4 ms·

I think that it depends on your definition of 'foreseeable'. One of the first markets I can see this disrupting are things like war-gaming miniatures, and boar

I think that it depends on your definition of 'foreseeable'. One of the first markets I can see this disrupting are things like war-gaming miniatures, and board gaming pieces, which have a HUGE markup, but could be reproduced in plastic relatively easily after a more few generations of this tech. I'm not sure about patents per-se, but it's certainly an intellectual property issue. Once these printers gain the ability to draw circuits and build or insert basic electronic components, things will really take off, but even before then there are some big markets for what are basically hunks of plastic and metal that are only expensive because they're well designed/marketed. Will you be printing off an iPhone in 5 years? Of course not. But that fancy $60 paperweight on your boss's desk? There's a big market for those too.

arethuza 16y ago
This made me think of what is potentially a very large market - kids toys. As any parent will tell you, an awful lot of toys (especially for young kids) are cheap bits of plastic where the only "value" is the associated licensing of a brand/character from someone like Disney.
- sethg 16y ago
  The relevant patents on Lego® bricks expired decades ago, and you would think clone bricks would have flooded the market by now. And yet Legos still sell—even the sets that aren’t licensed brands. My experience with Mega Blocks, cheaper bricks that are supposed to interlock with Legos, is that they don’t interlock very well—the tolerances are just far off enough to cause frustration. There must be something in Lego’s manufacturing process that keeps their quality high even though, on paper, nothing could be easier than replicating their technology.
  - smackay 16y ago
    There was also an attempt by Lego to trademark the blocks. That would have prevented competitors from creating compatible designs. However this was recently struck down by the European Court, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-judges-rule-out-lego-trademark-2079150.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-judges-rul...
  - Kliment 16y ago
    Lego bricks are easy to replicate on current-generation 3d printers. It's nothing to do with the manufacturing process, it's just that making the molds a bit looser makes them much easier to separate, and cheaper. They also tend to round the peg size up to 5mm, when actual legos are around 4.9. This http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1005 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1005 is a lego-compatible part designed from scratch that describes the issue. Using that, it's easy to make custom parts that attach to legos. Here's one that I designed and someone else printed: http://www.thingiverse.com/derivative:5042 http://www.thingiverse.com/derivative:5042
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    Execution is everything, even in something as apparently simple (it isn't!) as a lego brick. The tolerances, the plastics used, the pigments, all add up to a quality product. The difference is so large that you can tell the 'real' from the 'imitation' just by looking at them, you don't even need to do a trial fit to see which one is which.
- kenjackson 16y ago
  Yes, yes. It's not patents that will be the issue for 3D replicas, but branding/trademark/licensing. I can make the Toy Story action figures for my kids, rather than pay Pixar for the rights. I can make Thomas the Train toys. It's not that there's anything patentable in these items, but the licensing deals associated with things like TV shows and movies takes a serious hit.
- icefox 16y ago
  In the transformers toy world I have been watching this and wondering what it will do. What does it mean to collectors when anyone can just print off that old toy they had as a kid? How about the brand new toy that just came out? On the flip side it opens the world for accessories and addons to existing toys like never before. Or even for all new toys that fit into the existing toy worlds, enhancing the brand if you will. More down to earth and something you can make today with any of those: cookie cutters in any shape you want.
steveklabnik 16y ago
Games Workshop already asserts things like this, they get really touchy if you talk about casting models, and they only allow 'official' plastic in tournaments, etc...
ja27 16y ago
The technology is further along than I'd realized. Probably not economically feasible except for the most marked-up items. http://www.shapeways.com http://www.shapeways.com
wgj 16y ago
The next version of RepRap will supposedly draw circuit traces. It is designed to have interchangeable extruders.
- Kliment 16y ago
  The current one can do that already, with a sharpie. It has managed to replicate its own electronics in this way.

arethuza 16y ago

This made me think of what is potentially a very large market - kids toys. As any parent will tell you, an awful lot of toys (especially for young kids) are cheap bits of plastic where the only "value" is the associated licensing of a brand/character from someone like Disney.

sethg 16y ago
The relevant patents on Lego® bricks expired decades ago, and you would think clone bricks would have flooded the market by now. And yet Legos still sell—even the sets that aren’t licensed brands. My experience with Mega Blocks, cheaper bricks that are supposed to interlock with Legos, is that they don’t interlock very well—the tolerances are just far off enough to cause frustration. There must be something in Lego’s manufacturing process that keeps their quality high even though, on paper, nothing could be easier than replicating their technology.
- smackay 16y ago
  There was also an attempt by Lego to trademark the blocks. That would have prevented competitors from creating compatible designs. However this was recently struck down by the European Court, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-judges-rule-out-lego-trademark-2079150.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-judges-rul...
- Kliment 16y ago
  Lego bricks are easy to replicate on current-generation 3d printers. It's nothing to do with the manufacturing process, it's just that making the molds a bit looser makes them much easier to separate, and cheaper. They also tend to round the peg size up to 5mm, when actual legos are around 4.9. This http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1005 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1005 is a lego-compatible part designed from scratch that describes the issue. Using that, it's easy to make custom parts that attach to legos. Here's one that I designed and someone else printed: http://www.thingiverse.com/derivative:5042 http://www.thingiverse.com/derivative:5042
- jacquesm 16y ago
  Execution is everything, even in something as apparently simple (it isn't!) as a lego brick. The tolerances, the plastics used, the pigments, all add up to a quality product. The difference is so large that you can tell the 'real' from the 'imitation' just by looking at them, you don't even need to do a trial fit to see which one is which.
kenjackson 16y ago
Yes, yes. It's not patents that will be the issue for 3D replicas, but branding/trademark/licensing. I can make the Toy Story action figures for my kids, rather than pay Pixar for the rights. I can make Thomas the Train toys. It's not that there's anything patentable in these items, but the licensing deals associated with things like TV shows and movies takes a serious hit.
icefox 16y ago
In the transformers toy world I have been watching this and wondering what it will do. What does it mean to collectors when anyone can just print off that old toy they had as a kid? How about the brand new toy that just came out? On the flip side it opens the world for accessories and addons to existing toys like never before. Or even for all new toys that fit into the existing toy worlds, enhancing the brand if you will. More down to earth and something you can make today with any of those: cookie cutters in any shape you want.

steveklabnik 16y ago

Games Workshop already asserts things like this, they get really touchy if you talk about casting models, and they only allow 'official' plastic in tournaments, etc...

ja27 16y ago

The technology is further along than I'd realized. Probably not economically feasible except for the most marked-up items. http://www.shapeways.com http://www.shapeways.com

wgj 16y ago

The next version of RepRap will supposedly draw circuit traces. It is designed to have interchangeable extruders.

Kliment 16y ago
The current one can do that already, with a sharpie. It has managed to replicate its own electronics in this way.