[wearywanderer]

> "3D printing is really a subset of autonomous technology and robotics."

I'm confused, is this an objectionable statement? A lot of people seem to treat 3d printing as something truly special and unique, but actually 3d printing is a form of CNC; additive rather than subtractive like a CNC mill, but a form of CNC nonetheless. It's a technology firmly rooted in a broader tree of established technologies.

I guess some people think of these machines as printers foremost, and thus perceive a huge conceptual jump or paradigm shift from 2d desktop inkjets to 3d printers. If somebody comes from a computer background rather than a manufacturing background, it's easy to see why this framing might be chosen. But I don't think that's the right way to look at 3d printers. Rather, 3d printers are the synthesis of two already well established concepts in manufacturing: making things by adding material, and controlling machines using computers.

Edit:

> Wouldn't 2D printers then also be a subset of autonomous technology and robotics?

The modern familiar forms of 2d printers are such a subset, yes (and I never implied otherwise.) These machines were preceded by other forms of 2d printing which are not autonomous but were nonetheless mechanical. They were also preceded by autonomous forms of 2d printing that didn't fit inside your living room, but were nonetheless familiar technology to the general public (because everybody knows books exist.) I believe this is the reason 2d printing is generally considered more mundane than 3d printing, which is treated like sci-fi technology that came out of left field. Again, understanding the historic context of these machines gives us insight into the reasons they are perceived the way they are.

[alfl]

I've recently been thinking about this in the context of web technology (revisiting some ideas from the 90s that didn't pan out then, but can be repurposed now).

Your point here about CNC and additive versus subtractive manufacturing is also near to my hobbyist interests.

Extending the idea a bit, I suspect the history of social changes that resulted from the advent of the printing press are an entryway into understanding the public's reaction to social media today.

Aside from living through the history, can you recommend a way to build more of this knowledge? If it's a matter of being widely read do you know of something like a survey introductory text?

I will google more, but thought I'd ask.

[rriepe]

Wouldn't 2D printers then also be a subset of autonomous technology and robotics?

[jazzyjackson]

From one angle, by looking at the bill of materials comparing a inkjet and makerbot, they both look like robots

But from another angle, printing and publishing paper is a different industry than manufacturing objects, so the distinction is in their context