Future of 3D Printing

Good forward looking article in CACM on the future of consumer 3D printing.

" ... Bill Decker, chairman of the Association of 3D Printing, agrees the consumer market for 3D printers is largely untapped, although he noted, "Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, the big box retailers are betting on it." What is helping to "escalate the market are small, handheld 3D printers sold by Brookstone, such as the 3Doodler, which is like an electric toothbrush, an advanced glue gun." Such products, Decker said, are inexpensive, and because they do not require software like their desktop brethren, are super-easy to use.

Decker adds, "It’s a disruptive technology, and you’re seeing more and more of it in education, on the Internet, and with e-publishing. And when the kids see it and use it in school, they want to have it at home." ... "