China on your desktop: 3D printing and the future of the toy industry

I have, from time to time, written about 3D printing and its potential impact as a major game changer for the toy industry. Will we some day have children printing out rubber duckies and other toys in their own bedrooms?

Well, since I last wrote, 3D printing has gotten even more interesting.  At least that is what the artist, Jesse A. Greenberg tells us in his blog post "Materialization of the Internet: Or The Desktop Factory.”

Jesse, in some cases, pursues what I would call a toy aesthetic.  His images look, well at least to me, like bizarre toys.  (That is a picture of him standing next to one of his pieces).  

I am a friend of Jesse’s and in one of our conversations, I spoke to him about 3D printing.  
Fascinated by the implications, Jesse did research of his own and the result was his intriguing blog post.  Jesse covers a great deal of ground but what really caught my eye was this paragraph on the Rep-Rap 3-D desktop printer:

Rep-Rap [is] short for Replication Rapid-prototyper. Google’s open source programs manager Chris DiBona explains “Think of Rep-Rap as a China on your desktop.” Using an ABS plastic spool extruded thru a heated nozzle, the Rep-Rap lays out hot plastic that cools immediately, building up layer by layer any designed item…The machine’s parts cost approximately $500; extremely cheap compared to a $30,000 industrial prototyping machine that may be found in many factories. 

“CHINA ON YOUR DESKTOP”?  That will keep some people up at night. Let’s not, however, get too carried away just yet. It all sounds impressive but there is more a great deal more progress that will have to be made before kids are turning their bedrooms into micro toy factories. As Jesse puts it:

Still the Rep Rap, along with professional industrial 3-D printers, have many problems still to be solved. One problem is the amount of time it takes to print something. Hours can be spent on the tiniest item, and to make anything on a larger scale or with multiple parts can take days.

Bottom line, I continue to see 3D printing as a potential paradigm shifter that could change the way we produce and market toys, and in doing so, have an impact on every toy retailer and manufacturer.   Let’s keep a close eye on this so that we don’t get surprised like our friends in the music and book businesses.