Imagine crafting a sculpture: you would first take a block of stone and then chip away at it until you reach your desired shape. So you are “subtracting” some of the material from the original block. 3D printing uses “additive manufacturing” which does the opposite — in this process, you would add in layers small amounts of the material you are using until you have the product.
Micro layer by micro layer a 3D printer builds up a three-dimensional object that has been preprogrammed into the machine. The machines are not your traditional HP printer either, they are a technological marvel in their own right. Their price of these machines has dropped substantially but still run upwards of two thousand dollars for a hobby sized unit.
The ink too, is a sort of resin that is heated and melted as it’s printed, but dries almost immediately in place. Inks range from plastics, metals and highly specialized materials for specific purposes (like printing customized dental crowns!). Like any 2D printer companies, 3D printing companies make a fantastic margin on ink sales, and will admit most of their profits comes from ink.
How does it know what to print? data. Designers, engineers and hobbyists create product designs from computer aided design (CAD) or animation modeling software. They can upload them to a server and the designs can be freely shared online, so anyone with the same model printer can produce exact replicas. No one can deny that 3D printing is really cool from a purely technological standpoint. The idea that physical objects can be rapidly fabricated from digital files is fascinating, and could change the world. However, it’s very possible that we've all gotten so caught up in the 3D printing hype that our collective hopes have been unduly raised. 3D printing is going to spur a legitimate manufacturing revolution; just not in your home. It is true that the technology is rapidly coming down in price.
You can get a MakerBot these days for about $2000. In the next few years this kind of consumer 3D printer could get down to a few hundred bucks if you buy smart on Black Friday. Just because something is affordable, though, doesn't mean people actually have a use for it.
The overwhelming majority of homes don't need a 3D printer, and that’s not really going to change. Most of us barely even use our 2D printers anymore! If you look at the kinds of objects being printed in these low-cost 3D printers you will see art projects, semi-professional design work, and knickknacks. Printing an MP3 player shaped like a cassette tape might be neat (I think so), but it’s not an example of practical at-home use. In the next few years, I suspect we’re going to see disillusionment with the idea of owning a 3D printer.
The machinery will be cheaper and more capable, perhaps integrating a larger array of materials, but most people still won’t have a real use for them. If you don't want one now, you probably won't want one in a few years. There’s always the hope that 3D printing will provide a way to fabricate replacement parts when something breaks or wears out.
This might even come up for you occasionally, but how often? A few times a year? It’s probably not worth keeping a 3D printer in the house for those rare occasions. We live in a world where the things we buy are increasingly becoming non-repairable; just look at how much harder car and computer repairs have become. You won’t be able to fix as many things in the future, but 3D printing might have a role in making those non-repairable items in the first place.

The way this technology changes everything isn't in your garage, but in local manufacturing. When 3D printing hits the point that complicated items can be easily created, that’s how it’s going to be used in industry. Yes, this technology will trickle down to the future equivalent of the MakerBot, but it won’t ever be as good as what you can get if you head down to your local professional 3D printer or hardware store. Don’t feel too down — 3D printing isn't going anywhere as the insane levels of hype die down.
You’ll be able to buy them and print increasingly neat stuff as time goes on. However, at-home 3D printing will remain the domain of enthusiasts. Most people will be perfectly happy to buy items that were printed elsewhere with higher quality machinery than they have the desire or inclination to run. Cheaper high-quality products will make it to stores thanks to 3D printing, and you will probably be able to get custom items printed for a pittance. We don’t need to treat 3D printers like personal Star Trek replicators for the technology to change the world. There are a ton of 3d printers on the market, with new ones coming out every week and plans for new versions constantly in the pipeline. This makings finding the perfect printer a tough process.
Variables to Consider:
Speed – Some 3d printers build at a slow 20 mm/s while others can print at 100 mm/s. On larger builds this can save hours. .
Quality – The precision of the machine is extremely important. Some printers look like something made as a hobby while others look like injection molding and the precision is such that you can barely even see the extrusion lines.
Price – 3d printers can vary in price greatly – you can get a kit for $400, or a fully assembled machine for $2,000+. On the very high-end there are $25,000+ 3d printers, like the ones Shapeways uses.
Noise – Some printers can get pretty loud when the fan is running, while others sound like a normal printer.
Ease of Use – How much tinkering it's going to take it to work consistently. Some machines are really fragile.
Types of Materials – Some printers only work with PLA filament, while others work with both PLA and ABS filament.
Product Quality – Some printers are made of plywood and printed parts, while others are made of high quality machined metal.
Kit vs Assembled – Some 3d printers come only as a kit, some come as an assembled machine.
Open source vs Proprietary – Some printers are built on open source hardware (like RepRap) and others are closed. Similar deal with software, some run on open source software while others like makerbot have closed, proprietary software.
Features – There are a bunch of features that are specific to certain machines, while other features are more widespread. Things like heated beds are almost ubiquitous, while dual extruding is something less printers are capable of.
Support – Naturally there is going to be a lot of tinkering, so having a quick way to contact the makers incase a problem occurs is critical.
Upgrades – It would be ideal to purchase a printer where the manufacturer builds later versions so that older versions can upgrade and they don’t have to purchase entirely new machines every time they want to upgrade to the newest tech.
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