How DRM will infest the 3D printing revolution

Re:How DRM will infest the 3D printing revolution by rimantas on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @11:43AM (#4660301)

Can someone help me? 3D pringing does not seem interesting to me so I know very little about. I also assume, that it is not interesting to Joe Average. So my question is: what am I missing and how wrong I am that application of it is pretty limited? I guess I should notice, that recently I developed kind of aversion to cheap plastics and tend to think that this is what 3D printing gives you. How wrong am I?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How DRM will infest the 3D printing revolution by ef4 on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @03:41PM (#4661491)

The excitement comes from the combination of a few factors:

1. It's improving very quickly, both in terms of the materials you can print and affordability of the hardware. It's possible to 3d print powdered metal composites, for example, not just cheap plastic.

2. It makes possible entirely new manufacturing business models. Traditional factories will probably always be cheaper for mass-market goods, but there are likely to be lots of opportunities for niche-market goods that simply aren't economic under a big-scale factory model. Maybe even more importantly, the existence of 3d printing makes it easier to bootstrap a manufactured product -- you can start out 3d printed, and only go to big-factory-mode much later when demand dictates.

3. By bridging the worlds of software and physical goods, it holds the promise of unleashing open-source methods for the design of things, not just software and information.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How DRM will infest the 3D printing revolution by ajanuary on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @12:10PM (#4660453)

In the short term, it means designers can prototype a lot quicker, which should mean even if you never use a 3D printer or anything printed from one, you get better designed products.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How DRM will infest the 3D printing revolution by islon on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @12:15PM (#4660485)

A 3D printer itself is not interesting for most people. What is interesting is the marketing you can do with its sub-products.

- lego machine that lets you create your own legos? check. - style-it-yourself house furniture? check. - toys/dolls creator for kids? check. I could go on forever.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How DRM will infest the 3D printing revolution by MrMember on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @02:00PM (#4661032)

It could be huge in tabletop board game market too. Why buy hundreds of dollars worth of miniatures when you print your own for much less?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How DRM will infest the 3D printing revolution by wwwtyro on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @12:03PM (#4660415)

I'm very excited about 3D printing, but perhaps irrationally so. I'd also like an answer to this question.

[ Parent | on HN ]