3 ms·

3d printers are in a weird transitional state. We are long past the point where every prototype shop has a decent 3d printer, yet we're still (seemingly) years

• burfog 10y ago
  There are lots of obviously useful things to print, but printing them is expensive and difficult. I looked into replacing a door shelf for a huge Samsung refrigerator. It's a $2000 refrigerator with $50 parts that constantly break. I could buy a new part every few months, 3D print something suitable, or give up and just replace the refrigerator. Step one is getting a model. Everything is organically curved. Ugh. This is impossible. Well, putting that problem aside, let's just throw together an approximation so that I can get a price. It's a bucket about 20x30x40 cm, and needs to be about 5mm thick. To survive longer than the original junk, it'll need to be made out of something decent. The first thought is naturally titanium. Woah, expensive! The second thought, reluctantly, is laser-sintered nylon. Woah, expensive! I don't want to just go thinner, but I could carve out some holes or leave ribs. This is getting complicated. Woah, still expensive! It's a good thing I didn't put the effort into somehow making a model that would perfectly fit the organic shape. My effort would have been wasted as soon as I found out the price. I bought a new refrigerator. The old one is still here, growing mold, because I can't get it out of my house.