3D printing is too often seen as the realm of the prototypical “geek,” meaning it’s useful for high science, the medical field, but for the everyday person? It’s just something high-tech to play around with.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. The average household would benefit greatly from having a 3D printer in the home, in fact! The main utility is in having the limitless options of 3D printing available at a moment’s notice. One of the best uses for 3D printing in a casual sense going forward is not so much in planning out exactly what you can do, but in having a way to solve any new, simple problem as it presents itself.
Here are a few examples of how a 3D printer can save the day in three basic, simple situations:
- You don’t have any C batteries lying around. As so many newer consumer electronics now have integrated batteries, it’s less and less likely you’ll have anything but the omnipresent AA batteries actually waiting for you in your home. Yet you’ve just dragged out something that requires those big, clunky C batteries. No problem! They’re actually identical to AA batteries except for the shape, so you can print out these simple adaptors and use the AA batteries you already have!
- You have too many guests over for your one bottle opener to cut it. You decided to have a large gathering. You planned for everything. Everything except how awkward it turned out to be when everybody had to constantly pass around a single bottle opener. With a 3D printer in your home, you won’t even consider running out to buy extra openers. You can simply print a few extra bottle openers yourself and hand them out to your guests.
- You want to binge on your favourite new show while getting work done in a room without a TV. The problem is, you have your phone and your tablet as options, and staring at a screen sitting flat on a table isn’t going to work. Don’t wait a day or more to get a stand delivered to your home from an online retailer, print one out yourself! Print out a phone or tablet stand that looks good to you and get on with your work/leisure balancing act without interruption.
3D printing is, conceptually, a blank slate. That means it isn’t just a toy, nor is it just the realm of engineers. 3D printing is, simply put, for everyone.
