russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

Recently I went to a railroad weekend where two interesting displays were on hand. One was a working model railroad created out of Legos and the other was of 3D printed model railroad engines and cars. With all the 3D printing going on of cool stuff like this, including human organs and such, are 3D printed cameras and lenses that far into the future?

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

I've seen examples of 3D printed extension tubes and other accessories.
I can see camera and lens bodies being 3D printed but the glass will still need to be made the 'old fashion' way.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Oh, really?? The "glasses" I am wearing are not glass-glasses, rather high refractive pollycarbonate. RWilson.. "don't stand in the door way times are a changin'" as Bob Dylan sang.

"The corrective elements are often made of exotic non-glass crystals, like fluorite. Less often, aspherical molded elements are cast from an optical resin (plastic, if you prefer) bonded onto a more conventional glass element. (These days, the cast aspherical elements are more likely to be glass, not so much because resin is a bad thing, but because of the consumer acceptance factor. The main problem with resin lenses is that they are easily scratched or pitted, which is not really a problem when the element is buried deep within the lens body.) These non-glass elements are usually found in better, more expensive (and longer) lenses, usually to reduce chromatic aberration and approach true apochromaticity."
https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/30157/are-all-dslr-lenses-made-of-glass

bobsisk Loc: Chandler, Arizona

Thanks for helping me increase my vocabulary! I never heard of 'apochromaticity' until today. I feel sure that optical engineers will find other ways to make use of resin glass besides camera lenses that will make consumer acceptability a non-issue. And they'll figure a way to make the resin glass scratch resistant too.

So you're a 1942 vintage? Me too. :-)

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

1942!!! I wish... 1936 is the year...81 gulp!!.
Yep, I find my self looking up words that I "think I know" even if I have used them all my life or "just sensed" the meaning. Especially corresponding with a lady in England... language lexicons differ.

cthahn

If I understand what you are asking, will a 3-D printer make a camera and lens for you. Quit dreaming and go out and take some pictures.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

I would think at least some of the parts will or are being printed now.
At some point I see light being bent by magnets in the lens in addition to or as a replacement for glass.

Machinedoc Loc: Yorktown Heights, NY

IMHO, the short answer is no, or at least not for awhile. (Clearly, this all depends on the time frame "awhile" represents. I have had a 3D printer for about 7 months. It is great fun, and, I have actually printed some accessories for my model trains and some nifty lens cap holders. Bear in mind that what I have is strictly consumer/hobbyist grade. That being said, it can take three hours to "print" a lens cap holder. I am sure that commercial 3D printers are faster, but I don't think they are mass production devices by any stretch of the imagination at this point in time. Also, 3D printers are really extruding hot plastic from a nozzle in layers - printing 3D metal parts requires much more heat. My guess is that CNC machining of precision parts, such as used in cameras, will be around for "awhile." Maybe, at some point in the future, 3D printing using metals will supplant CNC.

Whuff Loc: Marshalltown, Iowa

The company I work for is now experimenting with 3D printing of metal parts and I've seen some parts that are extremely good and precise. It is accomplished by a deposition of metal powder and fusion with a laser. This could actually be a wave of the future.

Walt

bobsisk Loc: Chandler, Arizona

Bill O'Reilly has caused me to grab the dictionary more than once. Or going online works too.