Revolutions happen when you drastically reduce costs, or increase functionality. 3D printing does neither.
F.Y.I. The next revolution will be in robotics.
Revolutions happen when you drastically reduce costs, or increase functionality. 3D printing does neither.
F.Y.I. The next revolution will be in robotics.
Increased functionality: I can have exactly what I want. It can look exactly like it was professionally created.
Decreased costs: It saves the cost of shipping it from China, then driving it on the freeway. This might be worth it for heavier items. If 3D printing can be scaled to a factory level, this might be very attractive, since you wouldn't have to hire expensive American workers to produce in the US. It might make things with high capital cost much more affordable: imagine being able to 3D print out custom car body parts and have them assembled for the price of a high-end car. Impossible now.
I think 3D printing is a cool niche, but I don't see it becoming a mainstream thing. People simply don't need to have physical objects produced often enough in their homes — there are odd times where it's useful, but they are rare enough that a trip to a store, or online order outweighs the inconvenience of having a large machine dedicated to a single task in your home.
I think 3D does have future in commercial settings and offering on demand print services, but I still doubt most people will have one in their home in the near future.