List of Practical Consumer Based 3D Prints

[Maggie]

Alright, so I had my mother say to be last night "This 3d printer is neat, but it's not practical".

I froze up for a few minutes then thought, let me print her out some things which are practical for the next time I see her. I already thought of a couple things I will be taking her, but I thought I would start a thread here so that others can contribute to ideas (not for me but for everyone).

What are some practical things which a 3D printer is good at printing out for the consumer level? By practical I mean the cost and time are greater than the price you will pay at a store for the same product, or the ability to customize the object outweighs and time or price differences:

I'll start:

- Missing game pieces
- Customized Light switch covers
- Any tiny plastic parts which may be discontinued or expensive to find.
- iphone case

[PhotoSteve]

Well just go to Thingiverse and look at household collection. http://www.thingiverse.com/thingiver...ions/household

[atoff]

Well just go to Thingiverse and look at household collection. http://www.thingiverse.com/thingiver...ions/household

Nothing on Thingverse is actually "practical" for consumers.

I don't think 3D printing is actually very practical for the avg Joe at the moment... it sure could be useful though.
I have a wall air conditioner that's blocked off by my couch, so I'm designing a vent to redirect the airflow over and to the sides of the couch. I can't go out and buy such a thing, and my current cardboard method is ugly and not very effective. Several things like that I'm designing while I wait for the printer I want to become available.

[PhotoSteve]

[QUOTE=atoff;9161]Nothing on Thingverse is actually "practical" for consumers.

Well if you would have looked at the link the first couple it shows are
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:44328 Citrus Juicer
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:26767 bag holder
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:112117 custom screen for open holes

[atoff]

[QUOTE=PhotoSteve;9165]

Nothing on Thingverse is actually "practical" for consumers.

Well if you would have looked at the link the first couple it shows are
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:44328 Citrus Juicer
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:26767 bag holder
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:112117 custom screen for open holes

And yet still not practical in terms of justifying the cost. I can pick up a citrus juicer from the 99cent store for example.

[frederick78]

3D Printing has helped me with replacement parts that I can't find elsewhere online, or that are too expensive to buy online or in a store. It just makes it a little more conveinent.

[Bradley]

Alright, so I had my mother say to be last night "This 3d printer is neat, but it's not practical".

Print a prosthetic duck leg. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...t-chicken.html

[hercemer]

[QUOTE=atoff;9166]

And yet still not practical in terms of justifying the cost. I can pick up a citrus juicer from the 99cent store for example.

My printer estimates that I can print the juicer at normal settings for $1.44 in 5 hours and 33 minutes.

That’s over your estimate of $0.99 but I can have it right now in any color I want.

Imagine browsing a website like Amazon, but you can simply print whatever you buy. No shipping, no handling, no angry calls to UPS… just a juicer sitting on your print bed.

We’re already there with sites like thingiverse.

I can drive to Target and buy a toothbrush holder, or I can go here http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:265761 and print one for nearly nothing.

I had assumed that all my prints would cost more than the same item could be mass produced in China. As I tally the cost of my prints, it’s a lot closer than I thought. Combine that with the incredible convince of being able to just “click” on an item and watch it print in front of you… I’d say it’s already practical, or at least desirable.

[atoff]

[QUOTE=hercemer;9295]

My printer estimates that I can print the juicer at normal settings for $1.44 in 5 hours and 33 minutes.

That’s over your estimate of $0.99 but I can have it right now in any color I want.

Imagine browsing a website like Amazon, but you can simply print whatever you buy. No shipping, no handling, no angry calls to UPS… just a juicer sitting on your print bed.

We’re already there with sites like thingiverse.

I can drive to Target and buy a toothbrush holder, or I can go here http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:265761 and print one for nearly nothing.

I had assumed that all my prints would cost more than the same item could be mass produced in China. As I tally the cost of my prints, it’s a lot closer than I thought. Combine that with the incredible convince of being able to just “click” on an item and watch it print in front of you… I’d say it’s already practical, or at least desirable.

I stand by what I said, it's not at all practical for the every day consumer. You're considering only the cost of the filament, what about energy cost, your time, cost of the printer, etc.etc. If your goal to purchase a printer is to print 99cent object all day I'm pretty sure by the end of the day you'd have spent over $1k at minimum for $10 worth of "useful" items. Lets be real, is that crappy plastic hair brush you printed on Thingiverse comparable to what you could have purchased? In the future? Sure, absolutely... right now? No, not practical.

It's very useful for tinkerers, hobbyists... but the average consumer isn't going to spend the time to learn to model decent items and spend hours modeling the object, then wait for it to print. The items on Thingiverse are for the most part nothing more than novelty. I've browsed and browsed, and I can't find a single thing that interests me on that site. Let me print a worthless gear heart or two why don't I? lol

It might sound like I'm against 3D printing, but that's not at all the case, I think it's fantastic... just not "PRACTICAL" for the every day average Joe right now.

[Bradley]

[QUOTE=atoff;9297]

It might sound like I'm against 3D printing, but that's not at all the case, I think it's fantastic... just not "PRACTICAL" for the every day average Joe right now.

I agree with you completely in terms of the 'average joe right now'.

Improved ease of use, material options, and material costs will obviously start to change that. But so will demand for complexity and customization. Consumers don't think in terms of personal products just like they don't think in terms of personalized medication. We compromise by purchasing cheap mass produced stuff. If people want to use 3D printers to replace coat hangers it's an easy calculation.

On the other hand, something that might turn that around is printing custom foot orthotics. Custom orthotics are extremely expensive. I think they run around $400/pair. If people start thinking in terms of customization then an $800 printer (RepRap) that can print one pair of orthotics in several hours starts to look practical. 3D printed orthotics can't happen now because we also need the scanner and the software. But it is an example of how demand for customization can make a 3D printer practical for average joes.