No question the technology is advancing almost as fast as prices are beginning to drop.
However these are not for the faint of heart. It's easy to make something from an existing plan. And if you buy a 3-D scanner then reproducing some things would be fairly easy.
The biggest hurdle to 3-D printing in the home is that I think the vast majorities do not have the design skills to create a plan. You need much more than a passing fancy of design programs. If they can solve that issue with technology then I think people will line up to buy them. Although the way kids are so technology adept these days they could probably handle creating something after a few trys.
Ed
Ed,
I'd like to agree with you, but 3D printing and learning CAD software to create what you want is far and beyond most teenagers and adults.
Yeah, some schools and colleges are just now offering courses of how to do it.
But it is learning the CAD software to create the exact design and specifications of something as well as the highly accurate machine to make it that is currently unaffordable to the average person.
I mean, if this technology was available, Lionel, MTH, Atlas and Bachmann would be punching out all kinds of detailed locos and boxcars at much cheaper prices.
But, they aren't. That's because the present 3D printing technology for their use is still too expensive and years away from precise perfection.
