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Comment by mentos | Hacker News Reader

Curious to know what you see the future for 3D printing to be?

I was flipping through Thingiverse and came across this RC car http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:83024

As a kid I used to build RC car model kits but they were very expensive so I only ever got to make one a year. If I could have downloaded one every few weeks (about the time it took me to construct one) I'd have built and learnt so much more. So I see 3D printers as having an amazing application as a learning tool/toy for kids.

Beyond that I could see it taking a secondary role as a support tool around the house allowing you to print out odds and ends.

But I don't see the big problems that 3D printing will hit the ground solving that will change the world? I can see them doing so in a latent way - by having an enormous impact on our children - but I don't see the immediate active applications?

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Like any disruptive technology, I think it can be hard to predict. Right now, it's mostly a novelty for us. In some environments, I could see it being much more useful. It's still somewhat limited in terms of print quality, but it's good enough that it mostly rivals the option of making something similar using other means (out of wood, for example). I imagine as it is consumerized, as the ability to use other materials, as the color capability is expanded, and similar improvements happen, there will be unexpected applications. To me, it's like seeing the first Star Trek replicator. I know it's not great, but it's the first in a long line of iterations, and that's exciting.

I'm surprised by how mesmerizing it is to watch a print. The software will tell you how long a print will take. When we first started it, a print would take, say, 20 minutes. I expected to go get a coffee or whatever. Instead, I sat there and just watched the print head move around--layer after layer. I still love watching it. I just don't sit there for whole prints anymore.

> In some environments, I could see it being much more useful

It is very useful in laboratories. On demand printing of labware with custom geometry is wonderful. Also, it enables certain geometries and properties that would be very difficult (for an unskilled operator) or impossible to produce via subtractive means, like CNC mills. For example: custom reaction chambers with complex internal geometry. Iterative, "in-lab" design cycles are also pretty nice.

> I imagine as it is consumerized, as the ability to use other materials, as the color capability is expanded, and similar improvements happen, there will be unexpected applications.

I definitely think if 3D printers can find their way to printing other materials it will open many more opportunities. But right now I'm struggling to find what I need that could be made entirely of plastic. Hope someone will delight me one day.

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