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Not sure if this is in the right place and it's a bit vague, sorry.

Anyway, our local news broadcast on the BBC (Southern UK), had a report on a 3d printer and I have to say the results are looking pretty awesome. The printer uses layers of resin to make the model, which I think is different to many others out there? The example they showed was a small adjustable spanner, that actually had working parts. From what I saw it was printed this way, not printed multi part and assembled. I know it's been said beofre, but this thing does look like it could be a serious threat sometime soon.

I will try and find a link, but so far nothing.

Like any emerging technology, it is going to take a while before this sort of thing is commonplace. The tech needs to become more robust, easier to work with and cheaper to run before it becomes widespread. Think VHS/Betamax or CD players; it took a while for them to penetrate the market and even when they did, the first models were hideously expensive until manufacturers had the production lines ironed out - 3D printing is no different; the tech is promising but there is a while to go yet.

The stuff used for rapid prototyping tends to be very high quality, in regards to being able to print complex, working assemblies right out of the box. They are, however, significantly more expensive than a lot of what you'll find floating around in the "3D Printing" world.