From everything I'm seeing online, 3d printing looks like it's about to start hitting mainstream. Prices on printers and filament are dropping, and as more people are getting involved in 3d printing, more creators and ideas are starting to pop up. For me personally, I have been interested in the technology and the ideas, but I honestly haven't thought of much I'd want to print. About the only thing I can think of are board game modifications.
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| Like these Settlers of Catan trays and pieces. |
I've been looking at printers and ideas for a year, but what with the wedding, the new car, and other stuff, it hasn't made financial sense for something that is basically a technology exploration.
About a month ago, I brought up the idea of getting a 3d printer to my partner. Always the more frugal of the two of us, she immediately started preemptively trying to convince me that it wasn't something we should get. Then I started showing her the various things she could make with the thing. In less than an hour, she was trying to convince me that we should absolutely get it. Ideas were flowing through her mind on how to build parts to mod X-wing Miniatures for newtonian physics, and war-game pieces, etc.
Nonetheless, I wasn't actually convinced to get one until I started talking to other folks in our social circle about it. Asking around about it, folks seemed to have a very similar initial reaction to the idea of a 3d printer. At first, they almost all said something along the lines of "I have no idea what I would make with that. But as we chatted about it, their eyes lit up with possibilities. Jewelery, costumery, decoration, tools, toys, board games, D&D minis, doll house furniture, cake molds, candy molds. Etc. etc. After each conversation, I walked away excited to see all the things they were going to come up with and/or find online to print.
After about half a week of this, I realized that if we got one, our social circle was going to be around to use it *constantly.* So, once the tax returns started coming in, I ordered the Ultimaker 2 from Dynamism.
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| It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. |
I found it for faster shipping with cheaper PLA from shop3duniverse later, and switched to them as the vendor. The unit should arrive some time between Feb. 9 and Feb. 13th. (So before this post actually posts.)
The process that people go through in thinking about 3d printing is fascinating. At first, the mere notion that one can imagine or find virtually anything and manifest it into reality with this machine is unbelievable. What once could only be achieved by working clay or carving wood or other similar activities, can now be achieved with a 3d model, some plastic filament, and a lot of time. The ideas pour in, and people start to think of the 3d printer as some sort of magic "wish granting" genie. Think something, and then it appears! Over time, though, people start to recognize that it's just another tool. If you want something specific, you need to create it yourself, using digital tools of varying quality. The 3d printer doesn't replace ingenuity. It just decouples design and creation so that you can work in tools that make the process a lot easier.
After this final step, people seem to calm down about it. It's a tool. A limited tool. It enables a lot of creation and cheap production, but it's no magic genie of plastic. It's just another way to make things, like a printer, or anything else.
I think it's exciting, and I'm really looking forward to getting ours. After I've played with it a bit, I'll post about the tools we're using to make things.
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