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Closed-loop control would help the quality issue somewhat. Alot of the problem I see with the hobbyist/consumer units is related to using cheap frames and motion components. Unfortunately, that’s also what puts them in the hobbyist price bracket. In general, I don’t think the extrusion process will ever turn out finished quality mechanincal parts without considerable post-machining.

If I had access to a SLS or good quality SLA machine, I could make good parts without having to put so much time into them, and save weight on almost any part. Problem is good SLA printers are in the same price range as decent CNC mills and they have the advantage of producing full-strength metal parts. In the case of good sintering machines, those currently cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Anybody who’s handy enough to get real use out of a 3D printer and has time/space for the project, can make a DIY CNC vertical mill or lathe that will produce high-quality parts for about what they’d pay for a good prosumer-level extruder.

Definitely think 3D printing is going to disrupt certain niches of the manufacturing/prototyping/machining industries. Could put some concrete form-setters out of work, too. Just don’t see a typical consumer getting enough actual utility out of one to justify the price tag unless the price for plastic manufactured goods suddenly shoots up 10-fold.

I think it’s a fun technology, and can see the attraction from the point of view of a hobbyist or someone who wants to live a more DIY lifestyle than most. For me, it’s nice to be able to prototype quickly. Getting usable machine parts requires more time and effort than standard machining, though.

My daughter contributes time and skill to an international charity project that designs and prints 3D prostheses for use in third world hell holes. The parts need nothing more than a sandpaper touch up before being assembled with simple hand tools. That is part of the design. An additional feature, and one that is more to your point that "Anybody who’s handy enough to get real use out of a 3D printer and has time/space for the project, can make a DIY CNC vertical mill or lathe that will produce high-quality parts for about what they’d pay for a good prosumer-level extruder."
is that the skills needed to run a 3D printer are significantly less than the skills required to run a manual CNC mill and for a few thousand dollars a site can be set up in a third world slum that provides real benefits to the local population without having to have skilled machinists onsite. One doctor, one low-skilled technician and voila, artificial hands, feet, arms and legs, custom fitted to the patients' needs, are going out the door. Cool stuff and being done today.