Would you own a 3-D printer?

[Amy SF]

Assuming you can afford to buy one, would you own a 3-D printer? And if these machines become so cheap (less than $100, perhaps) that anyone can afford one, would you buy one? And if so, what would you make with it?

 

[AeryFairy]

YES.

I have no idea what I would make, or even why I want one. But it's definitely something I want.

Maybe I'd print pieces for my own board games or something.

 

[beancounter]

I can't think of anything I could use it for. So no.

 

[PTree15]

I'm not sure. I guess it would depend on how useful it would be to me.

 

[Andy_T]

I am with Beancounter here, but of course AF's suggestion to make your own board game pieces does have a lot of appeal

Best regards,
Andy

 

[Calliegirl]

Same here, I can't think of anything I would use it for. I could see where it would be handy to make prototypes for someone who likes to invent things, but not really useful for the average household.

 

[shyvas]

No. I don't even own a standard printer.

 

[Andy_T]

I might take up pottery or woodcarving instead...

 

[Danielle]

maybe when it becomes more affordable

 

[Blobbenstein]

I saw on tellie that some people get 3d prints of their unborn child....they get some kind of ultrasound scan or wotnot, and then print it out.

I suppose I could do that with my brain...I could get a scaled down model of my brain and put it on a stand by the computer...why...I don't know.

 

[KLS52]

I saw a 3D sonogram that someone had done when they were pregnant. It's pretty cool.

 

[yakherder]

Custom Dungeons and Dragons pieces at my convenience does sound neat.

And gun parts. Unlimited replacement firing pins.

 

[Joe]

And gun parts. Unlimited replacement firing pins.

I saw an article somewhere where some guy had found a way to make a gun (pistol) with a 3-D printer. (He was a libertarian who thought everyone should be free to have a gun.) I think there was one part of the gun that the printer could not make, so you had to buy that separately. But apparently buying that part did not require any of the gun registration or licensing that buying a regular gun would involve.

 

[AeryFairy]

I saw an article somewhere where some guy had found a way to make a gun (pistol) with a 3-D printer. (He was a libertarian who thought everyone should be free to have a gun.) I think there was one part of the gun that the printer could not make, so you had to buy that separately. But apparently buying that part did not require any of the gun registration or licensing that buying a regular gun would involve.

Yeah, I heard about that :S definitely not what I'd want a 3D printer for!

 

[Dedalus]

A friend of mine has one of these - he's a robotics engineer. Recently I had a guitar that was in need of a part they don't seem to make anymore - and I couldn't find it anywhere online. He said he could mock up the part on the printer and then make a mold for what I needed. It's all beyond me but yay! It really saved the day on a guitar I love.

 

[Scorpius]

Custom Dungeons and Dragons pieces at my convenience does sound neat.

Now that's what I'm talking about. Those miniatures can get expensive! And if you play tabletops like Warhammer, forget about it!!

 

[Dedalus]

Now that's what I'm talking about. Those miniatures can get expensive! And if you play tabletops like Warhammer, forget about it!!

...a limitless supply of dice!

 

[beancounter]

Now that's what I'm talking about. Those miniatures can get expensive! And if you play tabletops like Warhammer, forget about it!!

Yea, but wouldn't the 3D printer miniatures be made out of plastic instead of die cast metal?

 

[Scorpius]

Yea, but wouldn't the 3D printer miniatures be made out of plastic instead of die cast metal?

I'm not that fancy, I play with plastic miniatures.

 

[Mikkel]

I don't know what I should have used it for at all...