That sounds like something that could work. It’s my belief that in a few more years from now, we will see 3d printers being sold in high street shops and there will be an explosion in ownership. Cue an explosion in demand for tuition. I remember a friend proudly showing me his new Personal Computer back in the late 1980’s. This was before widespread access to the internet and I couldn’t for the life of me, see what use it was (the pc, not the web!). Fast forward just a few years and pc ownership had become more widespread. People went on training courses to learn ‘windows’ etc. Fast forward to the late ‘90’s and ownership was commonplace and if you had a pc you also had broadband.
I think we are at the late ‘80’s equivalent with 3d printing, with the ‘90’s just around the corner. I’m too old and unmotivated now to seize any of the business opportunities but I’m convinced they are there for the taking.
The thing I’d expect to happen before that would be a machine in the back of a hardware store or garage/car dealership — desired part not in stock? Scan it, work up a 3D model, then 3D print it.
I think that’s going to come afterwards, or maybe parallel. Part needed? Access the online STL, print on demand. A major white goods manufacturer, Phillips I think, made STL spares freely available for a new product last year and I expect others will follow suit. But I think the kit for this kind of service will be industrial.
I wish it were true but what we also had in the 80s was people who know how to stay focused and often had skills and interest we don’t have today. Home ownership of computers is WAY down and not only that, users of computers have no clue how they work or even what a filesystem is or where their print jobs go to. They have learned how to click icons and memorized steps instead of understanding what they are doing.
3D printers have been around for decades and affordable for the last 10 years but only recently have they gotten close to being like a microwave oven for easy to use. But 3D printers rust after a short time because people get tired of looking for things to print and it’s too hard to learn how to make something and remember, they mostly don’t have computers anymore.
I too had hopes that 3D printing was going to be one of those game changer devices but the public just isn’t smart enough anymore or focused enough to understand even the basics in order to make them useful. Fine for the geeks and makers though.
I’m going to respectfully disagree, Doug. Almost everyone in the developed world over the age of 5 now has a PC, called a mobile phone, and everyone under the age of 30 thinks desktops are archaic. Most people neither need nor care to know how they work, so long as they do what they’re supposed to. They’ve become just like the microwave. Whereas back when I bought my pentium 286, you HAD to figure out how the blasted thing worked in order to use it. Same thing with 3d printers. When I bought my ender 3 I almost immediately had to get googling about Cura settings, how to get prints to stay on the plate, upgrades, all that. Now, you can buy something like the new centauri carbon for the equivalent cost and get perfect prints out of the box. As for printables, while I find it kind of surprising, there seems to be far more people out there who prefer to buy miniatures and things off cults and other sites than there are people who design stuff. In a way I suppose this is like music - 99.999999% of the world is perfectly content to buy tracks rather than make it.
I often read criticism about the attention span of Gen Z or whatever generation we’re supposed to be on now, and as an oldie, I think this is just the usual oldie thing, that according to us today’s youth are feckless wastrels, they don’t know how lucky they are, when I lived in a shoe box etc etc etc. The same was said of me and mine way back and was no less true. I am constantly impressed by the intelligence and knowledge of many the young people I deal with day to day, even if they do all doom scroll on their phones at every opportunity. True, some will remain as brain dead zombies forever but there were plenty of those in my generation too.
I have both and unfortunately they are not quite operational equivalent but yes, they are getting closer. I’m old enough to have built and taught kids how to build 3D printers when you couldn’t purchase them for under $100,000. The RepRap years and like you I’ve owned an Ender 3 which has been upgraded to near point and shoot capabilities like my Centauri Carbon and the X1C I’d used before it. But I also have taught a couple of hundred middle school kids who not only elected a design and engineering class but were hand selected for the class. The numbers are not there in regards to every home wanting a 3D printer. And a number of the homes do have 3D printers which go unused.
Even at ~$300 way too many ask me to make stuff for them instead of buying the ‘new microwave’ and over the past 13+ years of access to 3D printing, businesses aren’t stepping into the field and providing files for their parts. Maybe something will change in the next 13+ years but since auto-bed leveling and input shaping aren’t new they have reduced failure rates over the last few years. I will add, figurines are not my thing and I had your hopes when I started 3D printing about 13 years ago. Still hoping but not holding my breath.
They have been around, but the science isn’t mature. They are just now getting many different types of media. Plastic, sure.
I tried to have somethings made 3D. I ended up going to a waterjet cutter. It didn’t need steel, but it needed significant torque in multiple directions.
I might have been able to use carbon fiber or something else but their 3D printer for those exotics was down for a part.
I can see a future where Home Depot, Lowe’s or Ace hardware has a place for you to drop off the spec. But I can also see them or Walmart or Amazon creating places in their regional facilities. And of course tied to AI with multifunction robots.
I have paid subscriptions to Grok and Canva. I use Gemini and Alexa plus. I pay to use Vectric Easy Create. Can’t wait to have my robot to help me stay in my home.
I bet when the circle comes around again and schools have General Shop/Trades/Industrial/Engineering class,- not Steam or Stem, the kids will have access to a small 3d printer farm as well as desktop cnc, water jets, lasers, and what comes down the pike just like we, as kids had injection molders, printing presses,bandsaws, drill presses, and sanders. It really was and is about money and lawsuits. Tech class is and was expensive and take up space that schools don’t want to fund. Having access to a 3d printer at your hardware store is more likely, like a key making machine. Your plastic pet rock made while you wait.