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| 10-18-2012, 10:08 AM | #3 |
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Lieutenant
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Are 3D printers really that popular with the general public?
Don't they cost thousands of dollars and designed more for the R & D engineering profession anyway? It's not like I'll ever go to Wal-Mart looking for a coffee maker, DVD, and a 3D printer, right? |
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| 10-19-2012, 12:26 AM | #6 | |
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Major General
 
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Quote:
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| 10-19-2012, 12:16 PM | #7 |
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Major
 
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Done.
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| 10-19-2012, 01:27 PM | #8 | |
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Burrito bowl connoisseur
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Quote:
i went to fill out the survey, but found the questions sort of hard to answer considering i don't know much about them or their capabilities at this point. i mean for me to spend a couple thousand $$ on one of these ...i'd have to make a ton of different tools etc to recover that cost. and how much would the "patterns" cost for such items and the plastic/resin cartridges used?? just too many unknowns for me at this point to adequately participate in the survey.
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| 10-19-2012, 05:42 PM | #9 |
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Lieutenant
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Other than a R & D staff, engineering, and industrial design team, who is going to have a real need for one of these? Correct me if I'm wrong, but they use a resin or a plastic material, right? They're not really meant to create structural functional parts. In other words, I'm not going to whip up metallic parts for my car's engine for heavy duty loads, heat, wear and tear. The parts from 3D printers are meant for show and display only, not to replace functional metal, cast, extrusions, etc.. For those, I can get a guy in China to make them for 90 cents an hour....just my 2 cents.
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| 10-19-2012, 07:25 PM | #12 |
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Major General
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So to answer some of the questions. They are expensive right now but prices are coming down. If they become affordable (say $500-600) and you can buy designs like how you would with apps for your smart phone, would you? Some printers are now able to print with other materials like metal and ceramic. So you could actually create useful parts.
Companies, artists, designers use these to create 3D models before they go full scale. But on a more simple level, consumers can use these for a hobby or create parts that can be used. We want/hope for them to be almost as common as ink jet printers. |
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| 10-19-2012, 07:53 PM | #13 |
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Vrooom :)
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we have a 3d printers at my university. They are super useful my friend in ME uses one all the time.
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