The Hopes and Threats of the 3D Printer
If
you mention a 3D printer to the average person, they will probably imagine that
you are talking about a comic book of sorts with a bunch of red and blue offset
lines that come with a pair of glasses.
They wouldn’t be totally wrong, but the thing we are talking about now
is a controversial printer that can produce three-dimensional objects. It would be like having a tiny
manufacturing plant inside your home.
If you needed a wing nut, you could simple go to your computer and print
one out. Sounds cool, sounds
sci-fi, so how could the 3D printer be threatening?
In
one word: guns. A 3D printer takes
the threat of terrorism to whole new levels. Imagine if you will, your humble narrator booking a flight
from St. Louis, MO to Brooklyn, NY.
Before catching his plane, he sends design plans for parts of a Glock 19
to a 3D printer in Brooklyn. A
person could be armed anywhere in the world without the hassle of being
detected during travel. 3D
printers and the possibility of the average community being flooded with
untraceable guns is a long, negative conversation. So let’s switch to the positive hopes for the 3D printer.
Toys
The
average parent would have to get some level of excited about the possibility of
buying and assembling a toy without ever having to leave home. The holiday shopping experience would
quickly become: browse, pay, print, wrap…all while chilling in your pajamas and
bunny slippers. I’m not even going
to get into adult toys…
Parts & replacement
items
One
of the knobs to your DJ mixer popped off after the gig during transport? You can just print out another one when
you get home. Your drunken cousin
spent the night at your house and somehow awakened the next morning and broke
your spatula? You can just print
out another one. As far as
shopping, the options could be endless.
The only question would be the build quality of the material used to
print the item. Would it be a good
idea to print out a pair of drumsticks?
How long would they last?
Who Cares?
3D
printers are already in regular use.
The price of the 3D printer is a bit steep now, but before you know it
the price will drop and suddenly the item will be as common as a regular
printer. The two main points of
worry are crime and consumerism.
See a 3D printer in action below.
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