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Do you sincerely think those advancements are lost on common 3D printing enthusiasts? It's not that it's some magical piece of tech, it's that the freedom to m
by phy6 14y ago
Do you sincerely think those advancements are lost on common 3D printing enthusiasts?
It's not that it's some magical piece of tech, it's that the freedom to make things is now in a form palatable to lifestyles of non machinists and 3D CAD enthusiasts.
A mid grade consumer 3D printer may cost the same as a used Bridgeport with a CNC retrofit, but what good is that for the hobbyist in the city with no dedicated workshop space?
The point is 3D printing is relatively clean, relatively inexpensive way to do fun, plastic prototypes designed on a computer. It's also very non-intrusive to the casual hobbyist's life, to the point it can be done in a 400sqft studio without pissing off a landlord.
- DaniFong 14y agoYou could be right but it sounds to me like you're back fitting a story. 3d printing has a much more convoluted history than that. It's not trumpeted as something for hobbyists to make fun plastic prototypes. It is being heralded as the future of manufacturing. There once was, and still is, hope for making actual useful components. 3d printed prosthetics. 3d printed casting moulds. 3d printed blood vessels and kidneys. 3d printed jaws. 3d printed mass customizations. 3d printed drones. 3d printed RepRaps. Clearly the tech press has been going mad for the stuff. But one shouldn't believe the hype: your makerbot cannot do any of that, and even the nifty flexing Objet printed business card I received (which must have cost $4 to make) broke after a few months -- I have a shard on my desk.