We purchased our first 3D printer last November. Along with open source freeware, there is an incredible amount of professional design software made available to hobbyists by the developers for free. My favorite’s are Autodesk’s Fusion 3D and Autodesk’s 123D Design.
I have printed out a wide variety of the typical objects that can be found on thingyverse.com and other download sites, but I have used it to make many parts for repairing various items around the house. I have also designed a few interesting projects that I will eventually share myself when they are perfected.
The next big project that I intend to work on is the MPCNC open source project which stands for Mostly Printed CNC. It is a CNC router that is scalable and can be used for a wide variety of projects. The electronics, stepper motors, router and other parts that are not printed will still cost several hundred dollars, but it is a very capable machine with a lot of support in the community.
We’re in a rural area and I’ve often thought that 3d printing will be a very useful technology once perfected - especially once there is a method for manufacturing metal parts that is cost-efficient.
I’m particularly thinking of things like tractor parts where a farmer is down and crop is spoiling because a machine is broken.
However, I think we’re on the cusp of it being economical now.
I’ve always thought gasket inventories could be replaced by a water jet or laser cutting machine and a supply of gasket stock. I already keep a roll of gasket material at home and some simple tools that allow me to cut my own gaskets if I find I need one in the middle of a job and the local places don’t have it in stock.
Just as that was becoming feasible, most gaskets had moved from simple flat paper type to more complicated MLM or a metal/plastic backing with an elastomer seal surface. A lot of those are 3d printable now along with a myriad of plastic parts. Assuming the original manufacturers will make the specs available or allow duplication, huge inventories of parts could be replaced by a few local machines that turned out whatever is needed and likely the same day.
It’s truly going to be a revolution when it happens.