By now, everyone has heard of 3D printing, it has been pretty difficult to avoid some mention of companies like Makerbot, but is it here to stay like many believe it is? Recently a blog started making it's way around the internet, sharing a different point of view on the industry. 3dprintingconfidential (Note: Contains stronge language), written by someone apparently involved in a large company, goes into some of the more unpleasant side of 3D Printing. Whether this blog is being written by someone who is sick of their job (and the questionable safety aspect*) or with some valid complaints is a mystery, as is their identity (Unsurprising given some of the comments), but are they right? Is 3D printing just a passing trend? Despite it's recent increase in accessibility for the average DIYer, will it disappear and be left to industrial users and a few niche markets? Only time will really tell, whatever happens, the road is bound to be bumpy. As mentioned in the blog, there are some designs that will cause issues, something we have already seen in the case of weapons parts, however the use of 3D printing to create toys certainly won't be the last story we here. Personally, I'm waiting for the discussion to start about the ethics involved in 3D printing body parts (Not many, but someone will no doubt object). At the end of the day, this blog certainly raises some interesting points, worth thinking about as we start to see 3D printing become more common much like household printers did.
*The author discusses being covered in polyamide powder, something which shouldn't happen should proper safety measures be taken such as gloves. Recommendations on this vary, but if you are finding it hard to remove, surely the logical step is to use PPE? Just a thought...
