Do you think 3d printers will become commonplace in homes?

[vi edit]

Wait, 3D printers are different? I thought it was just another word for CNC machine.

3D printers are nozzel mounted on a arm that can slide side to side and front to back and create a thin bead of plastic that it layers together to make a model of whatever you programed to make. I've seen them used to make 3D shapes of pediatric hearts that were acquired through MRI reconstruction.

 

[vi edit]

Like this:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/15/solidoodle-3-hands-on/

 

[Red Squirrel]

3D printers are nozzel mounted on a arm that can slide side to side and front to back and create a thin bead of plastic that it layers together to make a model of whatever you programed to make. I've seen them used to make 3D shapes of pediatric hearts that were acquired through MRI reconstruction.

Interesting, so they literally "print" objects, as opposed to just carving them out. Guessing this limits the materials you can use though? Like you probably can't make a part out of steel. Well guess you could make it in plastic, then make a clay mold around it, melt the plastic out and cast the metal. So you could make a hard to find part for something, like an old car or what not.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Like this:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/15/solidoodle-3-hands-on/

That's actually pretty awesome! At under 1k that's actually not bad at all.

 

[Cpus]

its amazing how far these have come. Look up the makerbot cupcake then makerbot thing-o-matic(released in late 2010). Then look up the makerbot replicator(early 2012) than the makerbor replicator 2(mid 2012) then the makerbot replicator 2X(early 2013). Amazing how far theyve come. But the price has raised drastically (700- 2700)

 

[BladeVenom]

No, why would anyone need one.

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." -- Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

"While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility." -- Lee DeForest, inventor.

 

[Jeff7]

No, why would anyone need one.

The same reason nobody would ever want a computer in their home, which was the thinking at one time.


:hmm:

 

[Red Squirrel]

The same reason nobody would ever want a computer in their home, which was the thinking at one time.


:hmm:

I like the quote that says something like "in 10 years, computers will weigh no more than 1.5 tons"

it's crazy to think how far we've come though.

 

[Jeff7]

I like the quote that says something like "in 10 years, computers will weigh no more than 1.5 tons"

it's crazy to think how far we've come though.

I liked Adam Savage's video where he had the really old hard drive, and the entire byte of solid state RAM that was as big as a DVD drive - and then they overlaid San Francisco with a computer with 1TB of that same RAM (I know, HDD vs RAM...close enough), and that it would take up something like a cubic kilometer, or something crazy like that.

 

[Howard]

There are 3D printers for metal too. About the only thing you'd need is a lathe and you'd be set.

 

[edro]

Yes, definitely.

 

[gorobei]

There are 3D printers for metal too. About the only thing you'd need is a lathe and you'd be set.

as i mentioned earlier, the metal powder types still require smelting bronze or other binding metals to solidify. that level of metalworking is probably outside home hobbyist neighborhood. how many people can afford to run a ceramics kiln on residential electricity rates, or a glass furnace for art glass blowing?

 

[arrfep]

I can already see stores losing millions of dollars as people buy 3D printers, take them home and use them to print their own 3D printer, then return the original 3D printer within the 14 Day return period...

 

[edro]

how many people can afford to run a ceramics kiln on residential electricity rates, or a glass furnace for art glass blowing?

What?

Small kilns are common. 1-3kW
Fire time is between 6 and 24 hours, depending on the process.

3kW @ 24 hours @ $.10/kwh = $7.20

 

[edro]

I can already see stores losing millions of dollars as people buy 3D printers, take them home and use them to print their own 3D printer, then return the original 3D printer within the 14 Day return period...

lulz!!!

 

[lxskllr]

What?

Small kilns are common. 1-3kW
Fire time is between 6 and 24 hours, depending on the process.

3kW @ 24 hours @ $.10/kwh = $7.20

Must be nice being a 1%er...

 

[gorobei]

What?

Small kilns are common. 1-3kW
Fire time is between 6 and 24 hours, depending on the process.

3kW @ 24 hours @ $.10/kwh = $7.20

out here in california the rates are progressive, the more you use over a certain limit the pricing tiers gradate up. you could be at 40 cents after a few hours, 70cents after a few more, and who knows what after 16hrs. you would need to be on commercial or industrial zone rates to operate regularly.

 

[yhelothar]

no

it's much more efficient for me to buy things cheaply from a mass producer

You raise a point that highlights exactly why 3D printers would be common.

Right now, it's difficult for you to get something unless it's mass produced. That severely limits the amount of products that are available in the market. 3D printers will lift this limit.

 

[SKORPI0]

I can already see stores losing millions of dollars as people buy 3D printers, take them home and use them to print their own 3D printer, then return the original 3D printer within the 14 Day return period...

lulz!!!

I would think replicating itself would be "by default" disabled. You'd need a hack to enable it. Anyway there would be metal parts, how do you print that?

 

[arrfep]

I would think replicating itself would be "by default" disabled. You'd need a hack to enable it. Anyway there would be metal parts, how do you print that?

I dunno, but are there any metal parts in a sarcasm meter...?

 

[gorobei]

question: if you had a laser etching 2d printer/cutter, could you take sheet metal and make a printing plate from a photo scanned dollar bill? that would add a new dimension to counterfeiting.

 

[IronWing]

"My teenager spent 18 days straight huffing plastic fumes in the basement with his 3D printer and now he's an idiot."

I suspect 3D printers will remain a niche item. More common and ever improving but still a niche.

 

[Jeff7]

I dunno, but are there any metal parts in a sarcasm meter...?

The sarcasm meter is much simpler in design than a 3d printer, as it has fewer moving parts, but it still has some microcontrollers in there. The ones that have the Dripping-Sarcasm Accelerator Coprocessor really boost the transistor count. That silicon's going to require very good resolution to reproduce. And I have a feeling that the media needed to print lithium-ion batteries is going to cause a lot of fires. Better print a Class D extinguisher first.

"My teenager spent 18 days straight huffing plastic fumes in the basement with his 3D printer and now he's an idiot."

I suspect 3D printers will remain a niche item. More common and ever improving but still a niche.

But he was kind of innovative, first printing a specialized type of bong out of a temperature-resistant hard silicone compound, before smoking a delightful 70/25 blend of ABS and PTFE (Teflon), with 5% PLA to give it some sweetness.

 

[TridenT]

Lol. Maybe if the shit they use to print stuff isn't weak and is affordable.

Oh, and it would help if it was relatively easy to use rather than a mindfuck and didn't take days to create shit.

 

[Kaido]

3D printers are definitely growing right now. Cubify has one out now for $1299: (ABS & PLA plastics in different colors, plus glow-in-the-dark!)

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671656/cubify-wants-to-domesticate-the-3-d-printer

There's a model out now that does 3-color prints:

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/07/3d-systems-cubex-3d-printer-does-three-color-prints-as-big-as/

Nice video review of a few of them here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbgGmtk6ibo

The new SolidDoodle 3 will be out soon for $799 and has a larger 8" x 8" x 8" work area:

http://store.solidoodle.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=79

And the new MakerBot Replicater 2X is also out (more expensive at $2199) and offers a larger build area, better tools & build quality, etc:

http://www.makerbot.com/

There's some really neat stuff happening! It'd be nice down the road in 5 years or so to swing by Staples and pick up a $99 HP 3D printer and then print out action figures for your kids, i.e. go on Amazon or iTunes and buy a 3D DXF model for a couple dollars and then just print it out. They already have rubber material for 3D printing out (had it at my last job) and they're starting to do metal now (although the process is a bit different), and some 3D printers can even print assembled, moving parts now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmDz7Q9_h6c

Pretty wild stuff!