Someone needs to make sure to send him this link in a few years… The slow, sad, and ultimately predictable decline of 3-D printing
3d printing is changing the world we live in.
From new metals made (entirely by accident) that are 10x as strong as conventional materials all the way to human organs.
3d printing is in its infancy.
Stop being so salty @Taylor_Landry .
Um, I know that, that’s why I said someone needs to remind him he wrote this article in few years when it’s crystal clear he was wrong…
For sure
I see what he’s getting at, but if the tech isn’t out in the publics hands it’s never going to become popular or cheaper. Though when it comes to actually designing things, that I can relate to - I have enough time to fiddle with my currently temperamental Prusa or learn to 3d model. Printing is more enjoyable at the moment, but one day I’ll hit that learning curve.
Of course materials aren’t that cheap, it’s still a specialty item. Once you can buy 10 different types of filament from your local hardware store it’ll instead be half the price, or less. And no shipping.
You can buy several colors at your local hardware store 
hit up the lawn and garden section and buy a good brand of weed whip twine… major suppliers are pretty good at holding tolerance on their twine
I can’t avoid saying the obvious… that the author of that article, John Brandon, is bloody idiot.
In the couple of years that I have been 3d printing I have printed very, very many completely new things for myself, and the house, and my wife’s sewing and craft hobbies, as well as repaired broken plastic items from around the house.
Friends have also emailed me with requests for plastic parts that they have broken, and I have designed and printed for them some very serviceable parts that they are happy with.
The only difficult thing is learning to use 3d design software, but that issue will surely improve over time.
Maybe it is really true that are only a tiny number of people with the skills to use a 3d printer effectively, but my membership of this community makes me think that there are heaps of people who know how to make good use of 3d printers.
This doesn’t feel like a just passing fad to me. More like the start of something new and revolutionary.
Maybe John Brandon is just pissed because he finds it too hard…?
It has a funny side. If you just buy a printer for a saab cup replacement that’s like buying a canon to shoot a mosquito. Unfortunately he contacted the wrong designer. Someone who is not interested into a small design. I can draw that cup in 5 mins with shapr3d on my ipad pro and would have done it for free. I’m using my 3d printer mainly for other people’s projects like kickstarter prototypes. I’m just happy if it pays for the plastic. What do i get out of it is pure experience and fun. Btw my diy printer costed me $500 and has been printing for 3 years. So i guess there is a use case…
I think what he means to say is, “Nobody will make a fortune on 3D printing.” And I’m OK with that. I routinely (ask my wife!) print new toys for my kids. I designed and printed a replacement part for our broken vacuum cleaner. I designed and printed a tablet holder for my wife, then another one for her to clamp to her guitar stand. Don’t think you can tell me the technology is moribund, because it isn’t - because I’m not.
I also think people underestimate the extent that modern mass-market consumer items are designed with marginal plastic parts that are far too easy to break. Especially kids toys.
The time and expense saved by the easy replacement of little broken plastic parts can alone justify the use of home 3d printing, in my opinion.
For example, my friend broke the little plastic pin that holds the hinge on the lid of his wheelie bin used for rubbish collection, and at his request I had designed and printed a working replacement pin in very little time.
3D printing is definitely not dying. Going stronger than ever. However consumer 3D printing didn’t live up to its promises (or hyped) yet.
I would say the 3D printing technology of today is roughly where inkjet printers were 20 years ago. Not everyone have inkjet printers today and even though some of them can make prints on par or better than commercial photo printer business achieve, pretty much none of the printers are cost efficient for photographs. People still have them in their home because the convenience of getting things on paper NOW is worth more than the cost saving having them delivered.
My first printer was an educational tool that helped me understand how things work. My second printer has made parts slightly more valuable than the cost of the filament. I suspect two of my main reasons for buying my next printer will be to save money and time.
I’m frequently asked about 3D printing by clients and friends. Where is it going? What is it good for? When will every house have one?
When I bought my Ultimaker I thought that I would make millions of really useful things around the house. I was quickly disabused of the notion once I realised how long it takes to tweak the design to fit another part. Sure, I repaired or glass shower door which had a weird shaped hinge, but that was six months after I bought the printer. Yes, since then i have made dozens of things around the house, anything from cool for handles to vases and hooks. Yes, my printer runs over 100 hours a week on a quiet week. But designing things for printing is a very different discipline than designing things for injection moulding or milling. And then you have to take shrinkage into account. And the vagaries of the different plastics. And you haven’t even started printing yet. The moment you have a job that requires several runs off the identical part you begin to realise why 3D printing is such a niche.
So, how will 3D printing go mainstream? Several things need to happen. First of all, you will have to be able to simply load your plastic into the printer and then be able to print. No calibration, no bed leveling, no mucking around with adhesion issues. And when the print has finished, the party should just come off the bed hassle free. It should work just like a laser printer. Load the paper, print and voilà. Don’t get me started on supports.
Next, 3D modelling will never be easy. Get over it. Designing anything more complex than an egg cup will never be easy. Get over it.
So, instead of modelling we need two things: manufacturers to upload their parts so people can print spares at home, and designers to create interconnectable parts that muggles can assemble into new and useful objects with relative ease. Both of these have happened already, but with very limited exposure and very limited utility.
All this requires a paradigm shift in our current economic models, so for the foreseeable future 3D printing will sit squarely in the hands of people who like fiddling but are not designers, or designers who like fiddling. Or designers like me who have no choice and need a 3D printer for prototyping and simply live with the reality.
This makes me sound rather grumpy about 3D printing. I’m not. I love the ability to “print my screen”. I’m enthusiastic about the technology. My kids love it, my wife tolerates it, and my friends think it’s awesome. I just don’t advise anyone to buy one however, because they are, in their current incarnation, plug and pray and for the majority of sane human beings a monumental waste of time, money and patience.
$65 for a spool of filament???
@Chris_Jones I pay 80€ per 2.2Kg spool
@Adam_Koncz I still think that a table saw is would be the best comparative product.
I’ve never printed either a Yoda or a tugboat thank u
This journalist’s problem is that he’s equating 3d printing with Makerbot. If that’s all you look at, then yes, the hype bubble has burst and everything is a disaster. But that ignores the many hundreds of small to medium sized businesses that have developed around selling printers, parts, consumables, and the many thousands of small to medium sized businesses that print stuff for some profitable purpose. It’s legitimately the start of a new industry. But the fact that it’s being done by many small entrepreneurs instead of a Facebook or Google just makes journalists stop caring.
A more accurate conclusion would be: 3D printing innovation has slowed, but the steady march towards consumer-ready printers continues.
Yes, it’s hard. I’ve always said that, but it IS getting easier. And prices are settling. Hype is petering out. Opportunists are fading away. But leaders are emerging. The ability to make a 3D printer has turned out to be much less important than being able to run a profitable, well rounded company. 3D printing has no killer app, it has many killer apps with each one in a different niche or field. Arguably, prototyping and one-offs are the killer apps.
Ease of use and user experience is the next frontier. Period. This is where Printrbot is Spending all of its time.
Brook
@Brook_Drumm Spot on. The best thing Kickstarter and its ilk has done for 3D printing is to reinforce how selling a good product sucessfully needs far more than simply a clever idea.
However even once you have a genuine “print and click” printer, you have no way of overcoming the issue of 3D design. This is arguably far more complex than producing a consumer-ready appliance.
No-one needs to know how to make bread to use a toaster or how to sew clothing in order to operate a washing machine. This is not the case with 3D printing.
Beyond the simplest of designs, there is no easy way to model anything. As it is, producing a print that is useful requires much more than simply modelling skills. If you want to sell more machines to make more money to fund research for creating consumer ready printers, you need to get kids to learn 3D modelling and product design.