[tsimionescu]

I've never really understood the optimism about 3D printing of consumer goods. What goods exactly are you buying that can conceivably be 3D printed in plastic? Maybe some furniture and lighting fixtures, but that's about it, and that's something that ideally you would only buy a handful of times in your entire lifetime. Perhaps cutlery, plating and things like vases would be the same, but even those are extremely rare purchases.

So what are you left with that could possibly justify the cost of a 3D printer capable of printing a bed for you? Doodads and cheap plastic crap is better no consumed at all, rather than printing yourself some thingamajig, and is anyway already so cheap that getting it for free would hardly be an improvement.

I do see 3D printing as possibly a major advance for certain hobbies, where being able to create your own small parts for various uses can quickly justify even thousands of dollars of investment. But for someone who doesn't have any construction-like hobbies, I think there is really no reason for this optimism.

[bradly]

You can print other materials than just plastic. You are imagining today's 3D printers. OP spoke of a 100 year period. Computers are nothing like they were in their infancy, and there are many quotes of people claiming people would never need a computer at home.

[tsimionescu]

Not that many, actually. You can't print most metals or glass (not without extreme temperatures), nor weaved materials. Maybe there are some ceramics that could be printed? You will also perhaps be able to print wood composites and a few other biological materials. Perhaps you may even print some electronics (though not something advanced like a microprocessor or FPGA).

If I'm missing somethign some examples of consumer goods you really think could be replaced by an advanced 3D printer that fits in an apartment or small-ish house (say, at maximum the size of a larger washing machine) would help a lot.

[bradly]

Again, you are comparing 100 years of exponential innovation to yesterday's technology. Yes, even today you can print many metals (gold, silver, titanium, aluminum, Tungsten, stainless steel, etc.) and you can print glass and fibers– let alone what will be possible in the future. And we aren't just talking 3D printing when discussing home manufacturing–there are reductive tools like CNCs and lasers as well.

You can walk through any Target or Walmart and see hundreds of items the could be made at home in the future.

https://www.3dprintingmedia.network/from-steel-to-metallic-g...

[dieselgate]

You make good points but I think stores like Amazon with fast shipping are likely to be more convenient for people. It seems the majority of consumers would rather buy something than do it themself

[vsareto]

I wouldn't look towards your standard home as a test bed for this. I don't need to 3D print cutlery or even most things around the house. You just don't use that much stuff. The economics don't make sense for me to spend a large amount of cash to print household things.

Farms, ranches, and other remote businesses definitely have an opportunity for that though, because not only do they need a lot of every day things, they are also far away and sometimes things aren't in stock.

[tsimionescu]

Sure, industry use is very exciting, and may well propel some 3D printer manufacturers to very high hills.

But the commenter I replied to was specifically talking about 3D printing in the home, so consumer goods, not industrial/business goods.

[mostlysimilar]

Perhaps we will walk to our local corner printing center.

[sgtnoodle]

It's a fun, satisfying hobby. You need to be willing to get your hands dirty with modeling, and be ready to engineer around the limitations of the technology, in order to unlock the potential as a tool for the home.

I print stuff for around the home all the time. It's great to be able to fix toys, closet doors, light fixtures, etc. My most recent print was a bunch of small stilts for a wooden playhouse we're building for our daughter. The playhouse will be on concrete in an uneven low spot, so I designed a piece that will take a 1/4" nut and bolt to allow the structure to be leveled, and keep the wood out of pooled water.

Over the years I've been working on a homemade force feedback steering wheel (for driving games). The gearbox is all 3D printed other than bearings, as well as a faux-wood dashboard. It's as performant as any commercially available force feedback wheel.

A 3D printer isn't going to evolve into some magical star trek replicator, though. It's a device for precisely making plastic objects within a bunch of constraints, or for precisely making resin into objects within other constraints.

[coolspot]

Imagine genetically modified tree that grows into shape of a bed, seeds are customizable: pick a color, dimensions, additional features.

[tsimionescu]

That would be ridiculously impractical.

Want a new bed? Just buy these seeds, plant them in a (at minimum) bed-sized pot, and don't forget to water, fertilize, keep in the right temperature range, and keep pests away for the next 1-2 years. Once it's fully grown, you'll just have to dig it out and allow a few more weeks until it stops growing new roots, a few more months until it dries into its final shape. Then, get ready to do some light sculpting to get rid of the root system, make good equal-sized flat feet, get rid of any branches that stick out. Now, buy some lacquer or paint to cover it thoroughly so it doesn't start rotting.

Hopefully it will not develop any disease or cancer in this time that could ruin its shape or kill it before it reaches the desired size.

[iancmceachern]

They do this already with watermelons in Japan. They make square watermelons!

[desmond373]

Mainly parts for other things I own, either to replace broken ones or to add a personal touch to my belongings