[al_borland]

I keep looking at 3D printers, but then I start looking up if they are safe to use inside and various things like that, and I get scared off.

I think I need to give it a few more years before it reaches a maturity level I would actually use.

[jazzyjackson]

Really? It's been nearly 20 years since Reprap, it's hard to imagine it maturing any more. If I get one I'll probably treat it like a belt sander or something, a tool that sits in the garage with plenty of fresh air. Agreed that it's a little concerning knowing some people that sit in a closed space with a dozen of these running (at that point you can smell the hot plastic...) but using common sense with good ventilation goes a long way.

[al_borland]

I currently have a detached garage that wouldn’t be a good place for a printer. If I had an attached garage I could see it being a different situation.

As far as development goes, it seems like there has been a lot of advancement in just the past 5 years. Seeing what some of the high end commercial printers are capable of, I think there is still a lot of development left for what home printers can do. The Bambu printers are bound to get some competition. There are also a few competing technologies, and I’m willing to give it some more time to shake out. It still feels very much like a hobbyist tool for people who want to tinker a bit. I want to design and print without a lot of fuss.

[jazzyjackson]

Are you thinking SLS (sintered) ? I guess I always thought of that as a whole 'nother tier of quality that would be difficult to achieve at home.

[al_borland]

I can’t find the exact video I first saw, but looking around I think it was full color resin printing. They were printing photorealistic figures of 2Pac, and I think some video game or animated characters as well.

I’m not sure how resin stacks up in terms of durability for making parts, but from the perspective of being able to print anything and having it look perfect, it blew my mind.