3d printers are cool, and the machines themselves are surprisingly cheap. You can get one that does up to 12x12x12 models for about $15K. However, what most pe

3d printers are cool, and the machines themselves are surprisingly cheap. You can get one that does up to 12x12x12 models for about $15K. However, what most people don't realize is the material, usually ABS plastic, is $25 per cubic inch. The machine has to print out scaffolding in addition to the actual parts, so the per-model price can be unexpectedly expensive. Also, since the machine prints by layering rows of plastic on top of each other, the end result is really only rough prototype quality due to the striation on the surface. Often times old-school modeling and molding approaches can get better results for a much lower cost.