[andrewmb]

Pretty much this exactly. Even as an insider, I don't ever see 3D printers being as ubiquitous as PCs or microwaves. However, I think that one day, probably on that 10-year timeline, every printshop and Kinko's will have one. But for home use? It makes more sense for them to be consolidated and shared/rented. The laws of physics are actually the limiting part for most 3D printers--you can only extrude plastic or cure resin so fast without crazy expensive support hardware. People compare this to Moore's law; the analogy is sound, but they don't realize how far along the curve we are with respect to the supporting technologies that go into these machines.