3D printing has the potential to change everything in our world: the Army is considering using it as an easy way to replace parts during war, and NASA even just sent a printer to space. So when I was given the chance to try printing an object for the first time, of course I wanted to try it.
12 comments:
3D printers seem really cool to the eye, but once you start playing around with one, you realize its much harder than it looks. I have never personally used 3D printer before, but unlike that author I never would have guess it would be easy. Just creating a file that is capable of printing a 3D image is way beyond my capability, never mind operating the machine, and finishing the product. I find 3D printing to sound much cooler than it actually is. Over time, technology will improve and allow a better product to be produced at a domestic cost. To get a 3D printer that will actually produce high quality work you need to invest a ton of money. The material itself isn't cheap too and overall isn't worth it in my eye. I also don't know of any practical usages for a 3D printer. All the work I've seen is just of little figures that sit and put a smile on your face.
For such a new and popular trend you would think they might try and create a printer that is a little more user friendly. Not everyone has been trained to use software that is that advanced. It surprises me a little that the author thought it would be as easy as pushing a button. I have never used a 3D printer but I have known that it is not a simple process and it could take a while to print. Even though there is a lot of really cool stuff being done with 3D printers most of it is by professionals. Not many average Joe's have a 3D printer laying around that they use for fun. A contributing factor to this is probably the expense of buying one and keeping up with the maintenance.
There may be a barrier for the older audience but the my 4 year old cousins have a 3d printer at their school, and they can use it. They can make files and print them from scratch. To them it is a free toy store. There is a learning curve but I don't think it is as steep as its made out to be. And everyone complains about quality but its not like the first few computers were that great. Every year 3d printers get better and cheaper. In 5 - 10 years maybe it will be as simple as hitting print. You can change all sorts of options on a normal printer but you don't because it sets them correctly most of the time. The tech is still evolving. And if everything the article says is true then I am glad we bought one. The author says that every imperfection is another thing she has to learn. That makes the 3d printer a constant learning process. And isn't that what we are all about?
This article seems to focus too much on the bad points of 3D printing. I understand that this is an article specifically to warn people considering getting printers that they may not be all that they're built up to be, but after owning my own for 3 years now, I can say that many of these issues can be overcome. Just like any new medium, 3D printers take a certain skill to know how to use, much like using watercolor for the first time. These skills are learned through a process of trial and error. Often times the issues that he brought up can be fixed by just breaking up the object into multiple parts and assembling it after it's complete.
I never realized how hard 3D printing actually was. Personally, I have always thought you could print like a normal printer, but now I know better. The process of 3D printing is so complicated which I should've realized. The idea that 3D printing could ever become commercialized seems unlikely. Unless everyone learns how to do models on computers, then it is specifically only going to be for designers. Also the dry time make the product is unreasonable.
This is the article that never gets published. For years I've read about how 3d printing is coming to the masses, yet everybody overlooks the challenges. 3d printing isn't terribly hard, but it also isn't as easy as sending a Word document to a printer. I have always maintained the stance that the most difficult part for consumers to learn in order to 3d print is the design and 3d modeling phase. While this obstacle can be sidestepped by merely downloading files other people have created, this still is an issue if a piece needs revisions or editing. Furthermore, if one lacks a deep understanding of how pieces are modeled, it is more challenging to overcome the other various hurdles of 3d printing, such as smartly choosing how to employ supports. Frankly, this article's content should be more of a no-duh than it is, but I'm glad at least somebody is getting the message out there.
While 3D printing has always seemed cool, it's always seemed so flawless. It's reassuring to see that there is some flaw in the process, even if some of the results are really cool to look at. Obviously, I didn't think that 3D printing was foolproof, but I thought it was a bit more predictable. It sucks that you don't always get the results that you want, but it's still fantastic technology. Despite these problems, the fact that we can do so much with 3D printing (from art to medical advances), is quite amazing. I hope that bugs like the ones shown in this article. (Also the Pokemon are really adorable).
Something that I felt was important to remember while reading this article is that 3D printing is still a relatively new technology. It will be a while before it is fully incorporated into everyday life, and to some it is not nearly intuitive enough. As i have no experience with 3D printing, I have no idea on which end of the scale I land on, but I don't think it really matters. This technology has so much potential to make so many things about society better, so I think it would be foolish to rage quit on it. People will eventually learn to use these tools, just as people learned to drive and type and use telephones.
If anything I think this article points out a need for better interfacing for 3-D printers, not the flaws in the machinery itself. Yes, there are issues with every print, but what the author is really asking for is interfacing software for the average consumer that will assist them in not only learning how to 3D print, but also how to scale, refine supports and maintain continuity in designs.
Personally I think 3D printing is the future and we're moving towards it at a fair pace, but we can't undermine the need for user friendly software just because the hardware is readily available. I think if Apple, or Adobe, designed software to help in this process the accessibility and use of 3D printing by the private consumer would skyrocket.
I feel like a lot of technology that people would think is easy to use, is not actually that easy to use. There is a learning curve to every technology even if some curves are smaller than others. For example, I'm sure the learning curve for Photoshop is smaller than the curve for 3D printing. However, none of it is impossible to use. If someone really wants to utilize 3D printing for their home and office, I'm sure they could but I'm not sure that 3D printing will actually become ready for the average consumer. There are lots of little parts that have to be taken into account and there are different computer progress the consumer must learn before even thinking about printing. Maybe if people continued to develop 3D printing so that it was as easy to use as your average home computer, the average consumer could use it, but artists and engineers have already begun to master the current state that 3D printing is in. What would even be a reasonable use case for the average consumer?
I don't understand the seemingly hysterical appeal of 3D printing, and this article is validating a lot of my feelings. Sure, it's a cool idea to be able to design things on the computer and have a machine make them for you, especially when, like me, your fine motor skills are less adept than the average third grader, but I just don't see the point after you get over the "it's the FUUTURE" shiny newness. You can't really choose much in the way of materials, just various kinds of plastics, which are super expensive. It also seems as though you spend more time trying to CAD the thing and wait for the printer than you would to make your trinket out of Sculpee or whatever. Until printers get a high enough fidelity to produce parts with a high enough degree of accuracy for them to work while also being able to print metal and other materials, it just seems to be a super expensive Playdough mold...
I guess knowing how the 3D printers work and having friends who use them, this doesn't surprise me. Honestly, I bet when printers and color printing became a thing, it probably had similar issues at first. It just takes time to develop any technology into a user friendly program. So I'd say give it another few years and things will probably be really different. Until then, it is trial and error to find the printer and program that works best.
Post a Comment