Current 3D Printers: Useful or Just Cool?

In my opinion, being an owner of a 3D Printer myself, all current consumer 3D Printers are really not all that useful. They are awesome to use, and fun to show our friends. However, when it comes to using them to saving money, making useful things, or saving the world, they are pretty worthless.

Does anyone agree here? I love using my printer, so don't get me wrong. It's just more entertainment, than anything else for me right now. I feel the same can be said for about 80% of all other 3D Printer owners.

It's not until we can print in a greater variety of materials all at once that 3D Printers will become useful.

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Originally Posted by RepRapOwner

In my opinion, being an owner of a 3D Printer myself, all current consumer 3D Printers are really not all that useful. They are awesome to use, and fun to show our friends. However, when it comes to using them to saving money, making useful things, or saving the world, they are pretty worthless.

Does anyone agree here? I love using my printer, so don't get me wrong. It's just more entertainment, than anything else for me right now. I feel the same can be said for about 80% of all other 3D Printer owners.

It's not until we can print in a greater variety of materials all at once that 3D Printers will become useful.

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Don't agree sorry, I made sure my machine was well capable before I bought it (im not suggesting you didn't sorry :) ) I own a dual extruder flashforge, only cost me around $1000, but I've made that back a few times now just selling hobby parts. Flight controller cases (which I can mass produce, as they only take a few minutes to print) Quadcopter frames, art supplies.. you name it. If things keep up I think Ill buy a second machine.

I make alot of large quad arms, they need to come out fast, straight and at least pump out 8 per day, which it does with ease, every quad body I make is sold, and have plenty of orders on my plate so yeah, just wish it was faster.
Here is an example of the flight controller cases.. and arms pumping away

http://www.devogeninteractive.com/pi...3_529FD215&jpg
http://www.devogeninteractive.com/pi...C_529FD053&jpg
http://www.devogeninteractive.com/pi...A_529FD053&jpg

I do agree they could be faster :)

I tend to agree with Geoff. Those are some pretty cool things you printed out there buddy! Speed is something that will gradually get better as time goes on. Just think about the processing power of computers. Before we know it these printers will be printing object in a matter of a couple minutes.

Eddie

Otto Daimler, Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers and a host of people at the turn of the 20th Century were tinkering with new technologies that were not as economical as their established competitors, nor apparently world saving, but look what investigation and experience have done to those technologies in the past 100 years or so.

3D printing is a new technology that doesn't give much today, but has the potential to make great contributions to Mankind in this coming century. Right now we are tinkering with the technology, but if you read the 3D Printing News you will see that advances are being reported on a near daily basis. 3D Printing will become useful when we have mastered the technologies involved.

Old Man Emu

I thought the same thing, people are only printing toys, not really much going on. I am now changing my opinion, it looks like a large majority are being used to develop new products, print prosthetics, research, disaster relief, and many things I would never have thought possible. It has inspired the creator in so many people, and with the primary adopters being young people, it can only improve.

The technology has improved dramatically in a VERY short time, but physics limits how fast filament technology can go. Is fluid printing going to be the future ? From looking at Peachy, it would look like it might go that way. It seems to me to hold more potential than forcing a piece of plastic through a hot piece of metal to become a piece of plastic.

Just my opinion, thanks for the great thread.