Tamiya's printable kits.

Lol....

You may have posted this as a joke, but I think that's one place that 3D printing is heading.  I think we'll get to a point where the printer and the material, styrene or resin, whatever, are cheap enough for most modelers to own.  And kit manufacturers will provide a file that you load in the printer, and produce your kit.  I can see that there would be licensing, so, a single copy is included in the cost of the file, but maybe they offer multiple licenses, for additional fees.

Baron, it wouldn't surprise me at all... Though I think we're still a few years out ;-) Sorry, I just couldn't help myself at 3 or 4 am this morning....  Raymond

How about  a 3D 1/48 P-40B.....printed in styrene.   I can't dream I suppose.......

This really does make a lot of sense from a strictly business standpoint.  Your overhead goes WAY down if the customers are printing the model.  You don't need to actually create a master, or molds, or even purchase the raw materials.  All you need are photos, computers, and some CAD engineers. If it prints out wrong, you just adjust the cad, not the master (no new molds).  Profits remain about the same, if there is an error, correcting it is easy, and after the initial design, the models might actually be a bit cheaper; minus the fact that the customer has to buy a 3D printer and provide the "plastic ink" for the printer.  The rather cool thing though, is that you could probably come up with a design and print it in any scale you want it in.  The possibilities are incredible (if initially pricey).  I think things may go that way as the cost of 3D printing (mainly the printers) comes down.

Groot

ROBGROOT4 makes good points in favor of a company switching to selling the software rather than the hardware.

Don't forget, however, that it may not be possible for us to buy a 3D printer simply because someone "may" be able to print a firearm design with it; both UPS and Fed X have refused to handle shipments of some 3D printers due to this possibility. 

I'd kinda like to print a full size airplane with a 3D printer............

Seriously, it may be that the companies will eventually go this way themselves. And I don't know that it'll be necessary for us to own a 3D printer. Sure, the model companies will have "stock" models of timeless favorites, but it would be fairly easy to build an electronic library of various kits. Then when someone wants one, they place an order, a customer service rep (or a centralized computer) hits print, the right model is printed out on a professional grade 3D printer, someone out on the floor packages the parts and instructions... along with custom decals (hey, while we're at it, right?), and sends it to the shipping department. The customer then has an exotic kit in a matter of a week or two if the model has been developed before hand.

Though I was tongue in check, it would be the initial rendering of a kit that would cost so much. The company could chose to either spread that cost out, or if it's a very unique case, they could chose to have the primary customer foot the bill. Anything they make on top of that would be icing on the cake so to speak.

I think the technology is getting close, if it's not here already. It may be a matter of which is more cost effective, and a matter of if someone is really willing to pay several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars for research and design for what might be a one time build... Still, the possibilities would be endless....  Raymond  

3D huh? Who's got that kind of money for a 3D printer nowadays? Nobody unless you've got some pretty deep pockets. I know I don't nor have the space for one. Heck, I'm not even interested in one.

What's the point of it if it's going to take the enjoyment out of physically building it with your own hands?

BTW - it has to be an April Fool's joke on us.

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

.............

BTW - it has to be an April Fool's joke on us.

The story about the Swiss farmer having a bumper crop of spaghetti has already been tried.

In its current state, the best use of the technology for modelers that I can think of is taking detailed 3d renderings of aftermarket components, sending them to a 3d print house for rendering and using them as masters for resin molds.  I suspect a number of companies already do this judging by the number of 3d images used to display their product on websites.

This one from Eduard for example:

I would say Raymond's third post is the most likely scenario when the time comes where 3D printing takes over mold injected kits.

For a company to actually send complete cad files so the customer prints their own, that would be a huge loss, no matter how much they charge.  Think of it this way, a cad file is sent out to one individual, and then he in turn either prints out or 'lends' the file to five other friends, and so on so forth - this is a lot of potential money lost.  Though I can see part correction for a particular kit done in this way.

regards,

Jack

The whole licencing thing will be an issue down the line - some companies have been know to blatantly copy / reverse engineer injection moulded kits, maybe making some subtle changes & calling it their own...

Not that I'm against it in any way, but it reminds me of the compact cassette which brought royalty free copying to the masses & culminated in high speed twin deck's before technology moved on.

3D printing looks like it may eventually become mainstream, so it will be interesting to see how it's deployed by manufacturers. Would the kit manufactures be able to withstand their products being freely available on "share this" & "torrent that" like the music industry has? I don't see any manufacturers latest kit or re-release being able to fill stadiums around the world to make up for the deficit .    

And then there is the laser cutter!  See the latest Micro Mark catalog. It is even more expensive than a 3D printer- $2K!   Sure, I'd like to have one, but it will have to drop a lot!

I think it's inevitable that eventually model kits will simply be 3-D plans that we print at home ourselves.  But that is many years off.

In the short run, I expect to see it have a big impact on the mod and detail market.  A lot of what we currently buy in resin or photo etch will be supplanted by 3-D printed parts.

In time, the model companies themselves will likely start using the technology.  Maybe for special edition sort kits at first, like minor varients with just a few printed parts added to the kit.

Eventually we'll start to see full kits made with the technology.  Then its a fairly short step for someone to start selling those plans with no physical product to ship at all.  Just download the plans and print your kit at home.

Speaking as someone with over 1000 unbuilt kits at home I think this is an exciting possibility.  There no longer be any need to stock pile such things for fear of what might go out of production.  Just keep the file and print as needed.  And when you loose or break part C7, just print a new one...

Well, they could go into "licencing" with the local hobby outlet. They get the files and print out the modle, the buyer then pays for it and the shop takes a kickback to offset the costs of the hardware. They atleast will have way more of a "turnover" with all the modlers in the area than the single guy in his house printing only for himself.

I am sure there will be a way to "limit" the coppies of a file, just like the microsoft types of files have.

Theuns

I agree licensing will play a huge, huge part in this. With that being said, it can and will drive prices for these specialty 3D kits sky high. Let's not forget the material cost you will need to make your own 3D kits. Heck, even those spools are pretty pricey too.

I bet in a decade we'll see 3-D printers for a $100.  I don't see hardware as a long term problem, it isn't with most other tech.  There may be an intermediate step of physical "print shops"; but I bet they go the way of Blockbuster fairly quickly, and long term status quo will involve home printing.

Rights and copy protection could be a little more involved.  But again, my money is one a workable business model by the end of this decade.  It is possible we will have to pay for each print job and files will self destruct after a single use.  But long term I think we'll see something more open; where you can use a digital plan multiple times, possibly for a month or two (long enough to build a model and print any spares you may need?).

I'm a little hesitant to post on this subject as I just started working for a company that make 3d printers, the company name shall remain nameless at the moment.  but the machines to print a model in say 1/48 scale with engraved panel lines is not there yet in any machine you or I could afford.  I'm sure it will get there in time.

    but it is way cool,  I've already printed a couple of models that I am going to rework into scale subjects.  I'll post them when I get time to actually work on them.  after all these years I'm now working for a really cool/fun company.

John

From what I have seen of those 3D printers appearing in local stores such as Micro Center in Westmont, Illinois

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/3D_printing.aspx?ekw=3D_Printing&rd=1

3D printers are essentially ink jet printers with an added Z axis and a different head.

The steppers may need to be upgraded as they are moving more mass than an inkjet printer, but that is what I understand to be the main differences between the two technologies.

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

3D huh? Who's got that kind of money for a 3D printer nowadays? Nobody unless you've got some pretty deep pockets. I know I don't nor have the space for one. Heck, I'm not even interested in one.

What's the point of it if it's going to take the enjoyment out of physically building it with your own hands?

BTW - it has to be an April Fool's joke on us.

I think you're missing two points about the scenario.  The first premise is that the price of the technology drops to the point where it is generally available (which is the usual pattern with new technology), and the second premise is that manufacturers still produce kits, not completed models.  We'd still build them ourselves.  But as was noted above, manufacturers dispense with the cost of a physical master, tooling the molds and producing the sprues.

Sprue-ce Goose

From what I have seen of those 3D printers appearing in local stores such as Micro Center in Westmont, Illinois

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/3D_printing.aspx?ekw=3D_Printing&rd=1

3D printers are essentially ink jet printers with an added Z axis and a different head.

The steppers may need to be upgraded as they are moving more mass than an inkjet printer, but that is what I understand to be the main differences between the two technologies.

I've seen two types of "printer", one uses extrusion to take a bead of melted plastic and create the 3D shape, and the other carves it from a solid piece of material.  An example of the extruder is the MakerBot.  The technology was borrowed from dentistry, I believe, where it was used to create replacement teeth and dentures.

Gee... I guess I'll have to start working on next years April oneth joke now in order to compete with this years. Still, I'm glad it sparked a decent debate. This is a technology that will be interesting to watch over the next ten to twenty years.  Raymond

What I worry about is proprietary file types for the CAM files, so you need to buy a (whatever brand) translator in order to get the file in shape for your printer.  I hope they use a file type that is one of the standards, but I wouldn't put it  past them to use a little-known or proprietary one.

Don, while I guess it is possible that 3D printers to eventually become affordable for the average modeler, what I suspect is more likely to happen is that you will order an exotic model from a distributor, if not the model company themselves. I just don't see 3D printers becoming mainstream household tools. Not anytime soon anyway. Of course, that's what they said about PCs thirty years ago too... Who knows....  Raymond

Raymond G

........................... I just don't see 3D printers becoming mainstream household tools. Not anytime soon anyway. Of course, that's what they said about PCs thirty years ago too... Who knows....  Raymond

Actually, I read one article explaining that the fashion industry would like to sell shoes to women via 3D printers as a method of  "keeping up with rapid fashion changes" ...............though the idea was to have the printer at stores rather than in homes.

www.ted.com/.../joe_desimone_what_if_3d_printing_was_25x_faster

Bucksco

www.ted.com/.../joe_desimone_what_if_3d_printing_was_25x_faster

Interesting link there, 3D printing hasn't even been perfected yet, these guys are ready to take it to another level.

---------------------------------

When will mainstream 2D printers give us white ink, so we can print our own decals for all those 3D printed kits looming over the horizon?   At the moment I don't know of any decal manufacturer offering decal sets in pdf format so we can print at home.  I wonder if it's just the fact that our desk printers don't have that option , or a wise business decision on their part, hmm .............

regards,

Jack

the Baron

 

Sprue-ce Goose

From what I have seen of those 3D printers appearing in local stores such as Micro Center in Westmont, Illinois

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/3D_printing.aspx?ekw=3D_Printing&rd=1

3D printers are essentially ink jet printers with an added Z axis and a different head.

The steppers may need to be upgraded as they are moving more mass than an inkjet printer, but that is what I understand to be the main differences between the two technologies.

I've seen two types of "printer", one uses extrusion to take a bead of melted plastic and create the 3D shape, and the other carves it from a solid piece of material.  An example of the extruder is the MakerBot.  The technology was borrowed from dentistry, I believe, where it was used to create replacement teeth and dentures.

The extrusion type is the printer most of us are talking about.  The second kind (the carver) is usually called a CNC mill.  While commercially available ones are pretty pricey, there is a big movement of folks building sizes appropriate for modeling, and price for one of those do-it-yourself ones (standard software is available) is quite in line with a DIY 3D printer (lots of folks building those too, with commercial extruders).

Speaking of technology that may get more affordable for most of us, the latest MicroMark catalog features a laser-cutting mill.  It's priced around $1979, if I remember.  I saw that and thought, "In a couple of years, it will probably come down..."