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A friend of mine is looking into making a series of custom figurines, which he wants to try to sell mostly to friends and fellow hobbyists. Obviously he's willing to paint them himself (which is good since 3D color printers are like tens of thousands of dollars) but these banner ads caught my eye and I was considering recommending an investment in MakerBot since he's easily wowed by technology and probably willing to take a sizeable loss on the profits if it would mean having this neat A few questions for those with the knowledge to answer: How intensive are these kits? Do they require a good deal of previous knowledge with home mechanics, engineering, and what have you? I'm sure he'd (probably) be willing to really pore over the necessary info to get this thing up and running assuming assembly, maintenance, and use, assuming that doesn't take months of effort in itself. I know these things aren't exactly "beginner friendly" in any sense of the term, but I guess what I'm asking is: just how difficult are these to set up and use for the average layman? Assuming a purely hobbyist approach, can anyone describe this as a worthwhile investment? Many people have discussed its usefulness in household appliances and so forth but I know all he'd ever do is make a bunch of tiny toys with it. Lastly, given that his goal is pretty much just a cavalcade of custom toys and tiny figurines, is this really the way to go, or would I only be wasting his time in bringing this up as a suggestion? Is it so impractical or narrow or technically difficult in its use that I'd be better suited to just tell him to forget it all and go buy some clay? Or do commercial venues that merely offer 3D printing services like Shapeways provide a better option (and perhaps cost?) for someone merely looking to pump out a bunch of toys, especially given the different in fidelity and printing resolution? I guess what I'm really looking for is insight from those more experienced than myself about whether this would be a reasonable if somewhat hefty investment for an interested but not technically trained everyman, or if I should put the idea on backburner for a decade and wait for the technology to become cheaper and more accessible before passing it on to friends?
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Dec 21, 2010 15:58
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 11:33 |
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