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Originally posted by generik
3d printing is rather cool. i just wonder how soon it will become an issue over copyrighted things. as one poster mentioned copying war-hammer stuff. can you see them easily letting go of the huge profits they make as people start making their own for a rather small percentage of what games workshop sells it for? $200 for that prediter tank for example. i actually got out of war-hammer due to the fact of it's ridiculously high priced models, paints and glues. i loved the painting and the game but couldn't afford to continue after they kept jacking up the prices for cheap plastic models.
i can see the push for major regulations put in place against copyright violations. just look how they have been going after "pirated" music and movies. on the other hand just maybe this technology will put the nail in the coffin on the whole copyright thing. that would be nice, prices on stuff would plummet, since as things are even screw heads are copyrighted forget things like circuit boards and microchips, and overall design. i wonder how much of what we pay for an item is actually paying for all the copyrighted materials involved compared to actual manufacturing and store profit margins.
Originally posted by DAVID64
I'm betting the printer themselves will become relatively cheap, then they will hit you for big bucks on the software. Something like an SD card with the program for whatever it is you want to make.
Originally posted by AfterInfinity
reply to post by tothetenthpower
Aren't you afraid of what could be made with these printers? Or do they have filters which identify the object being produced and will automatically shut down if a prohibited item is detected?
As long as it isn't illegal, and you aren't going to endanger anybody then what's the problem?
I don't think anybody should be able to tell you what you can and cannot make.
Originally posted by AfterInfinity
But with a printer that can spit bullets and coffee mugs at the push of a button, and enough ingenuity, imagine the possibilities.
Do you trust humans with that kind of power? I sure don't.
We're talking about humans printing anything they want in the comfort of their own home, and you ask what the problem is? For everyone one person who uses that printer for everyday purposes, there will be three people who use it for illegitimate purposes. Because it's convenient, and because they can.
Do you think our species has the integrity to resist such temptation, such opportunity? Our moral fiber has NEVER been so great unless resisting that temptation would bring us an even greater reward. What's the problem?
Well, I'm sure you have a television. You tell me - everything you see on the news, all the tragedies and atrocities occurring around the world, do you really trust mankind with this kind of manufacturing power?
Part of the reason radical left-wingers and religious extremists aren't building bombs in their basements is because the really good stuff is notoriously difficult to get to. But with a printer that can spit bullets and coffee mugs at the push of a button, and enough ingenuity, imagine the possibilities.
Originally posted by AntiNWO
The color cartridges are $49 each. My color printer takes 8 cartridges to get photo quality prints. Is this device the same? I'm guessing not, since all of the samples they show are one single color. It apprears that yes, you can have color prints, as long as you only want one color (not a big deal, if so).
I assume that it cuts a block of some kind of plastic material with lasers in order to make the prints. How expensive is this stuff? Will it cost me $75 to create a 5" tall plastic alien?