XPost: sci.space.policy, sci.physics, sci.electronics.design   
   From: gossg@gossg.org   
      
   Jeff Findley  wrote:   
      
   >Also, the other option that 3D printing opens up is more shape optimized   
   >parts.  These things are optimized so that "useless" mass is simply gone   
   >from the design.  They tend to look "organic" rather than "machined" due   
   >to their complex shapes.  I've heard this called "light-weighting" parts   
   >from management types.   
      
   Sometimes you light-weight a part too far.  Back in 1985, my mechanic   
   called me in to look at a repair.  The new brake disk was much heavier   
   and much less "organic".  But the original one warped because it   
   didn't have enough mass to absorb the heat till it could be radiated   
   away, and the manufacturer provided a much simpler but heavier   
   replacement part.   
      
   The new part was so much different looking than the original one that   
   he wanted my permission to proceed.   
      
   (As a 400 pound guy who likes to drive econobox microcars, I always   
   seem to have alignment and brake problems only on the front left.   
   Hmmm?)   
   --   
   We are geeks.  Resistance is voltage over current.   
      
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