Is 3D printing scratch building or something else?

[Builder]

I have been playing 40K since Rouge trader, I enjoy the game, love the hobby and the community. About a year and a half back I got a 3D printer, since then I have designed several playing pieces that can be used as stand ins for some of the larger pieces that can be used in the game.

In my gaming group we were discussing the moral (not legal) implications of printing gaming pieces. Three opinions were expressed:
1) 3D printing is the same as scratch building
2) 3D printing is copying someone else’s work
3) 3D printing is something completely new

To put this in context, I am not scanning and printing, but designing models in sketch up and then printing them. The process takes quite some time. With my space elf model racking up about 20 hours of design time, and each print takes about three days. The whole process feels very satisfying, and scratches my scratch build itch nicely. However, the difference is that where scratch building a thunder hawk took me 40 hours, and left me with one thunder hawk, scratch building these models takes roughly the same amount of time, but I can produce many models.

I will not share my design files (for several reasons), but I can imagine that it will not be long before others do. Even a brief trawl of thingiverse shows that early legal interventions from GW has not dissuaded the 3D printing community at all. I would anticipate that over the next two to three years many communities will include people who will print a portion of their army. How will you feel about this?

[Xaric]

3d printing i would say in about 3 years everyone will have them and yes GW will go mental

[Kaptain Badrukk]

When you make something A)entirely for yourself and B)using your own design;
Then yes it IS a scratch build.
The minute you deviate from any of those points you're walking onto the territory of IP infringement, and then you may as well be re-casting.
Once that line is crossed then it's bad times.
I think your work is fantastic BTW, and it's my plan to get a setup like yours one day, but remember that you're walking a VERY fine line.

[euansmith]

"Garlic bread - it's the future, I've tasted it"

Roll on affordable, high quality 3D printers.

For professional figure manufacturers they need to come up with a fast may of separating miniatures from their support material, otherwise 3D printing will struggle to become a large scale production method. However, for home use and the kind of runs generally carried out by small resin producers it should be okay. It would mean that producers would be freed from carrying a lot of inventory and would be able to print off as many figures as are needed by any order.

[Builder]

When you make something A)entirely for yourself and B)using your own design;
Then yes it IS a scratch build.
The minute you deviate from any of those points you're walking onto the territory of IP infringement, and then you may as well be re-casting.
Once that line is crossed then it's bad times.
I think your work is fantastic BTW, and it's my plan to get a setup like yours one day, but remember that you're walking a VERY fine line.

I agree Badrukk, the line is fine, and I wonder if it had been defined. I also have the same view on scanning being akin to re-casting.

I worry that if the line is defined by lawyers we will end up with something unworkable. For me it's defined by what is acceptable in my gaming group, and the larger gaming community, as this dictates what I can play with, and what I get to show people. Thanks for your feedback :-)

[Popsical]

I think within 10 years there will be a BIG change in IP and copyright laws regarding 3d printers.
The potential for crippling the wargames industry is nasty.
The other option will be the licencing and restriction of high quality 3D printer sales, so that only licenced companies can buy the top spec models.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

I think within 10 years there will be a BIG change in IP and copyright laws regarding 3d printers.
The potential for crippling the wargames industry is nasty.

Ehhhh, I dunno. Keep in mind mass production techniques are also advancing. Home 2d-printers never destroyed the book industry for much the same reason.

The other option will be the licencing and restriction of high quality 3D printer sales, so that only licenced companies can buy the top spec models.

Nopenopenopenopenope.

[Bigred]

Poll added

[Deadlift]

For me it's something completely new but the end product is kind of the same. I love your models btw Builder. Obviously influenced by GWs products but then how many scratch built models have we seen that also have their design based on GWs. We've seen some very cool scratch built titans here on BoLs. Some may use plasticard and some may use a 3D printer. Ultimately the result is the same it's just the construction method that differs. I personally have no issue with players making their own models which ever method the choose. Some of the larger forge world models are just too unobtainable for most and if someone decides to put some time and effort in to make their own for their own personal use. More power to them. But when somebody starts mass producing stuff to sell on, well that's where I draw the line.

[Adam Wilson]

It falls in the same category as resins do, it all depends on what you are making. It isn't the resin or the 3D printer that is in question, it is the sculpt or design. the 3D printer or resin are just ways of duplicating. Just like a regular copy machine or printer, your plagiarizing the original document or your are printing/copying your original work. GW stopping persons from using/buying 3D printers would be like them trying to stop people from using/buying scanners because people scan the rule books.