At-home 3-D printing could save consumers thousands of dollars per year
Personal 3-D printers may sound like a pricey luxury or a niche product for geeks, but soon they could become a household appliance that saves people thousands of dollars a year.
Researchers at Michigan Technological University conducted a study to find out how much a family might save by printing common objects, such as simple replacement parts or toys, at home instead of buying them in stores or online.
"It was relatively shocking what the return on investment was," said associate professor Joshua Pearce, who led the study. "Realistically, it's in the thousands."
Much of the recent 3-D printer hype has focused on how the technology is going to revolutionize the manufacturing industry or what cool things it can create - human organs, duck feet, see-through hermit crab shells shaped like cities. But it's the small, mundane objects that could have the most immediate impact on wallets. (Especially if you print your own wallet.)
Printing 3-D objects does require a big upfront investment. Current desktop 3-D printers cost between $350 to $2,000. For the study, researchers used a $575 RepRap printer and selected 20 free 3-D designs that were available online.
Their calculations didn't take into account shipping costs or sales tax associated with buying from a retailer. The researchers say they did that to keep the estimates for the study on the conservative end.
"We assumed the average family would only make 20 items a year, which is silly because if you get one of these you'll make 20 items in one weekend," said Pearce.
I don't know a damn thing about 3D printing, except for catching an article here and there. I thought it was just a limited kind of application. But I guess its making some kind of a splash now.
It prompts the thought about localized or at-home manufacturing trends:
One can imagine small robotized factories for communities. Downloadable plans and schematics, on-demand custom manufacturing... As well as at-home 3d printing.
It would change much of what we assume about consumerism going forward.