Ars Technica: We’ve all heard of 3D printers, but there still aren’t that many places where you can see, touch—and most importantly—try out a 3D printer before you commit to plunking down hundreds or thousands of dollars to add one to your own hacker den.
But if you find yourself in Southern California (specifically, Pasadena) on Sunday, you can attend the opening of Deezmaker, the West Coast’s first 3D printer retail store, set to open on September 23, 2012 at 2pm. That will bring the grand total of 3D printer retail stores in America (and possibly the world) to two.
15 comments:
It seems to me that even though having a retail location might give the customers more hands on ability to choose between models I see this as a niche market at best and how big of a market share is there for these devices? With that said, offering the 600 dollar model is a great way to get repeat customers. Wet their appetite then sell them on the higher end models. Diversifying the items sold at this store might be a good idea to help this venture stay afloat. I would love to see an all in one prototyping store. If these guys offered cnc mills and 3d scanners it would be great. With our move to an ever increasing online life and economy I do not see how somewhere like this could stay in buisness without a strong online presence in addition to the brick and mortar store.
I think this store has a pretty good chance of success. Technology is advancing at ridiculous rates only a couple years ago the cheapest 3d printer on the market was around $2,000. Getting a physical store out there is a huge step in demonstrating the technology which will hopefully get the demand to rise. With the price coming down $1,400 to only $600 the 3D printer could soon become available at prices akin to the kind that would result in it slowly becoming a household technology just like 2d printers did. I think this will happen because it is undeniably a useful technology with endless applications. Earlier this year a doctor designed something on a 3D printer that allowed a young girl o regain the use of her arms (http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/08/3d-printed-magic-arms-give-a-little-girl-use-of-her-limbs/) literally one of the coolest and most heartwarming videos I have ever seen. This is the kind of technology that once accessible will advance the world in ways we probably cant imagine. even if this store fails I find it hard to believe that there wont soon be others that succeed.
I think that the prospect of a 3D printer being widely available is fascinating. It allows for so many applications that would normally take an extremely long time to complete. With the price of technology drastically lowering as things are innovated and things able to be produced more cheaply how long until everyone has a 3D printer in their own home? The article mentioned how toys were possible to be made at home think just how much trouble this would save parents. They could simply print the latest toy after buying the plans from the toy company. Also the environmental impact would be huge too no need for shipping/manufacturing goods because they can be done in your own home.
I might have to disagree with some of the thoughts in this article, because having a hands on experience or a store that you can go to is always better. A video of a 3D printer might be all that you need today for some people, but there is something about putting your hands on an item that cannot be replaced. Actually seeing and experiencing how a 3D printer works might get more people to but them. A $600 model that people can see will also help them to start out in the 3D printing world as Luke has stated. It might not seem like something now, but eventually, 3D technology might become more impressive and widely used in a number or industries.
The accessibility of haveing a 3D printer avalible to the public adds a whole new level of opertunity to us. It makes life esier for certian things. The fact that this store is making it avalible for the public is a great idea because people proably arnt going to buy a 3D printer unless they know theyre goign to use it a lot.But most people arnt useing it a lot so the accessiblity of being able to yuse it once is brilliant.
I've been following 3D printers and their development for some time now and I'm still not sold on them. I can see how they can be useful but I'm still not seeing them being used on a daily basis or really by the general masses. Granted if they started making Creepy Crawlers, or Monsters in my Pocket with them I could probably get behind them. It's nice to see a lower price model that people could actually use and try out. This could be a very interesting tech for the future.
I'm sure you are all very tired of hearing about my job at a robotics company,m but we RP everything! It is a quick and cheap AND fast way to get plastic parts for the robots. It's especially useful for prototyping (RP stands for rapid PROTOTYPING so hopefully it is). It solves many questions like "Will this manipulator cover work?" and things like that because we can make them on site and cheaply. Also, it's useful for producing some pieces of our production model (to come out August of this coming summer). In a theatre application, every scene/prop shop should have one. We in theatre are very good at using odd materials in ways they were never intended to do magical things. Rp machines are another means by which to quickly and cheaply get things made. In 6 hours you can have fake daggers, lamps, banister caps, decor, and anything else you can print! Such a useful tool. Now that it is becoming a readily available product, I expect people will begin to be much more resourceful, and RP will come down in price! How EXCITING!!!!!!
3d printers are such a cool concept. The ability to think of an object and then just print it out in your living room is fantastic. Unfortunately with current technology we can't all afford 3d printers in our living rooms. This is where companies like this come in handy. They provide the services for people who can't necessarily afford the luxury of 3d printers. 3d printers are very useful for anyone. Say a piece of furniture or something loses or breaks a piece. Instead of buying a new one you could just print out the missing piece
People will buy this. I don't have 600 spare dollars lying around, but there are plenty of people who do. Compared to the cost estimates of the models before this one, it is very reasonable priced. Likewise, the concept of 3D printing is trendy. It's on the rise as one of the most up and coming technologies the printing industry has to offer. Who wouldn't want that? We buy apple phones for more money than that, and those certainly don't 3D print (yet.) Parents buy their kids gaming systems that cost that much for Christmas and birthdays. So, I wouldn't be surprised if some kid wants a 3D printer this year.
I wonder how useful a store like this would be to the general population. While I'm sure people who work in industries where 3D printers are useful would greatly appreciate being able to look at the models, try them out, and figure out which one would works best for them, the average Joe wouldn't have much use for something like that. Is a 3D printer used enough to ensure that a store like that will be able to stay in business? While 3D printers are very cool in concept, what could the average person actually do with one? I can think of a lot of "cool ideas", but not of anything that would actually make the lives of the average person better or easier. It would be just another really expensive toy for adults to play with.
I still see 3D printing as a rather niche market. There was a demand for consumer versions of 2D printers, as there is a convenience to being able to print out documents and pictures in your home. I'm not sure there is as much of a demand for printing 3D models on demand in your home. Yes, for those who make models or are hobbyists a $600 3D printer is wonderful. For the majority of the population, I think not.
Ahh this seems so cool! 3D printers seem to be a great advance towards the future but are still very unavailable to the greater public. The opening of this store, however, is a step towards making sure everyone gets the chance to see a 3D printer and see how it works. It's also great to hear that they're selling a 3D printer for only $600! This all seems like a further step towards the future of technology. Just as computers and even 2D printers took a while to take off, so will 3D printers but in the future they will most likely be very popular.
I am so excited to be living in a time in which 3D printing is becoming everyday. This is a tool which has endless potential for increasing the quality and efficiency of our work. I was just reading the other day about plans to install 3D printers on the ISS so that astronauts can just print their very specialized tools instead of carrying them up with them on the rocket. Of course we are still a long ways away from these machines becoming a device in every home, but it is titillating to think that it could happen in our lifetimes.
I'm confused as to why there is a need for a physical retail store. I don't really believe the article when it says that 3D printers are in high demand. I believe they are in higher demand than when they originally came out, but this article was talking about selling it to regular people. If people can afford a 3D printer, I'm sure they would want higher quality toys than the toys they could print out. I think these stores will live because of museums, laboratories, and universities. But for the average Joe, I don't see this as an item on the top of the "What to Buy" list. I think the business would be fine as an online business, where people can order them online and send them back if they are in need of repair. It would be cheaper, since you don't have to pay certain bills and taxes, and I doubt all of Los Angeles is desperate for a 3D printer
If you've ever been to one of the big "Maker Faires" in California, New York, or Texas, you have no doubt grappled with the question, "yeah that's cool, but why?" 3D printing has innumerable manufacturing uses that are already an important part of industry, and have been for a lot longer than most people suspect (the basic technology has been around since the eighties). But the most practical use, prototyping parts to quickly test the viability of a concept or application of a design, is simply not something must of us have to do that often. So will the 3D printer ever become as ubiquitous as the 2D printers so many people have sitting on their desks? I hate to be the one who says, "you're smoking something" to the guy who invented the frisbee, but I just don't see the need for it.
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