3D printing now offered from a mainstream model company...

[Brett Barrow]

I'll be saving up my money.

I'm serious.

Brett knows I will.

He was deprived as a child...

[MAGNUM4342]

This should be very interesting...to some.

http://news.yahoo.com/3-d-printing-goes-sci-fi-fantasy-reality-133123371.html

[Erik Smith]

A bit of hyperbole in that article...printing bullets in the field? Really? It can print gun powder?

...modeling aspects...it will alter how much companies invest in new tools, I am sure. But in 25 years there will probably be newer, better things. Heck, think back to 1988. No Internet. No cell phones. No iAnything.

[MAGNUM4342]

A bit of hyperbole in that article...printing bullets in the field? Really? It can print gun powder?

...modeling aspects...it will alter how much companies invest in new tools, I am sure. But in 25 years there will probably be newer, better things. Heck, think back to 1988. No Internet. No cell phones. No iAnything.

I thought the same thing! It reminds me of an old Steve Martin bit where he thought everything Mickey-D's made came from the same vat. "Splurtch, Big Mac...splurtch, Fries...splurtch, Styrofoam container..."

That whole bullet thing will have the gun control advocates...dare I say it...UP IN ARMS!

[blunc]

3-D printing? Slow down, I still use a rotary dial telephone. LOL!

wait....!!! your phone has a dial gadget on it, when did thos come out?

transylvania 6-5000!

[Dave Ambrose]

Earlier this year, I saw some prototype 3D printers. They should run about $2700, and in their fine resolution mode, make parts that are nearly model worthy. They heat extrude plastic to make the object. It's paintable. Spools of plastic filament should have a reasonable cost. They currently cost $75 for 2.5 oz of plastic.

I don't see them necessarily making parts, but what a great way to make masters for resin casting. Print the part, clean it up, and cast away. That would be revolutionary.

As for the ammunition, I don't want to be anywhere near a machine extruding nitrocellulose thankyouveryverymuch. That just sounds like a great way to rest in pieces.

The economics will evolve as machine speeds improve, but even short term, there will be lots of good changes.

[MAGNUM4342]

Earlier this year, I saw some prototype 3D printers. They should run about $2700, and in their fine resolution mode, make parts that are nearly model worthy. They heat extrude plastic to make the object. It's paintable. Spools of plastic filament should have a reasonable cost. They currently cost $75 for 2.5 oz of plastic.

I don't see them necessarily making parts, but what a great way to make masters for resin casting. Print the part, clean it up, and cast away. That would be revolutionary.

As for the ammunition, I don't want to be anywhere near a machine extruding nitrocellulose thankyouveryverymuch. That just sounds like a great way to rest in pieces.

The economics will evolve as machine speeds improve, but even short term, there will be lots of good changes.

Masters for resin casting is what I'm looking at.

[blunc]

if the companies that sell plastic (or any other medium of kits) aren't watching this kind of info very closely and making plans then they are too dense to stay in business...I doubt they are oblivious to these advances.

I think model companies aren't in as much danger as Harry thinks, at least not in the short term.

My thought on this is because the cost of polystyrene (or any other type of plastic) can be bought in bulk at a better price to large manufacturers than regular consumers can get.

The most likely step we as model buildres will see is companies (that make the investment in equipment) offering to print 3d objects for a price based on file/object complexity and amount of plastic material needed to achieve the object in the quality desired by the requestor. Initially the cost of the software/hardware will be passed on to the consumer until there is enough competition in this market to drive costs down and drive more affordable equipment.

If the larger model companies have not considered these points by now it may be too late for them and we will most likely see these changes in our lifetime but most of us will still most likely be unable to have a 3d printer in our homes.

[LOBBS]

Earlier this year, I saw some prototype 3D printers. They should run about $2700, and in their fine resolution mode, make parts that are nearly model worthy. They heat extrude plastic to make the object. It's paintable. Spools of plastic filament should have a reasonable cost. They currently cost $75 for 2.5 oz of plastic.

I don't see them necessarily making parts, but what a great way to make masters for resin casting. Print the part, clean it up, and cast away. That would be revolutionary.

As for the ammunition, I don't want to be anywhere near a machine extruding nitrocellulose thankyouveryverymuch. That just sounds like a great way to rest in pieces.

The economics will evolve as machine speeds improve, but even short term, there will be lots of good changes.

Yep, I just loaded up AutoCAD on the home PC. There are several parts/ideas that I've had that have held up builds over the years. Now I'll just try and model them in CAD and send that off to Shapeways for printing. I could see myself throwing together some wheel sets as well rather than trying to continually track down OOP Aoshima/Fujimi sets.

[Harry P.]

Story in the local paper today:

In April, "The 3-D Experience," a retail shop that offers 3-D printing to the public, opened in downtown Chicago at 316 N. Clark Street.

My guess is it's the first of many to come. Sort of like the first McDonald's or the first Kinko's... somewhat of a novelty at first, but look what happened in a few short years.

It's no longer "coming"... it's here. Cheap home printers and downloadable, printable objects via 3-D software are inevitable. The only question is how soon?

[charlie8575]

wait....!!! your phone has a dial gadget on it, when did thos come out?

transylvania 6-5000!

I still have a rotary-dial phone in the basement. Works great, better than the newer one.

And another Looney Tunes fan, I see.

I don't see them necessarily making parts, but what a great way to make masters for resin casting. Print the part, clean it up, and cast away. That would be revolutionary.

I think Dave is calling it. I think we'll see the most common use for these devices for making resin masters, one-off parts and similar low-production items. The cost of plastic is such that I don't think it'll work well for large-scale production, especially at the price level of consumer vs. wholesale.

I might be wrong, but tool-and-die makers have very little to worry about for a long time to come.

Charlie Larkin

[Lownslow]

I still have a rotary-dial phone in the basement. Works great, better than the newer one.

And another Looney Tunes fan, I see.

I think Dave is calling it. I think we'll see the most common use for these devices for making resin masters, one-off parts and similar low-production items. The cost of plastic is such that I don't think it'll work well for large-scale production, especially at the price level of consumer vs. wholesale.

I might be wrong, but tool-and-die makers have very little to worry about for a long time to come.

Charlie Larkin

We have our own tool and die in house, it consists of 2 CNC's that replaced 7 people at one point. 3D printing isnt a threat to them CNC is, well to the ones who still do it manually.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Lownslow

[mrknowetall]

He was deprived as a child...

Depraved is what my sister would say.

Definition of depraved (adj)

de·praved

[ di práyvd ]

1. corrupted: showing great moral corruption or wickedness

Edited June 4, 2013 by mrknowetall

[Joe Handley]

Story in the local paper today:

In April, "The 3-D Experience," a retail shop that offers 3-D printing to the public, opened in downtown Chicago at 316 N. Clark Street.

My guess is it's the first of many to come. Sort of like the first McDonald's or the first Kinko's... somewhat of a novelty at first, but look what happened in a few short years.

It's no longer "coming"... it's here. Cheap home printers and downloadable, printable objects via 3-D software are inevitable. The only question is how soon?

Have you been to the Schaumberg Library yet Harry? Apparently the media room there has a whole bunch of Apple computers and a 3d printer, sounds like they probably spent more on that room than my sister's library has to spend for it's entire budget for the year!

[Harry P.]

Have you been to the Schaumberg Library yet Harry? Apparently the media room there has a whole bunch of Apple computers and a 3d printer, sounds like they probably spent more on that room than my sister's library has to spend for it's entire budget for the year!

Haven't been there, but I should check it out. Schaumburg is the next town over from me, a lot closer than the loop.

[Joe Handley]

She was showing some pictures to me on her iPad after that little trip, this library blew her's away, but I imagine Schaumburg has way more property tax money coming in than we do here in West Chicago.

[crazyjim]

Our local paper had an article about the cost of 3D printers coming down real quick. Someone offers a 3D printer now for under $100.00.

[Harry P.]

She was showing some pictures to me on her iPad after that little trip, this library blew her's away, but I imagine Schaumburg has way more property tax money coming in than we do here in West Chicago.

Uh... yeah! Can yo say "Woodfield?"

[Joe Handley]

Uh... yeah! Can yo say "Woodfield?"

Good Point, don't think I've even been there when it wasn't at least fairly busy.

[Harry P.]

Good Point, don't think I've even been there when it wasn't at least fairly busy.

And Woodfield is just the tip of the iceberg. Add in all the retailers, restaurants and movie theaters in the surrounding malls, all the car dealerships along Golf Road, all the high-rise office buildings east of Woodfield... yeah, it's no wonder that the Schaumburg Public Library can afford a 3-D printer!

[Jim N]

I have read most of this thread and will say this. This technology is coming and it will do amazing things. Whether a model kit is one of them, time will tell.

The only problem I see with this idea is that it transfers all of the risk to the buyer. Right now if two of us buy a kit, we both get the same thing and the quality is the same. With 3D printing, the quality of the model may come down to who has the best printer and possibly the supplies. Given the printers out there for printing of text and graphics, a person can spend $30 up to thousands. The print quality is different as is the capabilities. If one is printing a school report, it largely does not matter what kind of printer the person uses. If the person is doing high end work, the printer matters.

If this is where we go with 3D printed models, the concept may be in trouble. If I can only afford a low end printer and the printed model is low end, there is no point. I may be able to turn it into something nice, but if I am in a contest with a person of the same skill set who has the high end equipment the result will likely be very different. It would be like taking a person who built a kit box stock and put him in the same class as one who machines his own kit.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, the technology is coming and it will do amazing things. We will have to see how or if it applies to model kits.

[Danno]

Excellent point, Jim!

Not to mention, competition aside, just the consumer experience would be impacted by printer quality, material quality, and possibly operator failure. Does a "kit" producer/provider want those wild-card factors (over which they have little control) to affect their image in the marketplace?

After all, if a consumer has a carpy built model, you know it's only going to be the kit producer/provider's fault!!!

[charlie8575]

I have read most of this thread and will say this. This technology is coming and it will do amazing things. Whether a model kit is one of them, time will tell.

The only problem I see with this idea is that it transfers all of the risk to the buyer. Right now if two of us buy a kit, we both get the same thing and the quality is the same. With 3D printing, the quality of the model may come down to who has the best printer and possibly the supplies. Given the printers out there for printing of text and graphics, a person can spend $30 up to thousands. The print quality is different as is the capabilities. If one is printing a school report, it largely does not matter what kind of printer the person uses. If the person is doing high end work, the printer matters.

If this is where we go with 3D printed models, the concept may be in trouble. If I can only afford a low end printer and the printed model is low end, there is no point. I may be able to turn it into something nice, but if I am in a contest with a person of the same skill set who has the high end equipment the result will likely be very different. It would be like taking a person who built a kit box stock and put him in the same class as one who machines his own kit.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, the technology is coming and it will do amazing things. We will have to see how or if it applies to model kits.

Excellent point, Jim!

Not to mention, competition aside, just the consumer experience would be impacted by printer quality, material quality, and possibly operator failure. Does a "kit" producer/provider want those wild-card factors (over which they have little control) to affect their image in the marketplace?

After all, if a consumer has a carpy built model, you know it's only going to be the kit producer/provider's fault!!!

These are both very good points that I don't think any of us have factored in.

Perhaps down the road, it won't even be a factor too much, but right now, it absolutely is a consideration and one that any company contemplating a business model like what's been presented would be foolish to not at least give some passing thought to.

I'd also be interested to see how liability would work with bad downloads, bad coding, etc. I could see all kinds of problems coming from this, and not one of them easy to solve at least now and some of them really having no good solutions. Either way, they'll result in very unhappy customers.

Charlie Larkin

[charlie8575]

We have our own tool and die in house, it consists of 2 CNC's that replaced 7 people at one point. 3D printing isnt a threat to them CNC is, well to the ones who still do it manually.

I wasn't thinking CNC vs. manual, Frank.

Rather, I was thinking broadly as the suppliers to various factories. With the talk of consumers becoming all, or almost all self-manufacturing, I don't think that will happen anytime soon. Frankly, I don't know if it'll ever happen. Some people won't want 3-D printers, some people won't want the expense of the downloads, some people simply won't be comfortable making parts for stuff and trying to assemble it. I think the need for manufacturing as a central economic activity will always exist, and along as it does, there will always be tool and die makers, no matter whether CNC or manual.

Charlie Larkin

[sjordan2]

NASA is experimenting with 3D printers to print food. So far, they've printed a cracker-size pizza.