Why home 3D printing never lived up to the hype

Ugh, it's kind of painful to read an article that looks like it was literally copied out of a magazine a few decades ago and just had the subject changed.

3D printers are going through the technology hype cycle, just like other things such as 2D printers, computers, cars, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hype_cycle

It passed the peak, where everyone's imagination runs away with them, and it's headed into the trough. So, plotting it against the curve by eye, I'd say in about 6 years we should be hitting the plateau.