Re: [rp-ml] Desktop Factory

If Pareto holds true, you'll see 20 percent active users, creating new
designs, running contests and holding auctions, running the
authentication and payment systems, managing standards, etc., etc., and
80 percent passive users. But that's OK, if it is simple enough for the
80 percent to print lots of copies of things and pay for them on line.
If people are willing to pay real money to buy virtual furniture to put
in their Sims homes, they might be willing to pay money for copies of
real objects.

Brock Hinzmann

steve wrote:

> Brock Hinzmann wrote:
>
>> I think Charles gets to the heart of the matter, in terms of who the
>> consumer will be. The Home Office-plus-Kinko's model make the most
>> sense to me. Most people just won't make enough use to have one in
>> every home. In the RepRap model, however, if you spread the use
>> across a global community of 6 billion people, you can probably sell
>> (or make available) a lot of machines to small communities of
>> consumers, who will channel networks of users. I'm less worried about
>> the data and what people will print than Charles is. Just look around
>> at digital photography and online video sites. 99 percent will be 3-D
>> Crap. But it will be personal. I tried to anticipate some of these
>> issues in a piece titled The Personal Factory, which was posted on
>> several web sites (Wohlers, Ennex, et al) a decade ago. Is it finally
>> going to happen?
>
>
> Places like www.turbosquid.com are a natural for 'RepCrap' (I think
> I need to trade-mark that term!) - and perhaps people will pay money
> for things that are actually hard to design for some reason.
>
> The Kinko's model makes sense initially (as it did with colour printing
> and laser printers when they cost $5000 a pop) - but people will get
> more savvy about 3D printing and the demand for small home/office
> machines will grow.
>
> There really isn't much that makes a 3D printer more expensive than a
> 2D one. The 3D printer needs a couple of extra motors - but the
> precision demands are similar and both have to squirt liquids around
> at high temperatures and such. It will be possible to make $500 3D
> printers and at that point, anyone who has a need for one can have
> one.
>
> But I agree that we probably need a year or two at the "Kinko's"
> phase before we can get to that stage.
>
Received on Thu Aug 31 00:35:57 2006