Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So with the current rapid advancement of 3d printing what to you all see happening to the 40k game and GW.

As it currently is a good 3d printer is only around $500 bucks which when compared to the price we pay for models aint all that much.

There will be virtually no way for GW to restrict creation of similar parts. So what do you think will happen? will GW need to lower prices to deter people from buying a 3d printer and printing their own army? or should GW jump in on the action before it gets loose?

I have some thoughts but want to see dakka dakkas thoughts first.

here are some examples of 3d 40k models mind you 3d printing has only caught on within the past 2 years or so and has already made enormous jumps in detail.

http://theback40k.blogspot.com/2011/12/lifting-of-veil.html

Right now 3d printing is in its baby phase. It DOES NOT have the capability to produce minatures anywhere near the quality plastic molding does. Give it time and it will be worth it. Also i dont know where you saw a 3d printer for 500 the best I have found was 1500

NASA is already using 3d printing to machine parts for their spacecrafts, it wont be long before that tech is made available to the public for a reasonable price. I would put money on that with in a years time we will see printers that will have the capability of printing models with details similar to that of GW.

I mean a guy has already printer a car with one.


Automatically Appended Next Post:


another example of current 3d printing

i'm 60% finished with my 3D printer. It'll be right around $370 when i'm done.

My vacuum chamber is already 100% and works like a dream.

Next project: DIY laser cutter. I'll be dropping 4 digits on that baby.

 deviantduck wrote:
i'm 60% finished with my 3D printer. It'll be right around $370 when i'm done.

My vacuum chamber is already 100% and works like a dream.

Next project: DIY laser cutter. I'll be dropping 4 digits on that baby.

hell i mean once you get that done, you will be able to print off a massive army of a fraction of the cost of buying it from GW, and once it gets to color printing? pfft who needs paint any more

With a vacuum chamber, one can use RTV silicone, and resin, and make duplicates of anything they want at better than forgeworld quality. As soon as the printer is done, i'll be cranking out crazy terrain like there's no tomorrow.

Show me the printer first, then show me the product it made.

To say a printer is $500 but then showing the final product which wasn't made on a $500 printer is pointless. Show me the product from a $500 printer, then let us discuss.

Hell even the $3000 printer are still not that good. Also right now, to pay even say $1000 for a printer then you have to make the design your self, until they start coming out on the net, then you have to buy the plastic or what ever the product is used to make the mini, right now it's not viable. You may just as well buy straight from GW.

But 10 years from now, maybe even 5 years from now, it's a different story. Who knows, maybe this is why GW is producing so many releases now. Make as much money as you can now.

idk 10 to 5 years is still a pretty long time, i would guess 2 maybe 3 years tops.

Hello!

I really like what namiel and deviantduck said. I like it because I see these things differently. It is nice feeling to disagree in a gentlemen way.

@namiel: 2014. I believe that is the year when patents for major functionalities of 3D printers expire. I think that will speed up the development process. Quality will come very soon after that. Just think about ordinary printers. (google: 3d printer patents)

@deviantduck: As I said above. I would put that money in my pocket and wait for top quality components, or full systems. These will be much better and cheaper.

I believe GW will use this opportunity. Maybe not full boxes - but I expect bits. Like: Sir you can buy set of: ork glyphs, chapter specific ornaments, elven blades... that is a great opportunity for them. And it will still allow Forgeworld and GW to release specials.

Still, I may be not "that person" which is good in reading and creating forecasts and prophecies. I may be totally wrong... but, just consider these things I described above come true...?

Backspacehacker: that is a really cool question. TY!.

Cheers.

I'm already budgeting for a 3d printer, for next year. Whether or not I use it to copy parts is moot, as I've already decided it'll be worth it just to be able to fabricate custom parts for personal projects. Last I check, current 3d printers were below $400.

SJ

Wow, the last I herd a few months ago, 3D printers were about $2000, you could get a lower quality for $1500.

Prices have really come down now.

What I can see the 3D printers being used for RIGHT NOW, is terrian, where fine detail don't really matter. Considering how much GW is charging for their boards, (what was it $1500?) it might be better to get a 3D printer, and print out buildings and what not.

I guess 3D printers can't print out boards, (too big) but buildings and what not can be done without needing fine detail.

If GW was smart, they would get behind the trend. It's not something that is going to be an issue tomorrow or even next year, but in five years? Easily.

Businesses who refuse to adapt to technology tend to suffer for it. The smart play would be to start offering digital kits for download on their website. The Pirate Bay is going to be full of model plans anyway. Put digital plans up for legal purchase and people who want to support GW will. In the long run, they might do better off for it.

Then instead of me buying a $50 box of plastic men scanning them in so I can print a million of them, I can buy a licensed copy from GW that will allow me to print X uses of them. They could even sell sprues individually. Marine in mkIV armor is this. Guns are this. specialist weapons are this. etc etc. Now, not only does GW have some control over the market (and a legal way for people to acquire these schematics), they have a revenue stream that doesn't require shipping, inventory, and so on. Thus, a much higher profit margin.

The real fun though will be for people like me who will be able to use the technology for custom sculpts. I have a background in graphic design and 3d animation. I'm chomping at the bit to just up and create custom models and bits -- though I'll probably get flak from the community for it.

It will take some of the fun out of chopping and splicing existing bits into new ones when you can just create from scratch. God Emperor willing this will make GW have to focus more on really good rules as opposed to decent models.

 kazian wrote:
If GW was smart, they would get behind the trend. It's not something that is going to be an issue tomorrow or even next year, but in five years? Easily.

Businesses who refuse to adapt to technology tend to suffer for it. The smart play would be to start offering digital kits for download on their website. The Pirate Bay is going to be full of model plans anyway. Put digital plans up for legal purchase and people who want to support GW will. In the long run, they might do better off for it.

Then instead of me buying a $50 box of plastic men scanning them in so I can print a million of them, I can buy a licensed copy from GW that will allow me to print X uses of them. They could even sell sprues individually. Marine in mkIV armor is this. Guns are this. specialist weapons are this. etc etc. Now, not only does GW have some control over the market (and a legal way for people to acquire these schematics), they have a revenue stream that doesn't require shipping, inventory, and so on. Thus, a much higher profit margin.

The real fun though will be for people like me who will be able to use the technology for custom sculpts. I have a background in graphic design and 3d animation. I'm chomping at the bit to just up and create custom models and bits -- though I'll probably get flak from the community for it.

Exactly. Sadly though GW will probably spend their time hunting down people and slapping them with lawsuits until the bitter end of them. If they were smart they would offer something like that but sadly I think if they did they would want excessive amount of money for plans to print their products.

I would only use one to make custom shoulder pads for my Guardians of the Covenant.

Here a a couple pictures of an ADL I printed and painted last week. Came out decent. With some more working out the kinks it could be a bit better.





The current generation of consumer level 3d printers is probably able to be used for terrain and bits (gun barrels, claws, etc...). Doing a full mini would be a bit rough.

 Dannyevilguy wrote:
It will take some of the fun out of chopping and splicing existing bits into new ones when you can just create from scratch. God Emperor willing this will make GW have to focus more on really good rules as opposed to decent models.

Very very true. On the other hand, I wouldn't have to buy $100 worth of kits just to get the pieces I wanted to make said kits. I was really really into the great "pre heresy" armor space wolf conversions floating around out there until I realized each 10 man squad would require a box of Chaos Warriors, a box of Chaos Marauders, and a box of Grey Hunters to make it work. Too rich for my blood.

I recall reading Jes Godwin saying that GW wasn't worried about it. Apart from the fact that it can't yet match the quality of GW-made miniatures, he also said that they would look to incorporate it once it came further. He gave an example of somebody being able to 3d print their face onto their Space Marine Commander instore.

So, look forward to 12 year-old faced Space Marines in the future, I guess.

You've noticed that Space Marines are overgrown child, per their background fluff? A marine with a child's face is the target audience.

SJ

The printers that are $500 and less are definitely not capable of printing models. I'm building mine for terrain purposes. The extruders are capable of making a dot of plastic 1/3 of a millimeter in size, but that still isn't good enough. I like the idea of cranking out buildings. I'm mainly building it because I can.

I really don't think GW has anything to worry about. Like others have said, by the time the printers are capable of being a real threat, GW will have incorporated them into their business model long before.

That ADL looks like its been stretched lol but it looks find otherwise.

I wouldnt expect 3D printing to be a normal thing for another 10 years, more because companies wont want to get rid of their expensive molds than anything else because they can justify charging out the arse that way to "pay them off" which i doubt they were THAT expensive as they make them sound.

Wait for the current molds to start to deteriorate and bam, 3D printer time.

 Vineheart01 wrote:
That ADL looks like its been stretched lol but it looks find otherwise.

Yeah that was my first attempt and I was working from some bum dimensions. I don't actually have a real ADL to measure from.

Right now 3D printing doesn't come close to the quality or cost of Chinese resin recasts, which are in many cases better casts than either games workshop or forge-world models.

For the cost of a good 3D printer you could probably have 10 full 2k point armies of exceptional quality Chinese knock off's.

 Vineheart01 wrote:
That ADL looks like its been stretched lol but it looks find otherwise.

I wouldnt expect 3D printing to be a normal thing for another 10 years, more because companies wont want to get rid of their expensive molds than anything else because they can justify charging out the arse that way to "pay them off" which i doubt they were THAT expensive as they make them sound.

Wait for the current molds to start to deteriorate and bam, 3D printer time.

That assumes the market will be operating on the timeline that the company prefers, rather than on the timeline the technology makes possible. Whether or not GW has decided to make nice with the technology, once the capacity is there you'll be able to find all of the schematics in the same places you can find all of the codex's now. And that's before you get into the grey area of places like Deviantart where people will be making "fan art" sculpts that will in all likelihood be available to download.

GW will either have to figure out how to capitalize on it, or devote half their budget to roaming the internet and shutting down anyone who creates anything that looks remotely like power armor.

 deviantduck wrote:
T
I really don't think GW has anything to worry about. Like others have said, by the time the printers are capable of being a real threat, GW will have incorporated them into their business model long before.

Just like how GW embraced the internet? About 10 years too late for that LMFAO.

Maybe they have lernt their lesson and will adapt sooner. Then again see how fast GW
adapted to the internet and how they eliminate it like Facebook and forums.

Tech needs at least 5 more years of R&D to make it small and cheap enough to affect GW.

Here is a 3D printed Russ

 Gitsmasher wrote:
Tech needs at least 5 more years of R&D to make it small and cheap enough to affect GW.

Here is a 3D printed Russ

That look pretty good. Do you happen to have the STL file?

I don't know how all these unpainted 3d models would look once painted, though. While they look fine as is, all the little odd textures would probably make the paint look terrible. I dunno how realistic sanding it off in the case of that russ is, though.

 Gitsmasher wrote:
Tech needs at least 5 more years of R&D to make it small and cheap enough to affect GW.

Here is a 3D printed Russ

Chapter Approved!!!!!

I've got to admit, Im skeptical, but not of the technology - the only instance of tech not lining up with my own personal expectations has been antigravity tech, and I blame that on one particular Mattel hover board. Beyond that, technology has been improving miraculously over the course of my lifetime and many lifetimes before my own.

What Im skeptical of is 3D printing making 28mm gaming significantly less expensive. I certainly hope Im wrong, but a future in which I get my minis hot off the press for much less sounds too good to be true.

10mm gaming could be greatly impacted by 3D printing. The minis are generally simple strips sans parts and feature far less detail.