

The Crowd Loves 3D Printing - jheitzeb
http://www.hackthings.com/the-crowd-loves-3d-printing/

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DaniFong
I wish the 3D printing enthusiasts would spend some time learning about the
fantastic capabilities we already have in making useful things. We have CNC
mills and lathes and grinders and cast makers and mould makers, we have
industrial robots and super spiffy warehouse robots, we have automatic
measuring machines and moving machines, we even have pneumatic flying
cranberry sorters, we have many, many amazing things.

3D printing isn't the first, and it still can't make good machine parts.

I realize well enough that what some dismiss as toys may in decades to come be
foundational to how we do things, but the point is that future isn't really
here yet. To those who believe they can bring it faster, good luck and
godspeed.

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phy6
Do you sincerely think those advancements are lost on common 3D printing
enthusiasts?

It's not that it's some magical piece of tech, it's that the freedom to make
things is now in a form palatable to lifestyles of non machinists and 3D CAD
enthusiasts.

A mid grade consumer 3D printer may cost the same as a used Bridgeport with a
CNC retrofit, but what good is that for the hobbyist in the city with no
dedicated workshop space?

The point is 3D printing is relatively clean, relatively inexpensive way to do
fun, plastic prototypes designed on a computer. It's also very non-intrusive
to the casual hobbyist's life, to the point it can be done in a 400sqft studio
without pissing off a landlord.

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DaniFong
You could be right but it sounds to me like you're back fitting a story.

3d printing has a much more convoluted history than that. It's not trumpeted
as something for hobbyists to make fun plastic prototypes. It is being
heralded as the future of manufacturing. There once was, and still is, hope
for making actual useful components.

3d printed prosthetics. 3d printed casting moulds. 3d printed blood vessels
and kidneys. 3d printed jaws. 3d printed mass customizations. 3d printed
drones. 3d printed RepRaps. Clearly the tech press has been going mad for the
stuff.

But one shouldn't believe the hype: your makerbot cannot do any of that, and
even the nifty flexing Objet printed business card I received (which must have
cost $4 to make) broke after a few months -- I have a shard on my desk.

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Laremere
While the technology is coming and I can't wait when they're commonplace, I
think it says something when the models shown next to printers aren't
practical objects. Many people like these trinkets, but I'm waiting to see
stuff which is more useful. This means right now the cost of a 3d printer is
only really justified if you have an interest in them. They still need to
prove their function before they become something like cars, where even those
who have little interest and knowledge in them use them because they provide
so much value.

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ejlowry
I agree, there are way too many tchotchkes on sites like Shapeways and
Thingiverse, and way too few useful products. I wonder what the first "killer
app" for 3D printers will be. That said, I think they are already practical
for prototyping or DIY tinkering projects.

~~~
jamesmcbennett
I think digital-to-physical manufacturing is so much bigger than 3D printing.
<http://fabsie.com/blog/3d-printing-vs-3d-cutting/> and that CNC routing (3D
cutting) is likely to find killer apps far faster than 3D printing is capable.

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tjoff
Not in the eye of the mere mortals. Those 3D-cutters are just something that
exist somewhere in a factory, could just as well be a black box. Most couldn't
care less, you can't own a 3D cutter, unless you are really dedicated. Anyone
can own and tinker with a 3D-printer.

Even the difference of being able to play or rent a 3D cutter at work or
through some service, or iterating something at home that you've made
yourself, where the only real cost to it is your time spent having fun, is
game changing.

~~~
jamesmcbennett
If you restrict the debate to the maker movement and people at home owning
machines, I completely agree that the average joe can't own a large 8x4 3D
cutter and never will, yet they can own a basic small format 3D printer.

But the average joe is unlikely to own a kiln either and unlikely to own any
form of industrial pre+post-process. Disruptive manufacturing is my main
interest as well as the new models of digital distribution. I believe the home
will be an extremely limited means of production, but indeed a computer
controlled plastic extruder (3D printer) will be an accessible technology many
can own.

