Reply to: High street gloom as Britain shuts up shop

[Sysman]

A 3d must have for the office: 3D Printed Paper Airplane Machine Gun - Business Insider

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[Brenning]

Missed out 3D printed ears.

I have been trying, without success so far, to get my old Lexmark X1190 to print me a larger knob made from left over cheese.

Lol!!

Sounds like you need more RAM

[darmstadt]

A 3d must have for the office: 3D Printed Paper Airplane Machine Gun - Business Insider

[vetran]

Sorry, none of those are viable 3D printing solutions to make home manufacturing beyond a hobby scale in even the medium term.

They also don't deal with the issue of materials technology and treatment where items work because of the techniques used in their manufacture. Take something as silly as a transparent squeezy bottle with a nozzle that relies on the pliability of the plastic to be durable and apply pressure to the liquid. Those are properties from how the moulding is done with the particular plastics.
What about cast, forged and annealed metals, spun or twisted fibres? Those materials properties won't be inherited by some powdered raw material being built up in a printed format. What about things that rely on the crystalline structures and alignments?

Could you 3D print a frying pan or a baking tray? A lump hammer? A lightbulb?

Until we have technologies that allow the creation of more than the shapes it's not really viable.

As suggested it will probably first be seen in customised or personalised simple articles. Whilst it may not totally replace volume manufacturing initially it is a logical progression that much of the more decorative items will be soon be manufactured by 3D printing.

At the very least localised or regional suppliers will pop up like the business card supplier.

We aren't talking about frying pans, we are talking about lampshades, bowls and statues initially. Baking tray and frying pans are easier & cheaper to produce in volume, few people will want them customised.

I'm not sure if you remember T shirt printing via silk screen becoming popular in the 80's, prior to that the set up costs were so big only huge runs were possible, now you can get a picture of YOUR cat on your T shirt in Tesco. I'm sure many people said why do you want anything except Addidas or 'Fruit of the loom' printed on there.

[xoggoth]

Missed out 3D printed ears.

I have been trying, without success so far, to get my old Lexmark X1190 to print me a larger knob made from left over cheese.

[TykeMerc]

3d printing in ceramics 3D Printing in Ceramics - YouTube
3d printing textiles 3ders.org - 3D printed flexible textiles - a stitch toward personalized clothing | 3D Printer News & 3D Printing News
3d printing glass Solar-Powered 3D Printer Turns Desert Sand Into Glass | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building
3d printing leather (done by people who 3d print food) 3D printing takes the faux out of fake leather
3d printing timber (out of sawdust) 3D Print Objects In Wood

3d printed mechanisms

3D Printing - Complex Mechanisms Printed Completely Assembled - YouTube
3D Printing A Complex Mechanism: Proven
It Exists: A 3D Printed Paper Airplane Machine Gun with Automated Folding Mechanism | Geeks are Sexy Technology News


and, even though you didn't ask for it

3d printed electronics https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...circuit-boards

3d printed metal Metal 3D Printing | Metal Additive Manufacturing | 3T RPD

Seriously. 10 years. Everything will change.

Sorry, none of those are viable 3D printing solutions to make home manufacturing beyond a hobby scale in even the medium term.

They also don't deal with the issue of materials technology and treatment where items work because of the techniques used in their manufacture. Take something as silly as a transparent squeezy bottle with a nozzle that relies on the pliability of the plastic to be durable and apply pressure to the liquid. Those are properties from how the moulding is done with the particular plastics.
What about cast, forged and annealed metals, spun or twisted fibres? Those materials properties won't be inherited by some powdered raw material being built up in a printed format. What about things that rely on the crystalline structures and alignments?

Could you 3D print a frying pan or a baking tray? A lump hammer? A lightbulb?

Until we have technologies that allow the creation of more than the shapes it's not really viable.

[SueEllen]

10 years from now 'high grade luxury goods' will be 3D printed. The only question is whether or not the high-quality printers needed to make them will have been miniaturized enough to fit in peoples homes and if the source resources are ubiquitous enough for people to easily store reserves of them. Given that low quality 3d printers can already be bought for home use for around a grand, chances are they will be.

I can print out my own business cards. I choose not to and get them from a professional printers.

I can make my own handbags. I choose not to and buy them from retailers.

So while I may print out my own mobile phone case if I want a handbag I'm going to buy it.

This is the difference I'm referring to.

[NickyBoy]

3D printing will effect China's economy but people will still want high grade and luxury goods they don't make themselves.

What's left of British manufacturing makes these type of goods.

Probably the last post I'm going to make about this (much to your collective relief), because I'm getting a little frustrated with folks who have grown up seeing the radical changes of information technology from its humble roots to what is today, not being able to extrapolate that to other technology.

Everything I have linked is is either contemporary or already out-of-date technology. You would already be hard pressed to find a material or good that cannot be 3D printed right now, with the only barrier being cost and speed (both of which improve rapidly with any technology).

10 years from now 'high grade luxury goods' will be 3D printed. The only question is whether or not the high-quality printers needed to make them will have been miniaturized enough to fit in peoples homes and if the source resources are ubiquitous enough for people to easily store reserves of them. Given that low quality 3d printers can already be bought for home use for around a grand, chances are they will be.

[SueEllen]

3d printing in ceramics 3D Printing in Ceramics - YouTube
3d printing textiles 3ders.org - 3D printed flexible textiles - a stitch toward personalized clothing | 3D Printer News & 3D Printing News
3d printing glass Solar-Powered 3D Printer Turns Desert Sand Into Glass | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building
3d printing leather (done by people who 3d print food) 3D printing takes the faux out of fake leather
3d printing timber (out of sawdust) 3D Print Objects In Wood

3d printed mechanisms

3D Printing - Complex Mechanisms Printed Completely Assembled - YouTube
3D Printing A Complex Mechanism: Proven
It Exists: A 3D Printed Paper Airplane Machine Gun with Automated Folding Mechanism | Geeks are Sexy Technology News


and, even though you didn't ask for it

3d printed electronics https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...circuit-boards

3d printed metal Metal 3D Printing | Metal Additive Manufacturing | 3T RPD

Seriously. 10 years. Everything will change.

3D printing will effect China's economy but people will still want high grade and luxury goods they don't make themselves.

What's left of British manufacturing makes these type of goods.

[NickyBoy]

When 3D printing proves to be capable of using materials such as ceramics, textiles, glass, metals, leather and timber I'll start thinking in terms of home manufacturing on a sensible scale.

Highly complex and technological items that require assembly is another element again.

3d printing in ceramics 3D Printing in Ceramics - YouTube
3d printing textiles 3ders.org - 3D printed flexible textiles - a stitch toward personalized clothing | 3D Printer News & 3D Printing News
3d printing glass Solar-Powered 3D Printer Turns Desert Sand Into Glass | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building
3d printing leather (done by people who 3d print food) 3D printing takes the faux out of fake leather
3d printing timber (out of sawdust) 3D Print Objects In Wood

3d printed mechanisms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65NizlpmyVQ
http://www.fabbaloo.com/blog/2014/2/...chanism-proven
http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2014/10/...ing-mechanism/


and, even though you didn't ask for it

3d printed electronics https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...circuit-boards

3d printed metal http://www.3trpd.co.uk/metal-3dprinting.htm

Seriously. 10 years. Everything will change.

[lilelvis2000]

interestingly enough we have ample free parking in our town and (with the exception of shops with crap business models) the majority do ok.

Yes we have a Costa, a WH Smiths and a newly opened Subway but the rest are pretty much local independents

mind you a lot of the women's fashion shops seem to be closing down.

It would be interesting to see a case study of success of small business in small towns with ample free parking and those without..

Well in the tiny town I where my property is. Parking in the town centre is entirely free. There is a multi-story car park attached to the the Arndale which is free for 3hrs.

Things have gone downhill since 2008. Most of the fine ladies boutiques have closed. All that's left now is Cafes, Hairdressers, Charity shops, Solicitors, £1 shops and M&S.

Why the heck M&S keeps that shop open I have no idea. When the Olympics were on. M&S stayed open extra hours (even on Sunday)..with nobody about. Hilarious!

The Arndale Shopping Centre retail spaces are half empty along with the covered market, also half empty. One of my mates has a stall in the market, he now also drives a cab to make ends meet.

The charity shops are now also suffering with a few openly stating they can't pay their rent.

Its not much better in the bigger towns nearby which have highly restricted parking. I'd say parking makes little difference.

What makes the difference is high rents and high rates.

[TykeMerc]

When 3D printing proves to be capable of using materials such as ceramics, textiles, glass, metals, leather and timber I'll start thinking in terms of home manufacturing on a sensible scale.

Highly complex and technological items that require assembly is another element again.

[NickyBoy]

I think I'll wait until I see the first 3d printed BMW before I start worrying.

Not to mention having the dimwits from the plod knocking the door in coz they think you're making guns.

Not quite a BMW but...

The Strati: World's First 3D-Printed Electric Car Built in Just 44 Hours

Some of its parts were still manufactured normally, but those are parts you can order online.

Throw in a bit of materials improvement (to reduce the ordered parts) and 10 years of refinement and miniaturisation of 3d printing tech and you will be printing your own car.

Manufacturing as we know it is going to end very soon. People with CAD training should rejoice, as demand for CAD skills is going to go through the roof when everyone can produce custom stuff at home.

[xoggoth]

True there are some daft business models. In a village near me a shop opened last year selling nothing but expensive lighting stuff, lamps, lampshades etc. True it's on a main road and has a tourist attraction so many shops there do quite well but seems too specialised for a village while not being quite specialised enough to be the only one in a large area.

[vetran]

Wonderful theory, but since the materials used in 3D printing are quite limited (at least for now) there's plenty of things that won't be possible to be self manufactured for the foreseeable future.

On the high street shops front, I struggle to remember the last time I went into a town center unless a client site is in strolling distance, I've no idea when I last went into Halifax town where I live. Parking which used to be easy is now impossible and the shops are shutting due to the reasons the others have posted (absurd rents and rates and people find it a pain to get to the shops) so I've no motivation to go.

I suspect that shops selling household goods like lighting (BHS,Debenhams ) will see the effect of people like this

Buy Custom Designer Lamps & Shades - Shapeways 3D Printing

the number of materials is expanding almost daily

3D Printing Materials: Plastic, Metal, Ceramics and More - Shapeways

once the technology is established it will change how we buy things.