potential replacement for non plastic parts too depending on the application.
also customizing parts. Custom dice for games, etc etc.
Battery cover gets lost? Replace the whole thing.
Toy breaks? Replace the whole thing.
Button comes off your jacket? Replace the whole thing.
(I'm not saying this is an ideal world -- I personally would much rather live in a world where things are long-lived but cost more -- but it's the world we live in.)
* Mounts for my washing machine's broken shocks (shocks were fine but the plastic part that holds them to the frame broke). $80/piece for whole new shocks or I could have just printed new mounts (which really are a stupidly simple snap-on component) for less than a dollar.
* The knob on one of our standing lamps broke and won't stay on anymore. I can order a new one for $1.50+$4.95 S/H or I could have just 3D-printed a really cool/custom one for $0.05.
* Lost some of the pieces in your Monopoly game? Just print some new ones. Heck, any gaming figurines can be printed trivially and there's a plethora of free, already-made ones to choose from.
* Missing Lego parts.
* Vacuum cleaner parts... I always wanted one of those wide under-furniture attachments but can't justify the purchase. If I had a 3D printer I could just print one.
* Seriously cool-looking/unique ceiling fan blades (you can print them even on a small 3D printer since you can join multiple parts together on the back of the blade where no one will see).
* Seriously cool/useful wall plates and switches. Example: http://www.yankodesign.com/2007/10/28/wall-cleat/
* Collar tags for my dogs. Actually, whole collars.
* Children's toys.
* Halloween masks.
* Protractors and compasses of any size on-demand.
* Centering gauges of any size on-demand.
* Custom Tupperware-like containers/boxes.
* Phone cases.
Six bucks and change doesn't sound too bad to me, if it saves me having to spend time tracking down or building an appropriate 3D model to print. I could understand the attraction if it was $100, but six bucks?
> Lost some of the pieces in your Monopoly game? Just print some new ones. Heck, any gaming figurines can be printed trivially and there's a plethora of free, already-made ones to choose from.
But you can also use more or less any random thing you have lying around as a board game token, for free. Coins, thumb caps, washers, pieces of wood...
> Missing Lego parts.
Would they be able to stand up to daily use for years by enthusiastic children?
Lego parts also fit pretty well into the "just go buy some more" approach, too. You can get a bucket of 600 Lego bricks for $30.
> Seriously cool-looking/unique ceiling fan blades... seriously cool/useful wall plates and switches...
Presumably if lots of people wanted these things, somebody would be making them at scale in China already, no? It's fine if you want them, more power to you, but they don't really seem like something the mass market is breathlessly waiting for.
> Collar tags for my dogs.. children's toys... Halloween masks... protractors and compasses of any size... phone cases...
These things are the very definition of "cheap plastic crap," already available in a stunning kaleidoscope of colors, shapes and sizes at every retail environment from gas stations on up for practically nothing.
Not to mention that things like children's toys have a status component to them that can't be 3D printed. Kids don't want a toy that kinda looks like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, they want an Official Groot™ Action Figure By Hasbro like the one they've been saturation-bombed with TV advertising for. (And if they don't, their friends will happily torment them for not being sufficiently brand-conscious.)
> Custom Tupperware-like containers/boxes.
Is 3D-printer plastic safe to use for food storage?
Will most people want to spend time finding out when they can get a set of five Tupperware containers for $30?
> Would they be able to stand up to daily use for years by enthusiastic children?
They wouldn't need to if you could just print replacements.
The real problem with 3D printing lego bricks is that I don't think any current 3D printers can print precise enough parts. Even most Lego competitors produce inferior quality pieces with less precision.
> Lego parts also fit pretty well into the "just go buy some more" approach, too. You can get a bucket of 600 Lego bricks for $30.
You'd think so. But now try to source specific parts. specific mini figures etc.. People make a living buying Lego sets to separate the sets and sell rare mini figures and pieces individually, and sell of the basic pieces in larger lots
Many pieces are only available in a handful of sets. Many pieces only exist in discontinued sets. Many pieces only exist in specific colors.
Go to a Lego store, and you will find that the more "advanced" parts are rarely on offer in anything but big sets, while the basic parts can be bought by the bucketful.
Even with the second hand market, if you're trying to reproduce something, and realise you're missing a specific part and the alternative is going to the shops and buying a set that may have the piece, or waiting a few days, being able to just start an app and pick one from a catalogue would be amazing.
There's also a market for custom minifigs, that are today often quite expensive because the people making them rarely have any options for mass production. Whole new categories both of minifigs and pieces would become possible if they could be 3D printed.
> Presumably if lots of people wanted these things, somebody would be making them at scale in China already, no? It's fine if you want them, more power to you, but they don't really seem like something the mass market is breathlessly waiting for.
There's a lot of potential for things that are impractical to mass produce because while people may agree they want the category of product, they may disagree about specific features sufficiently that the only commercially available alternatives are not that satisfactory.
And there are a lot of things that would be convenient to have at some point or other, but that is too much effort to be worth tracking down, but would be nice if you could just download and print a design in minutes.
> Kids don't want a toy that kinda looks like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, they want an Official Groot™ Action Figure By Hasbro like the one they've been saturation-bombed with TV advertising for.
Do you have a kid? I can for sure say that while my son certainly do want the exact specific versions of a lot of things, he also often picks up on things that are not branded, or the exact specific thing he want is not the professional, polished version. And I think TV will be losing it's hold: My son just now (and this is a regular occurrence) picked an amateur Youtube video over Cartoon Network. His favourite "show" is a Youtube channel hosted by a 6-7 year old kid that builds lego and plays video games.
(and for the purposes of this: LEGO has surpassed Hasbro as the top toy manufacturer in the world - that should say something about opportunities in this market)
> Will most people want to spend time finding out when they can get a set of five Tupperware containers for $30?
Quite possibly not. But that is a problem today because it is new. It will quickly cease to be a problem.
Would you mind sharing that link? I've got some kids who would be interested.
My son, though, interestingly doesn't often ask for any of the stuff he showcases, though he does ask me to help build home-grown versions of some of the lego. And it got him into Minecraft.
My son now wants his own YouTube channel (lucky me - I've been put in charge of getting the technical side sorted out), and his own Minecraft server, and Evan is by far his favourite "celebrity". And this is the most professionally produced YouTube channel he watches. In general he seems to care more about watching a kid around his age that he can relate to than how professional the video is (e.g. he actively dislikes a lot of the adults doing toy / videogame review videos)
Larger parts can be problematic on consumer quality 3D printers (particularly if they aren't being constantly fussed with). Very routinely 3D printer owners seem to have to put large amounts of time in to getting the printer to work correctly, and large complex pieces can take more than one (8+ hour) attempt.
Most of the things larger than a phone case (and it's the height direction that seems particularly problematic) have trouble printing in some fashion or another. This means that several of the most useful applications just aren't there yet.
What kind of printer do you have?
I was under the impression no hobbiest-grade (ie, costs < ~$250k) could print to the exacting standards it takes to make Lego bricks.
* Wire organizers. Really, why nobody sells a way to organize wires in storage?
I built my printer for a side project, and up to very recently, anything that I printed that wasn't related to this project had the goal of improving the printer. Besides fixing broken stuff, that's what I printed at the last couple of months.