How Much Longer Until 3d Printing is not a "skill"

As the title states... I just picked up 3d printing in the last 2-3 months and I have to say that it is definitely an art to get good looking prints. I tend to print smaller items that range from 3-4mm to 20-90 mm because I enjoy the added difficulty.
I come from an model aircraft background and got into 3d printing to design and print custom parts for my helicopters. I knew their was a learning curve... but nothing like this..... GCode, extrusion multipliers, speed, infill, overhangs, retraction, calibration, shimming bed, putting filament into oven, storing filament in a special dry box with dehumidifier, hairspray, offset, calibrating Z stepper motors, extruder calibration, downloading arduino software, learning basic commands, oilers, bowden extruders, seeing Tom everywhere, watching well intentioned but incomplete videos from some kid who calls me "internet." SMH
I just printed this amazing 45 degree angle on a heli mount without supports. I had to slow down the speed to 12-15 mms. I was caressing that piece all night long... I even placed it next to my nightstand so it would be the first thing I saw when I woke up. How did it come to this.... or should I say ... how haven't we gotten past this.

HOW MUCH LONGER? Actual educated guesses welcomed.

 

Well technically we're already there, in the high end market.

In the consume market, we're making big strides, such as the lulzbot mini.

Maybe 5 years or less

 

The lulzbot is definitely on my radar....Your stamp of approval seals the deal.
What machine do you consider high end?
I was on the verge of buying a formlabs printer but was dissuaded by reviews and commentary. I purchased a makerbot replicator but returned it after 3 days due to a heater error message that didn't allow me to print.
I bought the robo based on reviews and low cost/risk and good support.

 

Ultimakers are supposed to be excellent machines as well.

Also E3D is coming out with their own printer early next year (kickstarter supporters are getting theirs earlier). E3D is the company that until recently was making a bunch of third-party upgrades you could buy to make your printer able to print more materials/print better, so that machine is probably also going to be a really good one.

 

The Lulzbot mini is really interesting with a pretty clever method for autoleveling and Z offset calibration. I'd suggest that to people looking for the easiest install.

High end would be the Stratasys Mojo. Not something I'd put in the consumer market.

 

"Computer- Coffee. Black"
-Capt. Janeway.

Not quite there yet. lol. But being on the consumer end, with ZERO experience in CNC, CAD, etc, I find this very satisfying. Although no one likes problems when they push "PRINT" it is interesting to figure out what and where something went wrong. (And there are SOOOO many ways it can.) For me, it makes a completed job more satisfying. (Don't get me wrong- if someone offered me a true, no BS plug and play printer, that didn't cost as much as a house, I'd be all over it. )

 

were are still at the beginning my friend

 

There is a company called TIKO who is making a stylish, unibody 3d printer. It is literally $179. It was a kickstarter, and by the looks of it, it will probably be pretty effortless... Time will tell on this one

 

Lol at the idea of the Tiko as anything other than a tiny vase printing toy.

 

Still, it shows potential to where the "home 3d printing market" may be headed. Tell me that it won't be easy to use.

 

I see no reason it will be easy to use. It looks clumsy and slow. Very poor design imo and I feel like it's going to retail at like 400 once/if they ship them all out.

 

True, Ive always imagined closed source 3d printing to be easier, however such 3d printing would be much more expensive. An example of this would be the cube 3d printer, $1000 for the printer and an extra $40 per spool of proprietary filament. $40?!?! I can pick up a whole kilogram of pla filament at microcenter for less than $15, maybe even $13. Never the less it is still reportedly easy to use, and this factor only adds to the pros and cons of buying the 3d printer. I like the analogy of technology that WheresWaldo used though. Would you rather have a cheap android phone that you can do anything with, or an expensive iphone that runs flawlessly, but limits you in what you can do? (Please don't hate, both as I said have their pros and cons.) The same will probably hold true in the future of 3d printing, the customer will probably always have to choose between versatility and ease of use.

 

Thats true, I never thought that they were going out of business though becuase I've seen their printers being sold at places like microcenter, but what you said about the bleeding edge will in my opinion stay true in almost all future technologies. @WheresWaldo