Overview and Personal Anecdotes

Overview

3D printers are cool! They are a great tool to make both prototypes and low-volume projects. WithFor prototyping, 3D printers allow designers and engineers to quickly iterate on product or part designs. By creating physical models, you are able to identify flaws, test functionality, and refine designs before committing to more involved and expensive manufacturing processes. Low-volume projects that require custom hardware are also made substantially easier. For example, if you needed to deploy a handful of bespoke IoT equipment, you could 3D print just the developmentright quantity of thechassis' openfor source RepRap came plentyall of otherthem, incredibleall innovationswhile inavoiding the 3Dneed printingfor space.traditional tooling and minimum order quantities.

InterestingSome Ideas

Issues and Possible Solutionsthoughts

While FDM and SLA printingprinters have recently become basically mainstream processes,tools, I believe there are still some issues with the user experience and environmental challenges.conservation that have yet to be solved.

In my own experience, it used to be the case that 3D printers were very finicky things, requiring an inordinate amount of attention to troubleshoot and use. IThese wouldfirst-generation saymachines todemanded peopleconstant introubleshooting myand highmaintenance, schooloften engineering class that it took justtaking as longmuch to finish a print as it didtime to fix andas maintainto actually produce a printer!print. EverythingEvery detail, from howthe levelleveling andof adherentthe yourprinting bed was to the wiresintricate thatwiring ranof the stepper motorsmotors, insidecould become a printer proved to be a pointsource of failurefailure. wheneverIt itfelt camelike tothese using a machine. Earlyearly 3D printers were ateither bestminimum unfinishedviable products or dysfunctional prototypes.

In contrast, the printers of today have features that drastically improve the user experience. These features include intuitive software interfaces, automated bed leveling, wireless connectivity, filament sensors- the whole nine yards. A whole ecosystem of open source software and atfirmware worstallowed brokenfor prototypes.the Icontinued willevolution say,of 3D printers into the unmistakably next-generation devices they wereare very charming...today.