Incredible Detail From 3D Printing

[CrimsonTurkey]

[url]http://jalopnik.com/5892747/watch-a-3d-nanoprinter-create-the-smallest-car-in-the-universe[/url]

I've always wanted an F1 car that can be hidden behind a hair.

This is promising for the technology as a whole. It looks like I'm going to be having to learn 3D modeling in a few years.

[gendoikari87]

try this one. Might not give you micron level detail, but meh, it'll get some damn good detail on your space marines.

[url]http://www.ted.com/talks/klaus_stadlmann_the_world_s_smallest_3d_printer.ht ml[/url]

[frommage]

I say in about 10 years this technology will be affordable and precis enough to hurt GW present business model.

[MC Tic Tac]

I say in about 10 years this technology will be affordable and precis enough to hurt GW present business model.

Not just GW but all mini companies if they don't adapt. All I can think is that they sell "templates" for people to use to print off.

[Cavscout]

I don't know about 10 years. I've seen a few that were in the 2k range. If i was going to do side work by casting parts for miniatures, having to invest that much for prototyping is not that much. I've looked at the parts that go into it, and its not that different then a paper printer. It can conceiveably get down to the 100-200 range pretty rapidly if the demand was out there. I just can't think of a day to day application for this technology that would put it in every house.

[woodenronin]

In ten years the machines will most likely have multi colored resins so the models will come out painted.

[woodenronin]

Day to day applications are hard to see I agree, but these are the begining stages of the star-trek replicators

[Tenbears]

I think the big impact is already happening, small companies making figures and out-sourcing the plastic molding. If you browse the various message boards there are tons of people starting their own micro-companies.

[Necron2.0]

I just can't think of a day to day application for this technology that would put it in every house.

Oh, I can, quite easily. Friends and I were talking about it at lunch. Most everything in everyone's houses are cheap plastic crap. Manufacturers are intentionally engineering products to break so that you have to pay to replace them, but usually the fix itself is quite easy, if you can find a replacement part.

[eldargal]

Where's the fun in that?

In ten years the machines will most likely have multi colored resins so the models will come out painted.

I still don't see that these will challenge companies like GW in the long one. The people who will use these to rip off GW products probably aren't buying GW products except off eBay and the like to begin with. It reminds me of the ebook thing, turns out people who buy books like books and keep buying books in spite of cheap digital copies. People who like GW models will buy GW models.