I purchased a 3D printer a few months back and have now printed somewhere around 150 hours. Some amount of what I have printed has been useful (new shower hooks I designed myself, for example), but much more of it has been things for my 7 year old to play with, or me just screwing around…calibrating and recalibrating for the heck of it (last night I printed a human face bust about 2"x3" at 0.10154mm/layer at 200% my normal speed with no support or infill just for the torture test).
My point is, at this stage, 3D printers are not what they will be. They are generally for tweaking-loving geeks like me, and those with some level of artistic vision that would be difficult to accommodate with other creation methods. Not far in the future though, as resin and power printers become more common, just about anything in plastic, ceramic, etc. that you would normally be required to go to a store to buy can be made at your home. Need more mugs for your get-together? Print a few, bake them in the oven for an hour and you’re good to go.
