
3D Printing: The Game Changer - nkurz
http://individual.troweprice.com/public/Retail/Planning-&-Research/Connections/3D-Printing/The-Game-Changer
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marvin
I am a bit skeptical of the supposed "3D printer revolution". Machines are
complex and require assembling all sorts of different parts. You can't just
get a drawing of an aircraft engine and have the 3D printer assemble it for
you...and I just don't see how something like that could be likely in the near
future.

To me it seems like some of the claims of how much 3D printers will change the
world are just wishful thinking from us computer people, although I do hope
that the biggest claims from 3D printing supporters come to fruition. Could
someone familiar with the industry point out how these machines cause a change
in manufacturing that goes beyond and has deeper consequences what we have
seen already? (Prototyping, medical implants, Warhammer miniatures, funny
paper lanterns).

3D printing seems like just an incremental development from computer assisted
milling machines. We already have cheap ways to create a lot of stuff. Rapid
prototyping aside, what is it that makes this technology such a game-changer
instead of just a way to do certain, specific things a bit cheaper?

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TrevorJ
I am inclined to agree with you for the most part, however I think eventually,
it does have great potential to change the way we use smart devices and the
'internet of things'. With enough standardization of cheep, small electronic
components, we'd have the ability to roll our own quasi-disposable devices
using a combination of printed components and factory made items.

Here's a silly little scenario I am thinking of: it's Thursday, and I'm going
camping on the weekend. At work I download a plan for a bare-bones cellphone.
I pick the one I want from a publicly curated 'app store' for devices and push
it to my printer at home which orders the standard parts it needs from Amazon.
It knows I've got the battery I need already since it's still sitting in the
RFID-equipped bin at home so that doesn't figure into the cost. When I get
home, the case and simple keypad are printed out. I pop in the PCB substrate
and my printer makes the circuit board the other components will sit on. On
Friday I pop the e-ink screen and cellular chip and sim reader in the device
when they arrive from Amazon and I am ready to go. On Saturday, when I drop my
new phone in a puddle, I'm out about 35 dollars, but my iphone is still safe n
sound on my dresser at home.

~~~
evertonfuller
Or you could just buy a bare-bones cellphone from Amazon and save yourself the
trouble?

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TrevorJ
What 3D printing does to copyright, patent law, and the open source movement
will be very interesting. I think this area may represent one of the biggest
seas of change in the legal arena of the next 100 years. I'm curious it anyone
who is more knowledgeable than I, can speak to that.

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2468ben
I've been researching and trying to plan out how this will all happen for
about 5 years now, and it's amazing how far away we still are in many senses.
Ponoko is a huge step forward, but I would love to work on making the "Napster
of Forks".

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TrevorJ
Yeah, we are a long ways away from these printers being cheap and robust
enough to make their way into daily lives, but it does seem like the tech is
there, it's more a matter of economies of scale, and incremental improvements
that are needed for more mass adoption. I _do_ think that the key will be more
robust capabilities for purpose-built 'smart' devices. There's a limited
amount of utility for the population at large for devices that can only spit
out 'dumb' objects like rings and doorknobs.

I can really see the need for standardization of certain non-reproducible
parts so that the end user can keep a few small parts on hand that can be used
in a large number of possible smart devices.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like the strengths of 3D printing
are such that it will bring about a revolution that doesn't intersect with
traditional products (We won't be pirating iphones and printing them out).
Instead I think 3D printing may supersede traditional devices in some cases. I
might make my own utilitarian cell phone with few features to supplement my
fancy expensive phone.

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nickpinkston
Wow - reporting on 3D printing is soaring to ever more hyperbolic heights.
Going off what Marvin asked below, I think that we're seeing the
democratization of prototyping / dev tools: 3D printing is a part, but so is
TechShop, Maker movement, etc. - however the next thing still to come is the
democratization of production.

Solving manufacturing is a much larger problem than a one processes panacea.
The real revolution should be framed as "digital manufacturing" - this is
making the production process open and connected. 3D printing is sort of the
gateway drug as I see it for the automation / accessibility of most every
manufacturing process.

3D printing specifically, we're hitting some material science / engineering
problems that are far harder than what's being done in making the RepRap
clones. 3D printing has largely the same range of materials as it did 15 years
ago - none of them are close to being as good as even low grade injection
molded plastic. Instead, why not digitize / automate the rest of the 100's of
processes (like milling, injection molding, etc.) - software will always be
faster to develop than material science issues that we're hitting.

Disclosure: I was the founder of a 3D printing company, CloudFab, and I work
with various advanced manufacturing tech.

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chime
I would like to print my own iPhone case instead of paying someone $50. The
day I can go to reddit.com/r/3dmodels, download the CAD file for iPhone that
someone created and shared with others, and print it at my home, will be the
day 3D printing will have arrived. Until then it is still a niche market.

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alanfalcon
I'm just excited about some of the custom gift-giving opportunities that
ubiquitous 3D printing is opening up. See markets like:
<http://www.shapeways.com/gallery/miniatures>

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williamcotton
What's the best 3D printer out there for <$1,500?

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sneak
More importantly: What is the cheapest 3D printer that will reproduce all of
the parts to assemble a working AK-47?

[http://www.quora.com/3D-Printing/How-much-does-it-cost-
today...](http://www.quora.com/3D-Printing/How-much-does-it-cost-today-
June-2012-to-purchase-a-3D-printer-that-can-print-all-of-the-parts-to-
assemble-a-functional-AK-47)

~~~
jboggan
You don't need to assemble all the parts, just the receiver since that is what
is legally considered the firearm. Parts kits (minus receivers) are plentiful,
cheap, and unregulated. Your local and state laws may vary _, but it is
generally legal to make your own receiver without any sort of license or
taxation, provided it is for personal use. I would consider another make of
firearm though; AR-15 type rifles have been successfully constructed with
carbon fiber, polymer, and composite receivers. I've never heard of anyone
doing that with AK series weapons, and considering the stress the AK receiver
is under during recoil (find a slow motion video, it's jiggling everywhere!) I
wouldn't really want to.

_ Mandatory I Am Not A Lawyer Statement

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sneak
Manufacturing a firearm with a 3D printer would be a federal crime in the USA.
That's not why I asked.

I'm more interested in actual costs of the democratization of force for places
that don't already have weapons (unlike the USA).

Stop assuming that this.country == "US" when you talk to people on the
internet, please.

~~~
jboggan
Not a federal crime for some values of "manufacturing":

[http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/firearms-
technology.html#com...](http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/firearms-
technology.html#commercial-parts-assembly)

"Individuals manufacturing sporting-type firearms for their own use need not
hold Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs)." So you could manufacture an AK
receiver but you would have to outfit with a Saiga parts set to avoid falling
afoul of 922(r) restrictions on "assault weapons".

I was only speaking to the U.S. as that is the only system I begin to
understand the legalities of (and that would remotely allow this). The reality
of an insurgency using 3D-printing to manufacture whole firearms isn't
possible yet due to the stresses involved. I've had multiple mechanical
failures due to MIM parts (metal injection molding) shattering in handguns. I
can't imagine the current or near future 3D printing materials being able to
surpass MIM in strength.

It would be more likely to be used to make difficult to manufacture components
for weapons, such as molds for shaped charges.

