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Electronics retailer Monoprice recently got into the 3d printer business, selling several inexpensive, rebranded Wanhao models under their own label. At CES 2017 Monoprice announced several more models, including some resin based printers and a new $150 delta printer. Hackaday really likes the Monoprice Select Mini and has a review of the new lineup.
At CES last year, Monoprice introduced a $200 3D printer. Initial expectations of this printer were middling. My curiosity got the best of me, and last summer I picked up one of these printers for a review. The Monoprice MP Select Mini is actually phenomenal, and not just 'phenomenal for the price'. This machine showed the world how good one of the cheapest printers can be. The future is looking awesome.
You might think Monoprice wouldn't be able to top the success of this great little machine. You would be wrong. This week, Monoprice announced a bevy of new and upgraded printers. Some are resin. Some are huge. One will sell for $150 USD.
If you've ever thought about getting into 3d printing, this coming year will be the time to give it a try.
(Score: 2) by Appalbarry on Sunday January 08 2017, @05:48PM
I'm betting that 3D printing will be slightly less popular than 3DTV, but more than VR goggles.
I've yet to think of any practical use for 3D printing in our household, but then again we aren't tempted by novelty drawer pulls shaped like Hobbit characters.
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Sunday January 08 2017, @06:25PM
I can't quantify it or anything since I'm not part of any of it, but a quick web search shows both 3d printing and vr already have something going on:
VR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_oFhECw4Y4 [youtube.com]
3D printing: https://www.thingiverse.com/ [thingiverse.com]
There's also a twitch.tv vr channel that looks somewhat alive and a whole lot of youtube videos of people messing around with 3d printing so maybe it's just us being clueless?
compiling...
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @07:20PM
> I've yet to think of any practical use for 3D printing in our household,
My panasonic microwave has a well-known manufacturer's defect [google.com] with a metal flange that holds the safety interlocks in place. It eventually warps so the interlock won't lock and prevents the oven from running. Its a problem that affects millions of microwaves over many years of models. Panasonic ought to be sued in a class-action lawsuit. But until then...
There are tons of half-assed fixes out there. The only full-assed fix I found was a reinforcing bracket on thingiverse. I went to my local library which has a makerspace. Printed out the bracked for 20 cents in materials and super-glued it in place. I paid more in gas driving to the library than I did for the actual repair. Its still works great over a year later. Saved me from buying a brand new microwave.
From my perspective, the killer app of 3d printing are comprehensive open-source catalogs of parts that break and are not cost-effective to fix through traditional channels or just dohickeys that augment stuff we already own to make our stuff work better.
Maybe we don't all need a 3d printer in the home in the same way most of us have paper printers in the home. But having easy community access to 3d printers is a great thing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 08 2017, @07:52PM
When you consider all the people that don't bother to have printers, I can't imagine this being too widespread, especially if you live in an area where you can just rent time on somebody else's machine.
Personally, I'm seriously considering getting one because I'm into model railroading and being able to design my own buildings and pieces would allow me to have something that's much closer to what I want with less wasted material.
But, for most people, it doesn't make much sense, there's usually somebody else out there making what you want and at scales large enough to make it much less expensive.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 09 2017, @11:59PM
If you're into P&P RPG games.
Seriously it is 3-5 dollars for cheap plastic ones, and from 8 to 50 dollars for pewter ones nowadays (There may be other materials out there, but these are the two I've run into. Most of the latter are 8-15 dollar range, but I've seen them steadily creeping up, especially Battletech Miniatures.
Given the effective cost to produce dozens of 'enemy' miniatures with a 3d printer will pay for itself in a few years of gaming sessions, it makes a lot more sense than buying all your miniatures pre-made.
I am sure there are other uses for a 3d printer, including repair parts for all kinds of things around your house if you have a printer capable of working with plastics that don't degrade, deform, or weaken below 110-120C or so. I for instance have a dishwasher and dryer both of which have a couple unavailable plastic pieces that could be easily fabricated with a 3d printer and save 300-600 dollar devices for the total cost of maybe 300 dollars, with the prospect of making future repairs a few dollars or cents in comparison to attempting to find and purchase the replacement parts elsewhere, or having to replace them with newer devices which may or may not provide the desired level of reliability and functionality of the older ones.