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by johnecheck 388 days ago
Great analogy. 3d printing is awesome and incredibly useful tech. Truly world changing. But injection molding is here to stay.
2 comments
dangus 388 days ago
Even the phrase "world-changing" might be a bit too strong.

It's enabled some acceleration of product prototyping and it has democratized hardware design a little bit. Some little companies are building some buildings using 3D printing techniques.

Speaking as someone who owns and uses a 3D printer daily, I think the biggest impact it's had is that it's a fun hobby, which doesn't strike me as "world-changing."

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johnecheck 388 days ago
That's fair, but don't sell them short. A 3d printed gun just killed a CEO. Ukrainian drones are using 3d printed parts to drop bombs.

Between that and the changed game for hobbyists, the world is meaningfully different.

Most world-changing inventions do so subtly. Atom bombs are the exception, not the rule.

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dangus 387 days ago
I think the phrase "world-changing" implies a lot less subtlety than that.
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johnecheck 387 days ago
That's fair. My definition is probably broader than most.
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Filligree 388 days ago
Though we did figure out how to do injection molding with a 3d printer. In a printed mold.
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