3d printing might not have had the huge impact expected for it in the consumer world, but in the professional world printing is hugely important. Getting a phys

3d printing might not have had the huge impact expected for it in the consumer world, but in the professional world printing is hugely important. Getting a physical model of your cad file overnight from a black box at your desk or in your model shop is a workflow game changer. Make an ergonomic change to your grip? Test it out almost immediately. Manufacturer needs you to change the draft on your shell? Print it first before sending it out and make sure everything still fits. When previously you had to make engineering accuracy models all day in the shop or get a part made by a small run manufacturer, now prototyping and testing variations from cad can all be done in house. Consumers might not be directly benefiting from the advent of democratized 3d printers, but they are benefiting in the gains of efficiency at the firms designing their goods