quantities," he said. He takes the cover off his old Nokiamobile phone as an example of something injection-moulded. "To make amould like that would cost between ten and 15 thousand dollars. Before youcommit you want to see you're in the clear with that design. There's alwaysbeen a gap between computer aided design and finalising the shape of adesign."(打印需要两个小时，当我们坐着等待的时候，Reches给我们讲Form 1所面向的人群。“我们的目标是让设计师和工程师拥有一个工具，在产品大规模高质量的生产之前，这个工具能够帮助他们核验产品是否存在瑕疵”他说到。他取下自己旧诺基亚手机的外壳，把它类比于一些注塑成型的模型。“制作这样一个模子需要花费1至1.5万美元。当在你想看到设计的实物之前，仍然在CAD与完成实物制作之间有不可逾越的距离。”)

"It gives you the quality of a high-end machine,if you want a high-end finish."

Yoav Reches, Lead product designer, Formlabs

(“它给你一个高端机的质量,如果你想要一个高端的完成。”)

"Scale, material, light, finishing -- a computer cannotprovide the tactile feedback a designer needs. They can fool the consumer, butas a maker, I'm not buying it. For me, it's important to be hands on, and tofeel." (“比例，材料，光线，表面处理——电脑提供不了设计者所需要的触觉反馈。这些可能欺骗消费者，但作为一个制作者，我不购买它。对于我，亲手制作它，感受这个过程才是最重要的。”)


He showed us a3D-printed model of the Wired logothat he made the previous day as a test -- it's delicate, but pretty, andstructurally consistent. Then he showed us two bracelets, printed from the sameCAD model. One, bright red, was printed on an Ultimaker (a DIY home 3D printing machine that uses abiodegradable polymer) "at the highest quality setting"; the other, atransparent example printed on a Form 1 on the lowest setting. The Ultimaker'sproduct is clearly of a poorer quality -- it feels more solid, but as a designartefact it is imperfect, with straggly red hairs everywhere.(他给我们展示了一个Wired Logo模型，那是他前一天打印的，做测试用——它易碎，但是漂亮且结构稳定均一。后来他给我看了两个手镯模型，这两个所用的都是相同的CAD设计模型。其中一个亮红色的，是用 Ultimaker（一个用生物降解高分子DIY制作的家用3D打印机)打印且“采用最高的质量要求设置”；另一个是一个Form 1打印的透明模型，是在最差质量状态下打印的。Ultimaker打印的那个手镯很明显质量差——给人感觉更立体，但作为一个人工制品，它是有瑕疵的，而且很多地方有红色的粗糙的塑料丝。）


"I need quality," Reches said. "I need,relatively, the best quality I can achieve. That was the first thing. All theprinters I can afford, home-ish, the quality is not that amazing. And I have tomake a lot of labour on top of it to make it look like an injection-mouldedpart. At the same time, I like the qualities of something printed on a simplemachine, but if you're designing for the client you can't show them that. It's alimitation."(“我注重质量”，Reches说道。“我需要达到我能实现的最高的质量。那是首要的。所有我能负担的起的家用打印机，打印质量都不能让人感到满意。我不得不做很多后续工作，才能让模型看起来像是一个注塑的成品。有的时候，我能接受一些简单打印机所打印的成品，但是如果你是为客户设计，那很明显你不能拿那些作品给顾客，因为它是不符要求的。”)

"We said, is there a technology that requires littlefinishing -- this just needs a little sanding -- and this machine does it. It'sa small leap. It gives you the quality of a high-end machine, if you want ahigh-end finish."(“我们一直在想，有没有一种可以简化后续加工的技术——只需一点抛光打磨工作就好——这个机器做到了。这算是一个小的飞跃。它给你一个高端机的质量,如果你想要一个高端的完成。”)


Other products Reches shows us include a so-called "gyrocube",four spheres inside one another that rotate independently, yet printed as oneobject by the Form 1, just as a proof of concept. Thepolyhedron thing coming out of the resin looks almost done by now, hangingfrom the plate by dozens of tiny support legs and dripping resin.(Reches给我们展示了一个叫做“陀螺立方仪”的模型，四个独立圆形球体互相结合在一起，被Form 1当做产品打印出来，被当做一个概念验证模型。这个树脂制成的多面体，由许多小的支撑结构，和大量未固化的树脂线条所支撑，以便使之成型。)

"We are pushing hard to develop more materials,"Reches said. "More materials, more properties. A material we are reallypushing towards is a little bit like wax because goldsmiths showed a lot ofinterest in our machine. If I design something on the computer like a ring,then I can cast the plaster around it, you melt the wax, you cast the metal. Ithink materials is a definite challenge, [we need] a pallet of materials thatfit this technology."(“我们在发展新材料的路上艰难前进，”Reches说到。“更多的材料，有更多的性能。我们目前正在研究一种类似于蜡的新材料，因为金斯密斯学院对此也很感兴趣。如果我在电脑上设计一只戒指，那我可以用石膏包住石蜡做的戒指模型，再融化石蜡，再在空腔内填入金属，以此制作戒指。我认为材料是一个确切的挑战，需要有满足这项技术的材料才行。”) PS：此项技术相当于金属铸造工艺里的熔模铸造。

When the Form 1 moves its motors back into position andconfirms that it's finished printing, Reches puts on gloves and takes out theplate. It slots into the cleaning station, where a metal scraper is used todetach it. He rinses it in the rubbing alcohol and that's it -- it's done. You can see the finished product in the image gallery.(当Form 1电机归位，并确保打印工作已结束，Reches带上手套，取出托盘。放置于清洗室，用金属刮刀从托盘上分离出模型，再用酒精冲洗。你可以在图像画廊里看到这些产品。)

"We have worked hard to introduce a new typology into 3Dprinting," Reches tells us. "There are always things you want to do,to improve, but the Form 1's product design is an ongoing process that starteda year ago and is still going on. It will go on until we move to develop new stuff,but for the next year we have a lot of challenges."(“我们已经努力引入一个新的类型学到3D打印中”,Reches告诉我们。“我们总有一些想改善的东西,但是Form 1的产品设计是一个持续的过程,一年前已经开始，现在仍在继续。它将继续下去,直到我们开发出新的东西,但在接下来的一年我们会面临很多挑战。”)

The Form 1's print quality is superb, and its beautifuldesign is distinctive and sleek enough for any designer to want on their deskor bench. The complete package of device, software and cleaning kit doesexactly what it claims to do, and brings professional-quality 3D printing intoa price range that the small designer or studio can afford. It's going to beexciting to see where Formlabs takesthe Form 1 next.(Form 1的打印质量是极好的，它还拥有简洁漂亮的外观，让人乐于接受放置于桌面或工作台上。完善的成套服务如软件，清洗装置，这也印证了他们所宣布的那样——在一个可以接受的价格范围内，给那些设计者和小工作室，提供专业级质量的3D打印服务。这将是令人激动的——看到Formlabs制作的新一代Form 1.)