3 D Printers Going Mainstream?

That sounds great. It's the software side that concerns  me. I'm just not very  computer savvy

I do not doubt the software side will be the thing that keeps a lot of people away and for some years.

If anything like home printers, 3D printer prices will drop enough to attract more people.Right now, they are still too expensive for me due to the high Illinois state and local tax rates.

Perhaps the younger, more tech savvy /  dependent folks will gravitate towards them and spark the introduction of more easily used software...... .Hopefully before I am too old to care...........

If it is anything like in Australia it will be the cost of the consumables that is the killer. A\In Australia at the moment you can by a printer for about 1/2 the price of the replacement ink cartridges. What are the cost of the consumables for a 3d printer?

Even if the typical modeler couldn't afford a 3D printer, I bet a hobby shop could make money back on its investment if they bought one and rented out time on it. Bring your flash drive in with your design on it, print it, pay the hobby shop, and head home with your new stuff. Just like buying a kit. It'd be another good way to get people in the door, too.

Les.61

If it is anything like in Australia it will be the cost of the consumables that is the killer. A\In Australia at the moment you can by a printer for about 1/2 the price of the replacement ink cartridges. What are the cost of the consumables for a 3d printer?

dirkpitt77

Even if the typical modeler couldn't afford a 3D printer, I bet a hobby shop could make money back on its investment if they bought one and rented out time on it. Bring your flash drive in with your design on it, print it, pay the hobby shop, and head home with your new stuff. Just like buying a kit. It'd be another good way to get people in the door, too.

It's good if you're waiting for more user friendly software.  The Makerbot "type" of 3D printers, that use Fused Deposition Modeling, are a long way off from making nice models.  The resolution is too coarse to make complex or detailed models.  Models require a lot of sanding and filling to look nice.

I'm anxious to get one tho!  If they industry can double the resolution, I'll jump at one!

I have used a big 3D printer before and printed a small (about 1/87) scale model of a house for an Architectural Class.  If these new ones can support Autodesk products and maybe Sketchup from Google I bet it will sell well.  SketchUp is easy to learn.  Autodesk CAD products are much more intense but still nice due to all the features.  

Well......I waited for paper printers to improve as I could still print elsewhere.

Unless a 3D Printer Cafe opens, it will be harder for me to resist temptation for as long.

Just saw this morning that the cheapest of the sets to be sold at Home Depot will run around $1400.  They'll have to become cheaper than that before they will become a mainstay with modelers. I find scale modelers pretty cheap when it comes to tools rather than kits or accessory detail sets.

Hi :

    Listen , I meant to chime in the other day . I have a friend who is also an AFOL ( Adult Fan of LEGO ) like me .He's an engineer too ! Still young enough to be in the workforce . He created some fantastic gear sets on a 3-D printer for LEGO users .

    Now , I don't know what kind ( brand ) he used , but those things were awesome . He does a lot of LEGO scale unusual train engines like a gear and shaft driven Shay and others that are quite different .

    Now me , I am still trying to create a GEARING class WW-2 Destroyer . It will be waterline of course and one 5"-38 gun mount is bigger than a stack of six C-D cases on their edges ! He's doing the gear sets so I can remove the housing and lay and train the gun using LEGO steering wheels !

     Anyway Fine Scale Modeler did an article about some fellow who did a field compressor for an aircraft diorama . Even that little scudder was amazing !

    I expect to see more .I have seen the LINDBERG 95' Coast Guard cutter hull done as one piece with one of those marvelous machines . It even had the little gussets inside the wales on main deck level !      Tanker - Builder

I'm an AFOL too!  It's one reason I'd like to have a 3D printer.  There are so many parts I'd like to make for Lego designs.

I remember that FMS article.  The printer used to make the compressor is the more expensive kind that shoots resin instead of ABS or PLA filiment.  Not only are the printer more expensive, the resin is costly as well.  They aren't really for home users... unless you want to go halfsies with me.

Hey ;

Don't I wish . I just barely have room to build . My landlady is a packrat of sorts and her side of the workbench is stuff-alanching over on to my side .Nice thought though. So ; You are an AFOL ? Where do you hang your hat ? TEXAS , I hope .My LUG is TEX-LUG San Antonio. Tanker - Builder