Will Any Large Companies enter the 3D printing Market?

[curious aardvark]

they will all enter it - the commercial possibilities are pretty staggering.

Once you've got copy protected files and locked down file distribution then a home machine that can replicate parts for consumer goods will be a must.

Not free files from thingiverse etc - but actual copyrighted files from manufacturers, paid for, securely downloaded to your box and made in your home.

It's a few years yet - but it's where this amazing technology is heading.

We're talking propriatory locked down filament cartidges, closed system electronics, possibly user designed files - but primarily they'll be for making parts cheaper and quicker than you can buy them.

That's what the big commercial guys will want - and it will happen. Probably within the next 5 years definitely within the next 10.

What they don't wnat to do is spend a lot of money on research and manufacturing, only to have some chinese factory rip it off.
At the moment the whole system is just too open to be attractive to the really big commercial mega-sharks.

At this very moment I'm printing a replacement handle for a gtech electric carpet sweeper (got a dog ? get a sweeper :-).
The design is mine, it should be stronger and lasrt longer than the ones I've had to buy in the past with a deliberately built in design flaw (so you keep buying handles).,
It's going to cost me about £0.60 to make.
The flawed replacement would cost about £6 - 10 times as much to buy.

But how many people would be prepared to put the hours in to design and improve their own household gadgets ?
Damn few.
I've stopped watching television since I've had my 3d printer. Haven't got the time to spare and I'd much rather be designing and making stuff.
Between that, work and my usual life - something had to give and it was television.
Most people won't want to make that decision :-)

However offer them a magic box that will make preprogrammed parts for them, with endorsement from, dyson, hoover, ford, samsung, apple, google etc - And cost maybe half what a part directly from the manufacturer would cost (bear in mind you pay all costs - all they do is sell you a secure file).
Add in an apple 3d store and a google 3d store and you've got an absolutely bottomless platinum mine in the making.
Cheap Full colour fdm is almost here. Once that's in the commercial boys will start the takeover bid.

And I can see magic maker boxes in all the supermarkets, electronic stores, hardware stores - you get the idea.

And a secure platform is in the works - somewhere - count on it !
If google aren't developing one - they're about to buy a company that is.

MY advice, learn all you can while you can and hoard any useful stl files :-)

And if my handle works as well as I hope - I'll slap some text on it, upload it to thingiverse and gtech can kiss my arse !
Today - in the future I can see copyright laws getting a lot more draconian and copyright lawyers salivating in anticipatiion.

Google and it's satanic minions pretty much killed the open internet, how long before they get their claws on 3d printing ?

Be Afraid - Be very afraid !