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Heh, WHO KNEW?

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by mark tomlinson, Nov 21, 2015.

  1. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #1 mark tomlinson, Nov 21, 2015
    jim3Dbot, Printed Solid, Mike Kelly and 1 other person like this.
  2. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    They arnt easy but are impressive and seriously useful
     
    #2 Geof, Nov 26, 2015
  3. Kenneth Apthorp

    Kenneth Apthorp Member

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    Yeah, I put some investment capital in HP last summer when my advisor told me they would be coming out with their own 3D printer next year! Very interesting. Even if the market is flat now, HP, Epson, etc could push this market to a more end user friendly product. Big fish in this small pond.
     
    #3 Kenneth Apthorp, Nov 30, 2015
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    They are primitive machines currently and really, that is what I expect the big fish to fix.
    Only then will you get wide spread consumer acceptance... if they misbehave and you you need technical knowledge to sort it... it will remain a hobbyist venture :)
     
    #4 mark tomlinson, Nov 30, 2015
  5. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Exactly. Once the big players are in Makerbot will look like a saint. HP, Epson, Dell, etc. will all be closed systems with proprietary chipped cartridges and non-updateable firmwares. If they can't do that at a price point that makes them money, it will always remain in the Maker/hacker niche.
     
    #5 WheresWaldo, Nov 30, 2015
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  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Spools are still a point of failure so that as you said will need addressing. Proprietary makes them money... they printers are sometimes loss leaders.

    Printers no longer use ribbons either :) Gawd those were a pain.
     
    #6 mark tomlinson, Nov 30, 2015
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  7. Kenneth Apthorp

    Kenneth Apthorp Member

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    Free-ware, share-ware and by any other name will probably never survive this transition. A lot of these 3d printer companies may not survive as well. Robo included. It's like the Internet in the early days. The only real question is who will produce a really useful, affordable 3d scanner so the average person can print out a broken oven knob, etc. I think filament technology is being dealt with right now and we will be seeing some serious innovations.
     
    #7 Kenneth Apthorp, Dec 1, 2015
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #8 mark tomlinson, Dec 1, 2015
  9. Kenneth Apthorp

    Kenneth Apthorp Member

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    Yeah, it's a step in the right direction. What I don't like about it is taking user control from the consumer and forcing the "thing verse" concept/database down the user throat. It would have to have hundreds of millions of files to even start to cover the diverse items/parts in the average household. As long as having the ability to scan a household item and have it presented for a useful print by the user, is key to the "jetson" approach. This approach will take decades and cause the homogeneity of household products, there's just no way.
     
    #9 Kenneth Apthorp, Dec 1, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2015
  10. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Ah, see now you hit the touchy topic. 3D printing is one thing, 3D scanning quite another.
    I have a scanner and I can attest to the fact that it is NOT a simple process to start with a 3D object and get a (printable) scanned version.
    Work is required.... a lot of it at present.
     
    #10 mark tomlinson, Dec 1, 2015
  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    On the plus side some manufacturers are making 3D models available for things they sell (or parts of things).
     
    #11 mark tomlinson, Dec 1, 2015
  12. Kenneth Apthorp

    Kenneth Apthorp Member

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    Totally caught off guard by that! That is a positive step forward. I remember a time long ago when something similar in manufacturing took place. If the starter went out in my Chevy and had a Buick starter laying around, it always worked as a replacement. My point being, at some point manufacturers learned that they could make more money by not allowing that to happen. How can the 3d printing industry overcome this obstacle? 3d printing and scanning are, should, have to be synonymous. I just can't imagine a scenario where manufactures would give that kind of autonomy to the consumer. They would loose to much.
    If I'm able to go to any store(Ups, whomever) and have them print my part, or print it myself, the loss of jobs are great.
    Who will give the consumer such power, autonomy.
    Maybe I'm wrong, missing something in this scenario, but I really believe this company above has the best chance in realizing anything close to the "jetson" future a lot of us watched on TV a kids.
     
    #12 Kenneth Apthorp, Dec 1, 2015
  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    http://www.mcmaster.com/mv144891613...337264786038945&helpContext=drawingsandmodels

    "
    Using CAD Technical Drawings and 3-D Models

    Products with technical drawings and 3-D models
    Identify products that have technical drawings and 3-D models
    View a product's technical drawing or 3-D model
    Download a technical drawing or 3-D model
    Available file formats for technical drawings and 3-D models
    Print a technical drawing
    Troubleshoot CAD-related problems
    "

    For one example. There are others (Newark, etc.).
     
    #13 mark tomlinson, Dec 1, 2015
  14. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Never going to happen, because the average person (whoever that is) is not interested in doing this themselves. They want to go to Lowes or Menards or Home Depot and pick up a knob. They wont care if it had to come from a 3D printer or not as long as it is available. Lowes and HomeDepot already have initiatives moving in this direction.
     
    #14 WheresWaldo, Dec 1, 2015
  15. Kenneth Apthorp

    Kenneth Apthorp Member

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    I can't disagree with you but I'm not so sure "never" is a part of this. More and more, the average person is DIY. It is these DIY people whom I refer too. It's not a unreasonable assumption with the increasing cost of materials and labor rates making DIY projects more desirable.

    I think your right with these outlets and the directions you speak of. I know that "the Ups Store" is also planning the same 3d printing services for consumers in the very near future.

    In short, the potential economic loss for scan and print any object in your house with 2 clicks just ain't gonna happen in this century. It has nothing to do with people or technology , it has everything to do with control of profits.
     
    #15 Kenneth Apthorp, Dec 2, 2015
  16. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    At some point in the future the idea of a replicator type device will be a normal appliance. You won't have to go to HomeDepot. You will download a model and print an object. We are a long way from that, but I am sure that is the way it will flow. It just needs to get IdiotProof (tm) which, it ain't ... yet.
     
    #16 mark tomlinson, Dec 2, 2015
  17. WheresWaldo

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    There is a major leap of faith to think that DIY is the same as MIY (make it yourself). I do concede that it will have broader appeal in the future and with a somewhat larger niche than exists today, but it will still be a niche.
    It's nice to speculate what the future will be like, but since my life expectancy is only another 25 - 30 years, I can confidently say "never" since I highly doubt we will see this on a consumer level in my lifetime.

    We will not see a world such as this:
    A just machine to make big decisions
    Programmed by fellows with compassion and vision
    We'll be clean when their work is done
    We'll be eternally free yes and eternally young​
     
    #17 WheresWaldo, Dec 2, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2015
  18. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Rare as hens teeth those are.​
     
    #18 mark tomlinson, Dec 2, 2015

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