3D printers have been hyped up in recent years, and there are also many discussions on the forum. Many 3D printer manufacturers have also appeared at home and abroad.
So: 1. Is it a good business to sell 3D printers (for civilian use) now? 2. What is the market prospect and follow-up development?

No best answer

The changes brought about by 3D printing technology may change the economic outlook of the manufacturing industry. Many people believe that this technology will completely decentralize commerce and reverse the urbanization process that accompanies industrialization. People will no longer need factories. By then, every village will have a manufacturing plant composed of printers. Items needed. However, some people believe that the economic and social benefits of cities far exceed the ability to attract workers to work on the assembly line. 3D printing is also facing some development bottlenecks:
1. Price factors
　　 The price of most desktop-level 3D printers is around RMB 20,000, and the price of some domestic imitations can be as low as RMB 6,000. However, according to 3D printer agents, although domestically produced 3D printers are low in price, the quality is difficult to guarantee. For desktop-level 3D printers, since they can only print plastic products, their use range is very limited, and for home users, the cost of using 3D printers is still very high. Because before printing an item, people must understand 3D modeling, then convert the data into a format that can be read by a 3D printer, and finally print it.
2. Raw materials
　　3D printing is not a sophisticated and difficult technology. The difference between it and ordinary printing lies in the printing material.
3. Social risk cost
　　 Just like a nuclear reaction can both generate electricity and destroy it. 3D printing technology made people see a series of hidden worries in the early stage, and the future development will also cause many people to worry. If everything can be completely copied, what can be made when you think about it, it sounds beautiful, but it is also really scary.
4. The famous 3D printing paradox
3D printing is to make objects layer by layer. If you want to make the objects more finely, you need to reduce the thickness of each layer; if you want to increase the printing speed, you need to increase the layer thickness, which will inevitably affect the accuracy and quality of the product. If products with the same precision are produced, compared with traditional large-scale industrial production, there is no cost advantage, especially considering the time cost and scale cost.
5. There is no standard for the entire industry and it is difficult to form an industrial chain
　　 Nowadays, 3D printer manufacturers are full of flowers, such as the Warring States Period. 3D printers lack standards. When the same 3D model is printed on different printers, the results obtained are quite different. In addition, printing materials lack standards. At present, 3D printer manufacturers want consumers to buy the printing materials they provide so that they can obtain a stable income. Although this is understandable, after all ordinary printers also follow this model, but the consistency of the raw materials used by 3D printer manufacturers is too poor, from form to content, which makes it difficult for material manufacturers to enter, and R&D costs and supply risks are both Very large, it is difficult to form an industrial chain. On the surface, the 3D printer is bundled with 3D printing materials, but in fact, the materials are bundled with the printer, which is not conducive to reducing costs and resisting risks.
6. Unexpected process: preparation process before 3D printing, processing process after printing
Many people may think that 3D printing is to design a model on a computer, no matter how complicated the inner surface, structure, press a button, a 3D printer can print a finished product. This impression is actually incorrect. Really designing a model, especially a complex model, requires a lot of engineering, structural knowledge, fine skills, and adjustments according to specific conditions. Using plastic fusion printing as an example, if there is no reasonable design inside a complex part, the printed result is likely to be distorted. The later process is usually unavoidable. The media described 3D printing as an artifact that can be used directly after printing. But in fact, some follow-up processes are required after the production is completed: or grinding, or sintering, or assembling, or cutting. These processes usually require a lot of manual work.
7. Lack of killer products and designs
　　 All people say that 3D printing can give people a huge degree of freedom in production and can produce things that have never been seen before. But until now, there are very few "killer" products, almost none. It is possible to make small-scale jewelry, art, and reverse engineering, but when it comes to large-scale industrial production, 3D printing cannot replace traditional production methods. If 3D printing can produce products that cannot be produced by other processes, and this product can greatly improve certain properties, or can greatly improve the quality of life, this may promote the popularity of 3D printers faster. But the current 3D printers are not satisfactory in this regard.
Therefore, if you invest in civilian use, the cost is too high. However, with the rapid changes in technology, 3D printing will eventually reach millions of households, just like our computers now. But this journey will take time, maybe 30 years or 3 years.