So at Tinkermill.org in Longmont CO, where I am a member, we have 3d printing machines. We also have a good machine shop, and some of the members got together

So at Tinkermill.org in Longmont CO, where I am a member, we have 3d printing machines. We also have a good machine shop, and some of the members got together and refurbished an old injection molding machine. So, we can 3d print a test, then can transform the finished design into instructions for the CNC machine, to produce a mold which goes into the injection molding machine. So far no one has used this to prototype a part that started a business, but that is a great way to use a 3d printer, as a first run prototype which can then be used for other manufacturing. A guy who is designing a game used both the 3d printer and laser cutter to make his prototype board and pieces. We also have a few whizzes who have whipped up replacement parts and e.g. hose adapters for the dust collector in the woodshop. Overall 3d printing is like the early days of the commercial Internet: people intuitively knew it was changing things, but had only scattered anecdotes as proof.