True, but computer people can also make some pretty neat things. Especially when you start throwing 3D CAD and 3D printers into the mix. Both have their place and use.

 

Some of the lower end hobbyist units are a few hundred bucks and they do a surprisingly good job. I have a Solidoodle 2, and have made everything from Legos for the kids to gauge holders for my truck, to housings for a product I've been working on bringing to market.

I've even printed spare parts so if it ever breaks I can repair it!

 

It comes with a program you load your 3d files into, rotate, scale and place them on the print platform virtually, then print. You can set how fine the printing. The finest level obviously gives the smoothest finish but it's also the slowest. The program can load in 3d files in Autocad format, STL (used by many inexpensive cad programs) and a few other formats that I can't remember off the top of my head.

Learning the CAD is the hardest part, and that's actually pretty easy once you get over the intimidation! I got over it with te AutoCad for Dummies book! Learned most of what I needed to know in a couple of days that way.

 

You buy spools of ABS or PLA plastic. It's plastic filament about as thick as the line from a yard weed eater tool. The 3d printer company charges an arm and leg for those but I buy them dirt cheap on ebay. I'm downstairs minding the kids right now, so I can't get to the 3d printer right now, but if you want I can make a quick video tomorrow of it working and some of the little nick nacks I've recently made.

The biggest difference between the two types of plastic is their melting point. I think the ABS has the higher melting point, it's good for auto parts you might place under a hood but not directly next to a heat source like an exhaust manifold.

There are two limitations of this printer compared to the multi-thousand dollar printers.

1. Maximum print size is about 6x6x6. That's actually pretty darned big.

2. It prints with only plastic and does not have a "fill" spool. The high end units can print material that fills in between overhanging plastic (plastic printed with nothing under it supporting it during the print), that washes out after printing.
Without fill this hobbyist printer can still print overhanging plastic but only at certain angles unless you slow down the print. I've never run into any problems due to this, most people won't - and sometimes all you have to do is rotate the image differently to print it from a different direction.

http://www.solidoodle.com/
I just went by Solidoodle's site, I made a mistake, I have a Solidoodle 3. It looks like the printer in the middle but not 100% the same. I put clear acrylic sheets on the side walls to quiet it down during the print. I'm happy with it. The only draw back is it takes 2-3 weeks to get it after you order it. They are really back logged due to being so popular.

 

Yeah, buy a plastic chroming kit, print out 3D emblems then chrome them, and that would be a decent little side business.

Even better would be to use the printer to create the emblem, then use that to create a mold, and the mold to make metal emblems. Then use traditional chrome plating on those.

If you think about it, as 3d technology advances and we can print with more and more materials (already with some metals now), Star Trek's transporter technology is here in a round about way. You don't send the actual object, you send the data to a remote location to create it there on the spot. Nasa has been researching and testing 3D technology they could use on the moon, Mars, etc. Send the printer in the ship, along with bulk printer material. Make what you need, when you no longer need it you feed it back into the material bin to be used again.