Posted on 12/04/2014 10:09:01 AM PST by Jack Hydrazine
With the increasing popularity of certain movies, books, video games, and other technologies, comes the increasing awareness of new groups of individuals who relate to each other by a common interest which they share. We see this with Apple iPhone owners, Android smartphone users and the like. We also see this with fans of movies and TV shows; i.e. Star Trek (Trekkies). With the increasing awareness of 3D printing, comes a new group of people who are keen on learning all they can about the futuristic technology, and while they like it or not, they may just be becoming part of a new sort of subculture. This subculture has not yet reached a point where others take a disliking towards it, such as what we see between iOS and Android users, nor have 3D printing fans earned a nickname quite yet, like Star Trek fans. However, we are beginning to see jokes, and memes start to emerge, as more and more people are beginning to fall into a “3D printing enthusiast, hobbyist, nerd” (or whatever else you would like to call them) category.
One 3DPB forum member, curius aardvark, recently went ahead and created a comical, yet surprisingly accurate top 10 list of signs that point to an individual being an owner of a 3D printer. That list is as follow:
1. Whenever anyone mentions something to you – your reply is: “I can make that!”
2. Your house/workshop is overrun with little plastic models, doodads and fiddle widgets.
3. Your friends see you coming and run before you give them another useless piece of plastic.
4. Your Christmas gift list consists entirely of weird filament types.
5. You only intend on giving gifts this year that you’ve actually ‘made’ yourself (for ‘made’ read mostly downloaded from Thingiverse).
6. Even your anorack has 3D printed plastic toggles.
7. You spend your life hoping household items will break, so you can make your own.
8. You sincerely believe that you will invent and print something that will make you a fortune.
9. You believe that self-replicating printers (rep-rap) is a real concept because you can make a few plastic parts. While ignoring the fact that you have to buy all the metal, motors, electronics and actual print heads.
10. One day you hope to be able to print your own replacement body parts and become a truly self-made man.
Now our question to you is, “How many of these 10 statements do you fit into?”
If you fit only between one and three of these statements, you are just a mere 3D printing enthusiast wannabe.
If you fit between four and six of these statements, you are a 3D printing enthusiast amateur.
If you fit between seven and nine of these statements, you are a 3D Printing Nerd. Congratulations!
If you fit all ten of these statements, you are the Ultimate 3D Printing Nerd, and should probably think about taking it easy from slicers and extruders for a while.
As 3D printing really takes off, I predict a pay marketplace where people can download schematics for plastic parts of everything from the battery door on a remote control to a replacement dashboard for your car.
Airbus is planning to make a whole airplane from 3d printing.
Airbus and 3d printing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy3V3KR1LWc
By the time the technology reaches the point when it is truly useful it will be regulated to a gnat’s ass. Every printer will come loaded with spyware, and software to recognize and forbid certain objects (eg gun parts.)
Want to make the inside of your Hyundai tuner Ferrari red? Come on down to Ed’s car parts where we can make your dreams come true right in our shop on the corner of 101st and Vine.
If the American people are vigilant they can keep those regs to a minimum.
Why would I ever want to make a plastic gun, when I can go down to any urban liquor store and have a real, metal one stolen-to-order for me for a couple hundred bucks. Just ask the guys lounging around in the parking lot.
Just as anonymous and the gun will work a lot better...
I predict it will be regulated and/or sued out of the general marketplace.
Sounds like a lot of parts to print.
They can 3d print the parts for a metal gun. They have 3d printed the parts and assembled a functioning 1911 gun. The only thing keeping someone from being a personal gun factory is the cost of a 3d printer, the materials for the printer to make the metal parts, a knowledge of all the parts, and knowing how to use one.
I don’t think so. I’m thinking they’ll just print whole sub-assemblies and then do a final assembly of them all. Or maybe they’ll print the whole thing in one go!
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