I did a very basic but credible model of a tanker truck trailer for a friend’s “diorama” decoration for Halloween.
To anyone that hasn’t yet been exposed to 3D printing, being able to do that casually and have a finished product in hand a few hours later is truly amazing and mind-blowing.
But for me, it’s already on its way to being a household appliance like the microwave or the DVR. It’s not quite there, but it is approaching a point where I can take it for granted - and my wife and the kids have become used to it as well.
I remember when my mom was one of the first people to have a microwave (she got a high-end microwave/steamer, a niche product that had a devoted user base in Japan, but it also required some care and attention to operate). I think it was the equivalent of $2,000. Neighbors simply couldn’t believe that such a thing existed, nor why one would pay so much for it. In our house, we just used it everyday without much thought. To folks outside our family, it was unreal.
Fast forward 35 years, and now a 7 year old can prepare a meal for himself on a $60 microwave. Nobody thinks anything of it. It’s completely unremarkable.
This is an exciting time for 3D printing tech. By the time all of us are retired, the rest of the world will be unimpressed…
