Hi I’ve only had a small introduction into 3D printing, but could someone please tell me the capabilities of this technology and what it is good for. I am thinking about changing careers when I’ve saved enough and with this being an up and coming technology/capability is it viable?
Thanks Iain
Some companies making money off of 3D printing are Makerbot, Makergear, Lulzbot, Shapeways for some ideas. Most of the community-based 3D printing is around Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) with plastic filament, with some photo-sensitive resin-based technology as well. The FDM parts are generally strong and are used for parts of other printers. I don’t know that anyone but hobby printers would use the parts as an integral part of their product, but many companies use rapid prototyping services that are very expensive, and that is another avenue for an intrepid printer owner to make a living for him/herself.
Thanks for the info tony. Basically your saying if I go down the avenue of 3D printing for a income generally it’s going to be prototype manufacture. As for the list of companies I will further investigate thanks.
For now it’s only an thought that is going to be put on the back burner. But with the way things are I’m looking for a niche market I can move into. And was hoping this might be it. I heard of these 3D printers a while back and I am quite tech savvy. So I would be hoping to do quite a bit more research before putting any money down on one. As for the use of modelling programs it shouldn’t take me long to get the jist of it. I was just wanting a quick brief on the capabilities of this new tech and to what degree was this viable as in income source for the future.