We have had 3D printers among us for a long time, but as with 2D printers, the cost of a printer of this type is still high for many users, including companies and institutions. However, a university study has concluded that 3D printers are now totally affordable for everyone, being able to recover the money we spend in just a few months.
The study comes from the University of Michigan and although it does not tell us how to not pay in the store for the 3D printer, we do see as in a few months to recover the money we have paid for it.
El Hardware Libre has had a great role in this and according to the study, Projects like RepRap and electronics like Arduino or Raspberry Pi have made the maintenance cost very low. But the most interesting of all is that free digital repositories are full of everyday objects that we can print.
Projects like RepRap allow our 3D printer to repair itself
One of the study authors has been for months using the 3D printer to supply everyday objects that we need in our day to day. By making a calculation of all this as well as the costs of 3D printing, each object has been able to save up to 90% of the cost through a store.
This saving in each piece added over months, results in a value higher than any 3D printer, so it is a matter of months before the user who buys a 3D printer receives all the money that he has spent on the device. Something that did not happen months ago since although you could buy a 3D printer, the possibility of printing everyday objects was very scarce.
Personally I think the study is right but I think it leaves out an element that many 3D printers need: the 3D scanner, an increasingly interesting element that complements us very well when we want to reproduce a home object.
I think that both the 3D printer and the 3D object scanner are elements that will be needed little by little in a home, as certain appliances are currently needed. And you, What do you think about this study? Do you think the value of 3D printers has dropped so much? Do you think digital repositories are so effective?
Source - Emily E. Petersen and Joshua Pearce Study