Reply To: Open gaming mini license

[onlyonepinman 18062xp 0]

In order to get to a position where it would be possible for 3D printing to be the defacto method of obtaining plastic miniatures this is what would need to happen.

A large business would need to see a potential use for the technology. Something on a scale that nearly everyone would want one. Then they would need to develop a prototype 3D printer that met all of the criteria that I mentioned earlier (basically it has to make the entire process completely transparent to the end user). Then they would have to put that to market and hope that the idea took off. If it did, then you might find people start to consider using 3D printers to obtain other items – note I say “might”, because it’s still not guaranteed this just represents what needs to happen for it to even be a serious option.  Right now, we’re a million miles away from home 3D printing disrupting the current miniatures market. The hobby industry isn’t big enough to justify the development costs, nor is the industry big enough to stump up the capital required to develop it. It’s always going to need to be driven by improvements in other markets