3D Printing and Friends

I know this may be a bit of an odd post, but for those of you who have purchased 3D printers, what do your friends think of it who are not tech geeks? When I got my printer, anytime anyone would come over it immediately became the center of attention. I have all kinds of requests from people asking me to 3D print them things. Sometime I do it, other times I just tell them I am too busy. We even had a little party centered around the 2 printers I now have. Gotta say it was a hit!

Two close friends have also dug into their pockets and purchased their own printers in the last 3 months. What have been your experiences involving your close acquaintances and your 3d printer?

Same here. It used to be whenever anyone would come over, we'd all congregate in the kitchen. Now its in my office where my 3D printer is located. I've made it a habit to usually start a cool print a few hours before guests come over. Everyone is usually flabbergasted :)

I've had a slightly different response from my friends. While they think it is cool, they think I'm a bit of a mad scientist and don't really get too inquisitive. They ask me if I've printed anything cool lately, I show it and then things move on to other topics. I just don't think they fully understand what they are looking at even as I've done my best to describe it. Maybe I am a tremendous geek in my circle of friends. In fairness to them, I am a little older so maybe they are so absorbed in the things they are doing (like paying for their kid's college) that they just aren't that curious.

But that's an interesting observation. The press likes to say that within "x" years over 50% of the public will have a 3d printer. Maybe there is going to be a division of interest based on age. From my perspective, 40-50ish friends of mine are mildly interested and I'd bet few of them would say "yes" if I asked, "would you buy a 3d printer anytime soon?"

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Originally Posted by RobH2

Maybe there is going to be a division of interest based on age.

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I think that older people, and I'm a Baby Boomer, are "Change Fatigued". In our lives we have experienced so much change that as we reach out later years, and the end of our working lives, we are tired of trying to adapt to the latest NEW thing. Most of us just want to stop working as we have for the past 40 - 50 years and enjoy the freedom of retirement. So it's only a few crazy people like me who think they can live forever who try to keep mentally young by adopting new technologies.

Old Man Emu

Well said my friend. I'm with you mate. Keep the mind stimulated. I deal in a professional world populated by 25-year olds. It's gotten harder for me, with gray hair and twice the age, to convince an art director that I'm as on top of it as they are. I can run circles around most of them. It's sad that the world thinks of 50ish as being used up and devoid of inspiration and insight. So, let's keep plugging along and prove them wrong.

Hear Hear for the 50+ crowd.. All my younger friends call me macgyver as i tend to build things out of the ordinary. The printer was a big hit at my sons robotics competition as they were printing team buttons to hand out there was a line formed. We even had a Yale recruiter interview my son about the printer.

Very funny, I've been called MacGyver since I was 20 or so. I guess we are all tinker geeks to the end.

I still get called MacGyver at my workplace and by my friends,

Unfortunately I too am closer to 50 than 40 yet am willing to always try something new, my favourite quote to the younger generation is as follows.

Just because its your expectation doesn't mean its my limitation.

This is generally said in a less refined way but with a much clearer intent :p:p

In saying that I do openly admit that I can learn a lot from the younger generation.

Steve

I do agree with you Steve. We can certainly learn from younger people who aren't jaded yet by "life." If we aren't careful, as we age, we can begin to stop thinking "outside the box." It's really important to train yourself to be open-minded as we get older. Just as youth can teach us and inspire us we too have a lot to offer them also. We have wisdom. Wisdom is that one thing that can limit our creativity. Because, if you already think you know everything, what's the motivation to think about new things or solutions? But, if you combine wisdom with creative thought, you have a winning combination. And wisdom is one of those things that you can't just have. You have to earn it by the passing of years. As long as you don't let wisdom and aging stifle you, then it's can be powerful.

Thankfully I can never seem to think inside of the square as I am always looking for new creative ways to achieve things, and often it is not so much one particular individuals thoughts that help you to achieve that, but a combination of bits and pieces from all different perspectives that once thrown together into a large mix that often provides the clearest solution.

Will be interesting to see my friends different responses once my printer arrives.
Steve

Steve (lycan...because there are two Steve's here), great response. Yes, let's stay outside the box all the time if we can. And I agree, we can't do it alone. Noting is more powerful than collaboration.

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Originally Posted by RobH2

..because there are two Steve's here)

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Make it three. I turn 50 tomorrow and I think 3D printers are the neatest thing since sliced bread.

Steve S

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Originally Posted by steve s

Make it three. I turn 50 tomorrow and I think 3D printers are the neatest thing since sliced bread.

Steve S

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Hey my dad is 65, and he has been using a 3D printer for over a year. He asks me a lot of questions but he's pretty good with it.

What's funny is that all of his friends are always asking him to print things for him. He showed them Thingiverse and now they all send him stuff to print. I told him he needs to start charging them, but he won't.

I hear you Matt. I've done the same thing. It's hard to charge your friends. One of mine said I should just have a flat rate of $5 no matter what I print. He said at least that would pay for filament and everyone is willing to give up $5 for something cool and handy. I don't know, maybe I'll take his advice.

Now you need to start printing with your dad too.

It's funny, I have a different story. All my friends just call me a nerd and say that 3D printing is pointless. I tell them that it is the future, and although it can't do all that much now in terms of making overly useful things, in the future everyone will be using them on a weekly basis. They still call me a crazy nerd. LOL

People called Albert Einstein crazy once too.... Keep on printing!

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Originally Posted by RobH2

People called Albert Einstein crazy once too.... Keep on printing!

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So true, so true. Same went for just about every other crazy invention out there. I'm sure people questioned the automobile, the cell phone, the TV, the Radio, etc. 3D printing will be huge one day and we will look back as being the pioneers.