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re: Your thoughts on 3D printing?
Posted on 2/11/13 at 2:52 pm to RidiculousHype
Posted on 2/11/13 at 2:52 pm to RidiculousHype
I'm surprised to see some of the doubting responses in this thread. Economies of scale with respect to this technology will render low-grade manufacturing obsolete. This, coupled with the one child policy, could save us from China.
Also, this technology is going to turn the whole concept of Intellectual Property on its head. Unlike ballsacks like wiki, I don't think that's a good thing.
Also, this technology is going to turn the whole concept of Intellectual Property on its head. Unlike ballsacks like wiki, I don't think that's a good thing.
This post was edited on 2/11/13 at 2:55 pm
1
Posted on 2/11/13 at 2:57 pm to acgeaux129
quote:
low-grade manufacturing obsolete
Unless your 3-D printer is coming with 3-d assmebly China isn't going anywhere. And why would we replace low-grade manufacturing with 3-d printing? I can't see how a "printing" process would be cheaper than simple excrusion methods used in mass today.
Posted on 2/11/13 at 3:03 pm to C
quote:
Unless your 3-D printer is coming with 3-d assmebly China isn't going anywhere. And why would we replace low-grade manufacturing with 3-d printing? I can't see how a "printing" process would be cheaper than simple excrusion methods used in mass today.
I just don't think you've got the vision thing on this yet. Yes, today, in 2013, for most people it is much easier to lump in their purchases into their trip to Wal-Mart and buy the cheapest variant of whatever they need that will work. That's "China" - right now. However, as the cost of the printers and material goes down, everything you acquire will be customized, suitable, and made in your living room. People will become their own assemblers because it will become second nature to them. It cuts down on time, money, effort - plus comes with the luxury of you don't need to print it until you need it. Why? Because it's not at the store or at an e-tailer, you already "have it", so to speak, when you bought the printer and source material - it's just not realized until you press the button.
Don't worry, the moment of discovery is coming for many people.
Posted on 2/11/13 at 3:06 pm to C
I'm not sure I follow you. The whole point is to buy a design off the internet. 3-D printers could be as cost-effective and common as personal computers. That being said, theoretically, there is no limit to the sophistication of the machinery, and people could eventually print 3-D printers, for example. Is that going to happen in the short term? Obviously not, but it's pretty conceivable that it will happen at some point in the future, provided we don't nuke ourselves before then. This potential phenomenon is why some think manufacturing in general is on the way out.
Posted on 2/11/13 at 3:13 pm to acgeaux129
So many questions to be answered on this dealing with regulation, liability, etc. it's a very complex issue that inovation alone will have difficulty overcoming.
Posted on 2/11/13 at 3:45 pm to C
quote:
I guess I just don't see a need for owning one if I can just send it to kinkos or other company to produce exactly what I want without having to maintain the printer or materials needed for a specific product. It will be great for inventors, though.
Few people saw the need for their own PCs and printers (for paper
) 30 years ago, and now we all have them. Kinko's is still around though, and I think it will be a similar situation for 3D printing. Some of us will have little home printers, but sometimes we will use the Kinko's of 3D printing for large runs or for producing objects of different materials. 
Posted on 2/11/13 at 3:55 pm to Korkstand
This thread is this chart in a lot more words...
FWIW, I consider myself part of the Early Adopters segment.
FWIW, I consider myself part of the Early Adopters segment.
This post was edited on 2/13/13 at 12:31 am
Posted on 2/11/13 at 4:04 pm to acgeaux129
Maybe I misunderstand but does the 3D printer acutally control the density and other properties of what is being produced? The size and "hardness" of materials is going to vary quite a lot and we are still talking about non-moving objects that have to be assembled and programmed. It sounds like you are talking about nanobots that build things from scratch which I consider to be very different.
Posted on 2/11/13 at 4:28 pm to C
quote:
Maybe I misunderstand but does the 3D printer acutally control the density and other properties of what is being produced? The
I think it does. Stratasys is a company I am currently researching/watching for possible investment. Their YouTube Channel has some examples of current uses of their printers in industry. The coolest is NASA using it for parts of the next gen manned rovers.
This post was edited on 2/11/13 at 4:28 pm
Posted on 2/11/13 at 6:40 pm to C
Well allow me to ex post facto caveat all that with a subsequently anachronistic preface that I am not an expert on the technology at all. I just find the topic interesting and am conveying what I have read in online layman's literature about it. The implications of this could be huge. Admittedly, some of it may be embellished by anarchists who view the technology as a godsend for advancing their utopian ideals...
From what I understand, not surprisingly, this is one of the other major obstacles they are working to resolve. The polymers they use are apparently sturdy enough to create functional tools (LINK ). Supposedly, they are making strides in this area, though. And also, I'm not sure what you mean about programming non-moving objects?
quote:
The size and "hardness" of materials is going to vary quite a lot and we are still talking about non-moving objects that have to be assembled and programmed.
From what I understand, not surprisingly, this is one of the other major obstacles they are working to resolve. The polymers they use are apparently sturdy enough to create functional tools (LINK ). Supposedly, they are making strides in this area, though. And also, I'm not sure what you mean about programming non-moving objects?
Posted on 2/11/13 at 7:27 pm to acgeaux129
quote:. You said you could make a 3d printer. There's a computer in there so it's more than just copying blueprint parts. As far as making various tools the materials need different feed materials when doing extrusion. I assume the same for printers like we do for different colors. And printer inks are often more expensive than the printer itself so not sure how this will be comparable to lower costs.
, I'm not sure what you mean about programming non-moving objects
Posted on 2/11/13 at 8:18 pm to C
Ah, I got you. Definitely, but something like that is more "theoretical." I mainly referenced low-end manufacturing initially, which is why I said this is bad news for China and other developing economies.
And normal printer inks may be more expensive than printers in most cases, but the market for something like this would be astronomically bigger and more complex to the extent that they aren't even really comparable. I'd imagine it would be severely more difficult to pull off proprietary-esque limitations. I also doubt it would be appropriate to compare the technology to any precedent, really, but that's just IMO.
And normal printer inks may be more expensive than printers in most cases, but the market for something like this would be astronomically bigger and more complex to the extent that they aren't even really comparable. I'd imagine it would be severely more difficult to pull off proprietary-esque limitations. I also doubt it would be appropriate to compare the technology to any precedent, really, but that's just IMO.
Posted on 2/12/13 at 10:58 pm to acgeaux129
Should be interesting to see how Wall St reacts to Obama's 3D printing shout-out tomorrow.
Posted on 2/12/13 at 11:48 pm to acgeaux129
Fwiw, RepRaps can print up to 80% of their own parts
Posted on 2/13/13 at 6:51 am to joshnorris14
quote:
RepRaps can print up to 80% of their own parts
Yeah but it's the 20% that matters otherwise you have a paperwieght. Don't get me wrong that I don't see a lot of great things from 3D printing, but not to undercut the cost of other very cheap things. I see it being perfect inventors or if something breaks and you need a small replacement part.
This post was edited on 2/13/13 at 6:52 am
Posted on 5/14/13 at 9:41 am to RidiculousHype
Since the OP, the big 3D stocks:
DDD up from 44.61 to 51.00
SSYS up from 81.58 to 93.00
XONE up from 30.01 to 47.10
DASTY up from 109.45 to 121.32
We've been in a bull market but the 3D stocks have led the way. The question now is can they sustain this momentum?
DDD up from 44.61 to 51.00
SSYS up from 81.58 to 93.00
XONE up from 30.01 to 47.10
DASTY up from 109.45 to 121.32
We've been in a bull market but the 3D stocks have led the way. The question now is can they sustain this momentum?
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