3D Printing -- Please Shut Up And Take My Money!

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.

to become a true "star trek" society, first we would have to abolish intellectual property laws. then anyone would be free to make what they want and i'm sure we would only pay a "retailer" (if even they would survive), a fraction of what we now pay for an object. copyright protection is a little known factor in the high cost of things. would be nice to see it go.

but just think if they get it working on metals. you might be able to say make that car part you need on a sunday when most parts shops are closed, or call up a friend to bring a part down to the highway in the middle of the night so you can fix your broken down car. now THAT would be cool. and the savings, that part that the average joe pays $500 for, mechanics $200, you might be able to "print" it for under $50. (the $50 is a wild guess ).

Still a little bit pricey for me. I mean it's cheap considering what it can do, but outside of my budget... maybe when they get it down to the cost of a new gaming console I'll look into it.

reply to post by tothetenthpower

3D printers look pretty cool, and i don't believe they are a gimmick either. They have major potential...

Can multiple materails be used during the same print. Like metals and plastic. And are their any 3D printers that can incorporate wiring into the print. Now that would be amazing o.O

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.

I have not gone searching for it my self. But I remember a older thread about 3D printers here on ATS. And some one made a post saying that pirate bay now has a 3D Printer blueprints section. Can any one confirm this? Im intrested to know but I'm at work right now lol.

reply to post by OpenSource


neurobonkers.com...

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.

I sell these things; 3D Systems/Z Corp. There are some really cool medical applications. You can take a CT Scan of a patient and turn the CT slices into a 3D model and then print an exact replica of a person's skull for example.

There's a company called Figure Prints that Z Prints WoW Avatar models and has a great business model. Lots of possibilities with this tech, but making a watertight 3D CAD model that is printable is a major barrier to entry along with pricing for a decent machine.

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.

That would be hard, considering you can just convert the file into whatever format the machine requests using pretty much any mid range 3D software.

~Tenth

reply to post by Crakeur


Awsome lol. Thanks for the link.

So there you go, you can torrent all the 3D copyrighted blueprints you want >

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?

reply to post by tothetenthpower

3d printers are going to change the world.

I'm just not sure exactly how...

This is another thing Arthur C. Clarke forecasted.

Actually, he foresaw matter replicators/copiers that can reproduce any material object.

You can see his comment(s) here:

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?

I don't think anybody should be able to tell you what you can and cannot make.

As long as it isn't illegal, and you aren't going to endanger anybody then what's the problem?

Besides, the models that work with finer stuff like metals are FAR too expensive for a regular person to purchase. You're looking at 20 years + before that's available on the consumer market for cheap/

~Tenth

reply to post by tothetenthpower

As long as it isn't illegal, and you aren't going to endanger anybody then what's the problem?

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?

I don't think anybody should be able to tell you what you can and cannot make.

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.

Do you trust humans with that kind of power? I sure don't.

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.

I think you are exaggerating. Casting bullets isn't hard. What's the threat in making a plastic bullet in one hour when casting with a multi-cavity mold could easily get you over 1000.

If a person has enough ingenuity he doesn't need a 3D printer.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


Ok..

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?

I refuse to state that there are 3 times as many bad eople in the world as there are good people. So that logic is just wrong.

More like for every 3, they'll be 1 criminal. Not a good excuse to deny the product and it's capabilities to citizens using them properly. That's the same argument that the United States used to pass the Patriot Act among other things, and how much safer are you after that?

Again, the problems would be there of course, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my freedom of choice for "protection" from would be criminals.

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?

I trust my fellow citizens far more than I do any corporation. Would you rather your kid's toys come from China or your office?

I don't have this negative outlook on humanity like a lot of people do, at least not in this sense. You know that demonizing the human spirit and our capabilities is one of the primary tools used to opress us right?

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.

What?

No, most of the reason is that the stuff is notoriously hard to get to as you stated. You aren't going to be able to get your hands on C4 and those other materials any easier then than you would now. I can imagine the possibilities, but again, not doing something for the sake of what 'could' happen is a really bad way to move your society forward.

Imagine if they'd done that with guns? " oh, you can't have them, cause eventually a few guys are gonna get together and kill some folk who don't deserve it." See how that logic doesn't hold up?

I would certainly support legislation to make certain things either illegal or controlled, like gun parts for example or something like that. Certainly bomb production would remain illegal.

I just again, don't see the need to impose upon the legal users of these products for the sake of the very small minority that will misuse the tech.

~Tenth

reply to post by tothetenthpower


To be fair, I didn't read much of their web site, but as much as I would like to have one of these, I have my doubts about it for a few reasons:

First, they are selling 3D modling software for it at $50, and as far as I could see, nowhere did they mention that it would work with other software.

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?

Maybe I'm wrong in my assumptions, I'll have to read up more on it. But I can wait until some competitor comes along and drives the prices down. It won't be long.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


Really? You've got to be kidding. Have you looked at the toys this thing makes? The biggest problem I see is children swallowing small pieces.

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?

You make 2 opposing assumptions in these 2 paragraphs. If the cartridge is depositing material in a single color then how can it be a laser cutting a plastic block.

In reality it works like a hot glue gun which is fed a plastic filament.

reply to post by daskakik


Thanks for that information. I understand better now how it works. Having said that, then why don't they show anything that's multi-colored? Again, I have to assume that possibly the results aren't very good in that price range.

In any case, the technology is in its infancy, but exciting to think what this will become over the next 10 years. I'm sure that whatever you produce with it will be much more expensive than buying it, which should ease the minds of the paranoid who are thinking that these will bring out the Unibomber in us all. That, plus the fact that consumer versions will probably produce a softer plastic, making it useless for such things as gun parts.