Consumer 3D Printing Greg Petchkovsky Sydney, Australia Retail Printing Mike McNamara, IT Chief of UK supermarket giant Tesco, looking into providing 3D printing services for the public. The service would operate much like getting digital photos printed. Easy to use modeling software, such as Google SketchUp, could be used by average computer users. Databases of existing models already available to the public. New Industries Sell models rather than physical products Products become heavily customizable Lower transport and packaging costs Problems Potentially dangerous Copyright violations Slow print speed Copyright New laws would be required for 3D objects. Severability issues (artistic copyright vs. utilitarian purposes) Licensing problems (digital file license on unprotected physical object) Duplication through scanning vs. CAD drawing Comments People will print things that aren't already mass-produced and available at the dollar store next door. Vacuum cleaner part broke? I'll get one 3D printed in 2 hours rather than send $50 to the manufacturer and wait for it to ship. Of course every pop culture firm is going to be suing every one to death for every depiction of mickey mouse or jar jar binks or the enterprise. It'll appeal to the same people who don't want to buy a decent quality color printer, and photo paper, and ink, etc. to print their own photos. Questions Will this spur economic growth and creativity? How do you handle copyright violations and dangerous items? Who is liable for damages? (creator, distributor, printer, or end user) Other Materials Sugar Cells Metal Sourcesprinting/printing/6/tesco-3d-printing-will-come-to-supermarkets- within-a-few-years/insightful-comments#comments6/tesco-3d-printing-will-come-to-supermarkets- within-a-few-years/insightful-comments#commentssheds-light-on-3d-printing-planssheds-light-on-3d-printing-plans