[BobCat]

The time you waste instructing the 3d printer to recreate your broken widget is better spent carving it out with the methods at hand.

That little steel thingy that wore out I can drill, file and bend by hand faster than you can CAD/CAM it up. You'll beat me if you're making many of something. But your home shop 3d printer still won't print steel.

[ianbishop]

You raise a good point - but consider:

* It is very possible that 3D printers may be able to craft some sort of metal in the future.

* You will have massive CAD sharing websites if 3D Printers were to ever become a home standard. You would be able to simply grab and print anything you need - quickly.

Your comment overlooks the fact that most people cannot drill, file or bend by hand.

The unfortunate reality is that most of us are not machinists. Much like how most of us cannot compute large mathematical equations. For this, we created a tool to make it so everyone could do. The result has grown far from that simple goal.

[flashgordon]

funny you mention the "cannot drill, file or bend" comment... i love using my drills and angle grinders... but never thought they were a big deal... felt they were common and easy until i met a whole bunch of family friends who found such work "beneath them" and/or were simply found it too "tricky"!