The popularity of 3D printers and 3D printing itself is growing very quickly. Day by day, more people are investing their time and money into 3d printers. But as more and more people have become interested in this fascinating technology, there are many misconceptions that have been conceived in the minds of many owners of a 3D printer.
In today’s post, we’re going to cover five of the most common myths surrounding 3D printing. We hope to provide a bit of clarity to help you better understand these misconceptions. Let’s jump right into it, shall we?
You can Print Literally Anything
Many people that have never even touched a 3D printer or those that are just starting out using them think that 3D printers can print literally anything.
Sorry to be a disappointment, but no.
Well, yeah, you can print a great load of different things, but some people actually think that you are able to print living things, like maybe a dog for example. Sadly, that is not possible and sounds downright ridiculous.
However, we are able to print fully functioning organs. So who knows? One day down the track, you might be able to print your very own pet. Somewhere in the distant, very distant future.
3D Printing is a Faster Process than Traditional Manufacturing
While many of us can agree that 3d printers make a great tool for creating prototypes, they are not such a great manufacturing tool as you may well think.
3D printing is great for objects of a small scale, but when you are manufacturing for massive companies, you are going to need something a lot faster than a 3D printer.
You Can Only Print with One Material
Many people believe that you can only create prototypes and other inventions by using plastics such as ABS and PLA. Some people are not aware that the list of printable materials goes on and on. A few years back, we would say that yes, it is quite restricting only being able to print with plastic, but in this day and age; we are able to print with so much more.
We’re now able to print with materials such as metal, wood, biomaterials and resins. These are called composite filaments. This is all thanks to the constant development and growth of filament technology.
3D Printing is Such a New and Undeveloped Technology
Oh boy, you could not be any more wrong. 3D printing has been around a lot longer than you may just think. If you ask just about any regular person how long they think 3D printing has been around for, they will probably tell you that its just a few years.
If you’re one of those that think that 3D printing is a new technology, you’ll be shocked and surprised to know that the first 3d printer was invented back in the early ’80s.
You Need to be Tech Savvy for 3D Printing
This may have been true back in the day when 3d printers were beginning to gain popularity. Back then, 3D printers were not automated and computerised, it was up to the expert knowledge of the person using the printer to make sure that everything ran smoothly.
Fortunately, these days, many 3D printers are arriving on the market that are so smart that any complete newbie to 3d printing can pick one up and figure out how to use it pretty quickly and easily.
There you have it, those are five of the most common myths surrounding 3d printer technology. We hope we have been able to enlighten you and dispell a lot of 3d printing misconceptions.