From episode “1x32: A Hannu-pancha-festi-christ-wanzaa-newton-vent Story”, I was surprised to hear that 3D Printers in the West are still not being sold in big box stores. I live in Japan, and 3D Printers have become pretty popular over the last year. You can find them in most big box stores, along with a sales rep who will not leave you alone until you understand their greatness and buy one.
Some pics from their stores:
Maybe this would be a good sign of things to come?
That is… pretty damned rad.
Japan in “early mainstream adoption of new technology” shocker. You know they also sell schoolgirls’ used underwear in vending machines there too, right?
Do Microsoft stores count as “big box” stores? I’ve seen 3D printers available from MS stores in the US for a while. They even had a demo unit out you could play with.
I worked in 3D printing for years.
Read these. You will notice a great deal of frustration. I think 3D printers can change the world, and large sized commercial 3D printers already have (in the 10k-100k price range), but the home version has a very long way to go before it is a polished product.