What do you do after you've 3D-printed the world's tiniest functional power drill? If you're Lance Abernethy, you go on to add another miniature power tool to your Lilliputian toolbox. Abernethy's latest creation is a working 3D-printed circular saw that fits in a briefcase slightly bigger than a thumbnail.
According to a report by 3DPrint.com, Abernethy used Onshape software to design the saw and then printed it using an Ultimaker 2 3D printer. The saw has all the usual components of a typical life-sized circular saw such as a blade holder, a saw guard and two halves that form the main housing. The saw parts have a shell thickness of 0.5 mm and a layer height of 21-40 microns. It took Abernethy less than an hour to print the entire thing.
"The saw was just a natural progression from the drill," Abernethy, a maintenance engineer from Auckland, New Zealand told 3DPrint.com. "I would like to be able to make a whole set of power tools just like my Makita set I have. I’m not sure how many I will get around to making though."
Currently it's powered by a small hearing aid battery. While you can turn the saw on by pressing a teeny-tiny button on its handle, the saw doesn't actually cut anything. Abernethy plans to refine the design to 3D-print a saw that does cut, later on.
Check out both the drill and the saw in the video below.
Source: 3DPrint.com
