Why Buy A 3D Printer? | Traditional Manufacturing Vs. 3D Printing

[WiZE3D]

Why 3D Printers.jpg
"The value of all international trade (goods and services by land, air and sea) accounts for nearly 30% of the U.S. GDP. That value, which was 13 percent in 1990, is forecast to increase to the equivalent of 37 percent by 2015 and 60 percent by 2030." -U.S. Department of Commerce
If this consumerism based trend is continued, the U.S. could be in for a really big surprise when our once great manufacturing empire turns into a consumerist nation that can no longer be sustained by the rest of the world due to our bad habits and old ways.
LOWER YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT TREMENDOUSLY BY CUTTING OFF THE OUTDATED, UNNECESSARY SUPPLY SYSTEM. SAVING TONS OF CO2 FROM ALL THE UNNECESSARY SHIPS COMING FROM OVERSEAS, ALL THE UNNECESSARY MATERIAL REQUIRED TO PRODUCE PACKAGING, AND ALL THE UNNECESSARY EXPENDITURES ASSOCIATED WITH BRINGING ANY ITEM TO MARKET. Buy a 3D Printer today!! THE MORE 3D PRINTERS, THE MORE THE EARTH CAN BREATH, AS WELL AS YOUR POCKETS.

WiZE3D.com

[Feign]

I see you're selling Makerbots and Makerbot-branded filament, all at full retail price.

Good luck with that.

I also see that you already have a thread in the Free Self Promotion section, so how about instead of just shamelessly advertising here we actually have a topic for conversation?

[curious aardvark]

well I have to admit that my carbon footprint figured not one tiny little jot in my decision to buy a 3d printer.

And while I sort of care about co2, I know that I won't live long enough to see it all go tits-up - so honestly, couldn't give a rats arse one way or the other.

Are there really people who make day to day decisions based on their carbon foot print - a somewhat virtual and ephemeral object.
Short of living like a jane monk - there is realistically nothing you can effectively do to reduce your foot size.
You could plant a lot of trees I suppose :-)

[Feign]

Heck, I plant trees because they look good before really thinking about carbon footprint.

If the entire United States were to suddenly stop all man-made carbon dioxide production, it would reduce the annual increase in man-made CO2 production by about 15%. Not a decrease in man-made CO2, just a dent in the increase of it for the year. Mostly thanks to the rate that certain Asian and Middle Eastern countries are expanding their use of fossil fuels (with nearly zero regard for their carbon footprint). If anyone were serious about reducing man-made CO2, they would be forced to go after Russia and China just for a start. But it's just so much easier to use it to sell things in America.

I would have a lot of other things to say on that, but the whole subject is a minefield of drama, and pretty far off topic from 3D printing in general. Except to say that the 3D printing movement overall pretty good for air quality in general, (which I care about much more than CO2).

[WiZE3D]

It's not a matter of CO2 emissions nor a matter of promoting my business. And certainly not to get heckled by some trolls on here. A positive impact on the environment is just a side effect of using a 3d printer. What it's about is thwarting the outdated, over complicated supply chain, while simultaneously bringing business to local communities and sway away from multinational corporations that could care less about the consumer and only put into account the bottom line, instead of what's good for the community. Instead of importing plastic from China, metal from Indonesia, and packaging from japan(pushing profits overseas). Shipping them using another multinational corporation. Store inventory at another multinational corporation, and sell them at multinational retail stores. We can support our selves and sustain our environment with the purchase of a 3D printer, while at the same time, support local economies, minimize pollution, and change the world one print at a time.

[Mjolinor]

It's not a matter of CO2 emissions nor a matter of promoting my business. And certainly not to get heckled by some trolls on here. A positive impact on the environment is just a side effect of using a 3d printer. What it's about is thwarting the outdated, over complicated supply chain, while simultaneously bringing business to local communities and sway away from multinational corporations that could care less about the consumer and only put into account the bottom line, instead of what's good for the community. Instead of importing plastic from China, metal from Indonesia, and packaging from japan(pushing profits overseas). Shipping them using another multinational corporation. Store inventory at another multinational corporation, and sell them at multinational retail stores. We can support our selves and sustain our environment with the purchase of a 3D printer, while at the same time, support local economies, minimize pollution, and change the world one print at a time.

Give us a breakdown for the cost of making a 3D printer that is wholly constructed from parts and materials that are mined / sourced / made completely in the US.

[3D OZ]

LOWER YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT TREMENDOUSLY??
You are delusional, I have ordered more deliveries from overseas using dirty filthy production and delivery methods since buying my printer also delivered via dirty filthy means.
I need all sorts of filaments, print bed heaters from China, alternate nozzles, LED lighting, replacement thermistors, the list goes on and on.
These printers are hobby and experimental devices only for the vast majority of us. Those that treat their printers more professionally are sending their printed items out via?, you guessed it.
3D Printing is not even close to beginning a whisper of a sniff of a rumour of a dent in international manufacturing and distribution.
Drop the self-serving eco babble, dismount your incredibly high horse and re-enter the real world.

You're not being heckled by trolls. Trolls throw out controversial statements to purposely wind people up and start arguments, mirror much?

[Geoff]

Why 3D Printers.jpg
"The value of all international trade (goods and services by land, air and sea) accounts for nearly 30% of the U.S. GDP. That value, which was 13 percent in 1990, is forecast to increase to the equivalent of 37 percent by 2015 and 60 percent by 2030." -U.S. Department of Commerce
If this consumerism based trend is continued, the U.S. could be in for a really big surprise when our once great manufacturing empire turns into a consumerist nation that can no longer be sustained by the rest of the world due to our bad habits and old ways.
LOWER YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT TREMENDOUSLY BY CUTTING OFF THE OUTDATED, UNNECESSARY SUPPLY SYSTEM. SAVING TONS OF CO2 FROM ALL THE UNNECESSARY SHIPS COMING FROM OVERSEAS, ALL THE UNNECESSARY MATERIAL REQUIRED TO PRODUCE PACKAGING, AND ALL THE UNNECESSARY EXPENDITURES ASSOCIATED WITH BRINGING ANY ITEM TO MARKET. Buy a 3D Printer today!! THE MORE 3D PRINTERS, THE MORE THE EARTH CAN BREATH, AS WELL AS YOUR POCKETS.

WiZE3D.com

Makerbot Ad?

[Feign]

Okay, let's try to keep it civil. In hindsight, I may have set the bar pretty low for that earlier, but it doesn't need to go lower.

WiZE: First, the problem is that the outdated supply chain is exactly what is churning out most of the printers themselves, and using the more impressive printers to replace the entire upper left quarter of that first image with the right side of it. Second, fighting big multinational corporations is a fine and noble idea, but Makerbot is one of them now (or more accurately, got bought by one of them) Selling their stuff exclusively isn't making you look good on that argument. Get some open-source kit printers in stock, maybe a few products from smaller businesses and your narrative will play out a little more believably.

OZ: Half of your post is dedicated to being insulting and does more harm than good to the legitimacy of your argument. Sure you get parts from China, but this might be one of the last hobbies left where you didn't have to get Chinese parts. Also, WiZE isn't trolling. Trolling requires controversial statements, and there's really nothing at all controversial with "fight the power, save the environment, buy my stuff." It's been so popular that it's been used to sell everything from political candidates to Chinese toys since roughly the 1960s. The only thing I took issue with in WiZE's opening post was the "buy my stuff" portion.

That said, we at least have discussion going, now if we can all cool our tempers a bit, we might have a worthwhile thread.

[3D OZ]

Oh, come on, "Reduce your carbon footprint dramatically, buy a 3D Printer" is NOT controversial? I would have thought that a fictional association of a product with significant carbon emission reduction was extremely controversial. It’s certainly not a fact that can be backed up with any evidence.
The end to end Production-Distribution-Run equation of CO2 emissions for a 3D printer would be massively emission positive given that 95% of owners never print a single item that they would otherwise have bought, unless it’s an upgrade component for their printer.
3D Printing is the ultimate consumerism accelerator, we buy more stuff for it and we print things we would otherwise live without. We make what we want, because we can, rarely because we NEED to.
With a 3D printer in the house, make-do, becomes make-new. Sure you can fix a few things around the house and save a trip or two to the shops but nobody with a $1000 printer has ever printed out $1000 worth of useful objects.
There are 10 printed objects on a shelf in my office, I don't use or need any of them and I certainly would not have bought any of them. They look good, great conversation starters but I saved no trees by printing any of those out.

Sorry if I stepped over the insult line but playing the unjustified Eco card especially when selling more consumer stuff really gets me going.