makerbot

[Ahzad]

I was watching colbert last night and saw him talking about makerbot and all I could think of was printing out 3-D terrain. I am totally amazed by this thing, it's freaking awesome. All the game possibities are running amok in my brain.

makerbot
MakerBot Industries

check out the gothic cathedral on the main page

dungeon tiles
Dungeon Tiles for Miniatures Gaming by Telvin_3d - Thingiverse

 

[falcarrion]

Just think a miniature with your own face.

 

[Filcher]

Just think a miniature with your own face.

That's the LAST thing I want in a mini.

 

[Relique du Madde]

A gelatinous cube.

 

[amerigoV]

I recall reading about the technology in the Economist (just to show how sophisticated I am ). One of these days it will just be something in the house (need a bucket, just click to produce).

 

[Goblyn]

And it exists: The Replicator version 1.0

 

[Asmor]

Huh, I thought this stuff was common knowledge...

Look into RepRap, which is a free, open source 3d printer designed to be made out of as much plastic as possible so that it can actually print copies of itself (there are a number of parts that it can't replicate, e.g. metal rods, but it's still a lot cheaper to put one of these guys together than it is to buy a pre-assembled machine).

 

[Beginning of the End]

Prices still need to drop considerably before this becomes a rational purchase.

(But I am frequently tempted to be irrational.)

 

[Asmor]

Prices still need to drop considerably before this becomes a rational purchase.

I dunno about that...

If you think of it as just some little toy? Perhaps.

But think of it, instead, as a household appliance, comparable to a stove, dishwasher, washer/dryer, etc. I could totally see these things becoming a standard part of modern life, and I think it's not an issue of price but rather of usability and acceptance.

I recall in particular one thing I saw where a guy had a little halogen lamp hanging under his cupboard in the kitchen, and one of the plastic clips that held it in place snapped. So the guy took some measurements of the other clip, designed something in some CAD software, and printed it out. Screwed it in, snapped the lamp into place, done.

Now imagine that the machine had a simple touch screen interface, and you find your lamp's manufacturer, find the piece you need to replace, and start printing it directly from there.

Make no mistake, these things will become a household staple in the very near future.

 

[Beginning of the End]

I recall in particular one thing I saw where a guy had a little halogen lamp hanging under his cupboard in the kitchen, and one of the plastic clips that held it in place snapped. So the guy took some measurements of the other clip, designed something in some CAD software, and printed it out. Screwed it in, snapped the lamp into place, done.

$1600 + the cost of the plastic is a pretty high price to pay for a lampshade.

My point is that you would need to make a lot of stuff out of plastic in order to reasonably amortize the price of the machine to the point where it makes rational sense to own one for purely personal use. Maybe other people use a lot more plastic knick-knacks around the house than I do, but I'm just not seeing it.

In fact, I'm guessing that my own interest in using this machine to create miniatures and miniature terrain would result in me using it far more than any average family would use it. And I would still need to produce thousands of miniatures to justify the cost (and that's assuming that I could somehow get the designs for those miniatures for free).

Which leads me back to my conclusion: Either these machines need to become considerably cheaper OR they need to be able to do more than just plastic.