The possibilities for 3D printing are astounding and as the printers get more portable and affordable for home/individual use. While it's awesome that people can upload files and have them custom printed, some day it would be cool if, instead of ordering parts, we could just print them on demand. It would be so nice to not have planned obsolescence.

This thread has been very educational for me! Interesting stuff!

A friend of mine has been involved in a reprap project and I've watched with interest as he has replicated things in plastic. Don't know why I didn't have a light bulb moment to think about reproducing sewing machine parts. I guess because I didn't know they could be reproduced in metal. Thanks for sharing this most interesting discussion.

Someday is today. in fact you can choose the material and color prior to it being made, something not available with traditional manufacturing.

HP is now marketing in Europe a 3D printer for home use. If HP is in the market, it is here to stay....

Go up to the Shapeways website and check the HUGE list of parts and things you can order from people who are on the site. You design a part, make it public, decide the "my fee" and turn it loose. anytime someone buys a part you designed, you get your cut.....

The REAL benefit that I see in this is that peoples creativity is no longer limited by what equipment they have access to and creating a prototype is no longer an expensive proposition.

My daughter loves to make "chainmail" jewelry and things but doing the small work with existing pliers is rough. I took the design of a small pair of bolt cutters, scaled it down to one hand sized, and replaced the cutters with narrow jaws. We are on the v2 prototype. the first was too small and had a bind in the movement. it only cost $40 to print and discover that. v2 is going to be printed in a couple weeks. same price.

Ok, Here is the original thread I started about 3D printing.

let's chat this emerging topic up!

My boss just bought a home 3D printer. after the holidays we will be playing with it here for a bit. Should be fun!

ArchaicArcane posted this link on another thread and it is a great article for setting expectations
http://gizmodo.com/why-3d-printing-i...t-fo-508176750

The way that I can see me using this technology now for metal sewing machine parts is to use the 3D printer to make a "master" and then use my traditional molding/casting process for making the actual part using the master that we 3D printed.

Someday soon we should be able to print in solid metal, just not yet.

Thanks Steve! Unbelievably a group of us was discussing this very topic just last night!

Wow! Steve, this is too cool for words. I knew 40+ years ago that we had made so many advances because of the research, etc. being done on the space program. So much of the medical monitoring equipment in existence today, celebrated its birth during the space program. How many lives have been saved because of this research -- I don't imagine we'll ever know for sure, but I suspect many millions. Heart monitors came about because of the space program, and there were many others. I stood on the steps of the Kennedy Space Center Heqdquarters building and watched the launch of the first manned Apollo launch. Little did we dream, then, that the space program would be the beginning. I worked in the Technical Library at Kennedy Space Center for more than a year, and my husband was a Telecommunications Technician. We lived pretty close to the launch site -- not dangerously close, but when the Apollo capsules were launched atop a Saturn V Rocket, you could read a newspaper at night in our back yard just from the light of the rocket launch. I suspect we are going to see quite a revolution in repairing and restoring the old machines we love so much.

Wow!
Jeanette

ok, since you brought up the Apollo missions I will HAVE to share this. I cannot wait for this movie to come out...
http://www.thecredits.org/2013/09/br...ilm-spacesuit/

Amazing! We will be able to print anything we want in the near future...kind of scary!