3 Things That Are Holding Back 3D Printing Technology

3D Printing
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3 Things That Are Holding Back 3D Printing Technology
http://www.lasertekservices.com/blog/2013/12/3-things-that-are-holding-back-3d-printing-technology.html/

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This article is more naysaying than anything else. It should be renamed, 3 things holding 3d printing back from being as popular as ink jet printing. Pretty misleading

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I printed a PLA part to fix my 3D printer, have had it in use for 9 months. I use PLA printed bottle openers daily. So evidently 3D printed PLA parts are very strong and can be used around the house.

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@James_Rogers i agree, i read allot about the downside of using pla, so far i have been pleasantly surprised by the material. I have used it for several things (knob, brackets, badges, key chains, xmas decorations, screwdriver handles), I agree that the number of printers is a bit frightening, but you can filter through these pretty quickly (sort by budget, then by build skill, then by quality and you will find the printer you want). the last comment isn’t quite fair, you can make many simple things by simply downloading and printing. Photo shop isn’t the easiest program to master, but people still by photo printers.

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I would argue that the biggest things are
1: perception (people think it is difficult and expensive)
2: print failure rate
3: print work flow (currently you need to use 3 pieces of software to make 1 print)
4: utility (yes you can make things, but people don’t see how these things are necessary)

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As a non-owner lurker in here, I’d like to give my perspective, Camerin.

  1. Difficult, not expensive. My first dot-matrix printer was $800. By comparison (in today’s dollars) hobby-level 3D printers are cheap.
  2. Reading this forum certainly indicates a lot of failure.
  3. The software sounds complex, many factors to consider, and lots of different programs used, some proprietary, some OS.
  4. If what I read here is anything to go by, the most common parts printed, are parts for 3D printers or dinky little ornaments.
  5. It all sounds so finicky. The right software, temperatures, heating, cooling, levelling, extruder type, moisture level, environment, contamination, etc etc.
    With an inkjet or laser printer, you just bung in the ink and paper and press go.
  6. The sheer number of manufacturers (I use the word loosely) doesn’t help. How many will be here tomorrow? Is there support, either from the supplier or a family of users? As for crowd-funded units, many are optimistic vapourware (or whatever the equivalent word is for hardware).

It seems like for most, a 3D printer is a hobby and end in itself, not a tool for creating useful things. From outside, the sheer effort involved in creating a model file, then getting the print right, appears huge, and life is too short. (I exclude commercial use in this assessment.)

So while I look on in interest, I feel that dipping a toe in would be a big waste of time for me. (I have a hard enough job getting some Arduino stuff built up now, without a 3D printer in the mix.)

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@Ken_Wagnitz I was pleasantly surprised, if the printer you buy works out of the box with repetier or cura the experience isn’t bad.

As for 5 it is a bit, but not as bad as people make it sound, humidity may cause tiny bubbles, if your temp is wrong the surface will be sloppy or your print will fail (I error on the sloppy side)

4: I make things for games mainly, card holders game pieces, tokens etc, I also make replacement plastic parts for things that break, Screwdrivers, mounts for things. But yeah there are a lot of trinkets, they are fun to make.

2: I probably lose 25% of prints in the first layer, 1-5% after that point.
1: difficulty is entirely machine dependent.