How long until 3D Printing is common in homes

[TeddyYan]

How long do you guys think it will be before 3d Printing is commonplace within homes? 30 years ago, we wouldn't have ever imagined having a regular printer in our homes. Now, everyone has one, even my grandparents. How long before you think 3D printers will be a common item to have in every home?

[redrick]

Within 3-5 years decent prints will be available for $300-$400. Will they be commonplace in people's homes? Maybe not quite, as they will mainly use plastic only. In 7-8 years I am guessing that cheap printers which can use a variety of materials, wood, metal, plastics, etc will be cheap enough, and then, I believe they will begin invading most people's homes.

Once the stuff used in the printers get cheap enough or printers which recycle trash into filament comes about, things will explode.

[dddprint]

And we also need a 3D-scanner that would recognize materials. Common users don't know (and I don't think they will ever learn) how to create a printable 3D model.

[nka]

Right now, it's... hum... affrodable ? Geek gadget or rich gadget.

3-5 years, it will be cheaper, but still a high-tech gadget (like having a Blu-Ray burner the first year Blu-Ray Movies goes on sales).

4-6 years, they will be an usefull tool to have at home. Most home will have them. <- We will see many people complain about it too. Telling it will kill the industry, trying to put DRM in stuff and so on (like the MP3).

6-8 years, expecting they will go very cheap and be a "must" in most home (like having internet... you can live without it, but it's WAY better if you do have it).

[MasonGerald]

And we also need a 3D-scanner that would recognize materials. Common users don't know (and I don't think they will ever learn) how to create a printable 3D model.

I don't think this should be too difficult. Using some sort of density sensor, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. I agree, it's very important.
I'd love to see a Printer/Scanner combo that cant print/scan dozens of different materials.

[RedSox2013]

This is a tough question to answer. I think it's very possible that the initial wave of 3D Printing will take place in stores. Most people likely don't want to spend a couple thousand bucks for a really useful printer, nor do they have the patience to learn how to use them, etc. I think in the next 5 years we will see thousands of stores adopt 3D Printing like Home Depot, Walmart, etc. There will even be entire storefronts which are set up only to 3D Print people products on high quality machines. I then expect that by 2018 or 2019 consumer printers will be cheap enough, have cheap enough filament, and be extremely high quality where mass adoption will begin taking place.