#disadventages

"3D printing disadvantages according to Peter Friedman:

•agonizingly slow operation •niche applications only •extremely low throughput per station •hard to scale •mostly small items only •unsuited to volume production •still in its earliest stages of development •mostly plastic-only products •limited range of fabrication materials •mostly low precision output •mostly fragile, low durability products •mostly single fabrication material products •mostly only for products with no moving parts •mostly low quality surface finish •highest spec 3D printers (fastest, most flexible, finest detail) still dramatically lower throughput than conventional production line equivalents •cheapest 3D printers can make small, decorative knick-knacks, but not much else •just fun to watch •best for educational and hobby use •just cheap toys for making cheaper toys •just a designer's fantasy about cutting out the middleman •a great solution still looking for truly applicable problems •serious cost issues on almost all large-scale applications •unresolved technical problems on most fronts •only really suitable for DIY or small startup usage •only serious design role is prototyping •only serious production role is for making molds •suited to the desktop or garage, not factory operation •CNC and robotics were also predicted to take over everything in manufacturing decades ago, but are still only niche"

via 3ders.org