

3-D printers: a factory on your desk - mmettler
http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14299512

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anigbrowl
And now, another thread about 3-d printing that is _exactly the same_ as every
other thread about 3-d printing.

 _Reprap can copy itself only not really.

Gee, imagine what this will mean for copyright.

Has anybody read the Diamond Age or Printcrime?! Wow, we're like, living in a
sci-fi novel!

Great, now computers have reproductive organs. We're doomed.

Costs way to much to be useful. Should be so cheap I can leech a used one off
someone else and hack it to perform better.

They don't actually print different materials, only plaster. Does nobody
read?!

Sintering is soooo much better.

3-d Porn in 3, 2, 1...oh wait, it's already here._

    
    
      > Thread complete.
      > Print thread again? (Y/N)

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steveklabnik
I agree with you. They do tend to be repetitive. However, as someone who has a
start-up in this area, it's nice to see it on HN every so often anyway.

Your example posts are all correct... it's just a shame that not a lot of
people are aware of how 3D printers have been improving steadily over the last
few years. For instance, your 'only plaster' comment... lots of people still
don't know that we can print in metal, or multiple materials, or ceramic... or
stem cells. Or how medicine is doing all kinds of crazy things with them. Or
that costs are (and have been) dropping dramatically.

Or that they exist at all.

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anigbrowl
I love 3-d printing - it makes me giddily excited in the same way that
256-color graphics did back in the 1980s. I just wish the discussions would
catch up with the advances! Please put up some info about your startup when
the time is right, or some linkage to where you think the cutting-edge stuff
is, either technically or economically.

~~~
steveklabnik
Well, the startup is called CloudFab. We haven't announced a whole lot, so all
I'll give you is the link: <http://www.cloudfab.com/> We're currently in super
closed alpha, beta coming when it's ready. I'll be sure to post it here when
the time is right.

Well, as for some of the really cool cutting edge stuff, just last week 3D
Systems bought Desktop Factory, and they said that they're commited to keeping
the sub-$5000 3D printer idea alive. We'll see how that goes. There's also
that whole 'print in stem cells' thing...
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80DhBLEhdzk> seems to be good, I'm on a
computer without sound right now, but I think this is the one I saw.

In terms of where good stuff is... I read a _lot_ of RSS feeds. Check out my
PostRank account: <http://www.postrank.com/user/SteveKlabnik> There's a lot of
good stuff in there, including the one replicatorblog mentioned in a sibling
post to yours.

~~~
anigbrowl
Awesome, both you and replicatorblog. Please post more often, you two!

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RiderOfGiraffes
Cross-referenced to <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=806893>

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salva
<http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome>

