3D Printing

[Ed Mack]

It will not affect LEGO in the short term at all.  The cost is too high and the speed is too slow.  Here is a blog article from our site on 3D printing.

[justafrog]

It's got a long way to go before it can give Lego quality a run for their money. Right now, they probably couldn't even threaten Megabloks.

 

In 10 or 20 or 50 years though? Maybe so. Then Lego will be selling plans of cool sets and we'll all just make the parts on our 3D printers at home, right after we get done washing our flying cars and instructing our household robots on what to make for dinner. 

[TheOrcKing]

It's got a long way to go before it can give Lego quality a run for their money. Right now, they probably couldn't even threaten Megabloks.

 

In 10 or 20 or 50 years though? Maybe so. Then Lego will be selling plans of cool sets and we'll all just make the parts on our 3D printers at home, right after we get done washing our flying cars and instructing our household robots on what to make for dinner. 

Ha ha, yeah. That's pretty much what I say anytime this topic gets brought up. Technology will need to get to the point of the Jetsons or Star Trek before it will ever be considered a problem. I always remember browsing through science magazines from the 40s or so with images of bubble top vehicles, streamlined housing, and metallic rockets looking reminiscient of a, um, woman's 'back massager'. :whistle:

[MartinP]

I do not think that they will impact Lego in any way. I have seen how long it takes to make something with a 3D printer and it takes a while. I do not think it would be worth the effort to make your own Lego sets and bricks.

[comicblast]

IMO, with the current technology, there won't be much of an impact on LEGO. 3D printing is a LONG process, since it uses the method of printing each individual layer which is very time consuming. Sure, maybe a few blocks here and there might be printed, but it isn't practical to mass-produce them. 

 

I do see LEGO fans buying 3D printers to make elements that they've always wished TLG had produced, and in that sense, it could have a very positive effect on the LEGO builders world.

 

Will 3D printers have an effect on LEGO investing (can't resist!), I bring us back to my original arguement. Since it takes so long to produce something via a 3D printer, it isn't realistic. Besides, I highly doubt that the cost of a 3D printer, catridges, etc. could be regained through investing, unless the person operating the printer picked AMAZING investments which, as many of you know, is hard to do.

 

Also, you can't produce cardboard boxes with a 3D printer...yet!

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

In the long run maybe it pulls away casuals, but how many hardcore people are not in it for the build?

 

Whats the fun of just printing a model?

 

Printing blocks? come on people.

 

Plus these will be outlawed in like a year anyway when the Obama administration gets scared from all the kids bringing in plastic guns to school, right?

 

AM I RIGHT?

[Guest eightbrick]

I'll be entering some basic entry level 3D printing courses, and was planning to write an article on the first hand experience with them to add onto Yellow's blog. Should be fun

[segreto]

Pure Lego it will never affect unless the printers somehow can rival the injection molding strength and accuracy of a Lego factory.  This will never happen, and the 3d printers just pile plastic on top of other plastic.  No pressure applied at all.  

 

It is already affecting it in a small way by creating weapons and add ons for Lego figures now.  I might not want to invest in a specific used piece or figure if a part is missing and unavailable, but if I can create this part, well then the set is kind of complete.  But that is if I am only replacing 1 or 2 small insignificant pieces.  

 

And there this:

 

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/lego-need-not-worry-about-3d-printing-any-time-soon

 

Then I unfortunately found this:

 

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130706-bored-on-your-holiday-break-3d-printing-lego-bricks-on-ultimaker.html

 

They look like crap, but it's still scary.

[retrosycick]

Pure Lego it will never affect unless the printers somehow can rival the injection molding strength and accuracy of a Lego factory.  This will never happen, and the 3d printers just pile plastic on top of other plastic.  No pressure applied at all.  

 

It is already affecting it in a small way by creating weapons and add ons for Lego figures now.  I might not want to invest in a specific used piece or figure if a part is missing and unavailable, but if I can create this part, well then the set is kind of complete.  But that is if I am only replacing 1 or 2 small insignificant pieces.  

 

And there this:

 

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/lego-need-not-worry-about-3d-printing-any-time-soon

 

Then I unfortunately found this:

 

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130706-bored-on-your-holiday-break-3d-printing-lego-bricks-on-ultimaker.html

 

They look like crap, but it's still scary.

 

Wow that video was crazy. It seems like its already possible to make your own legos. He also said you could use ABS plastic with the printer. That is kinda scary. I still agree with you guys that it is still very far off from effecting Lego and other toys. Technology does move pretty fast though. I would not be surprised with how popular Lego is, that we start seeing very clean knock off or pirated Legos in the next couple of years. I wonder how much the plastic resin costs in that vid to make those cheapy looking Legos.

[BrickPick3r]

It would be impossible to imitate the lego's quality. Another challenge would be the limitation of mass production. The production cost of TLG would be much lower considering tons of brick.

[TheOrcKing]

According to this article from Time Magazine, the Lego company believes 3D printing may be the next frontier for customers who want to create customizable minifigures and bricks.

 

3-D printing is a fascinating development and certainly opens up a lot of new avenues. We are looking very intently at it and monitoring it, looking at what potential opportunities there are for consumers.

It could well be that it might be an exciting opportunity to print your own bricks.

Via The Brick Fan

[Mos_Eisley]

Maybe they support this because it will negatively impact the used set resale market. I certainly wouldn't want to buy a loose set only to discover that many of the bricks had been made on the reseller's 3D printer. I don't think 3D printers will be anywhere near this level for a long time, but if TLG actually supported it and made creating proper bricks from home something that anyone could do, I can see it being a problem. Plus, instead of just bandaids, paperclips, gum, MegaBloks and other unidentifiable substances, bulk lots will start to include these homemade knockoffs.

[asharerin]

A very wise decision IMO and not surprising at all. We all know what is coming.

[stoltzjl77]

Has anyone else noticed that the BrickLink inventories now include 3D models of many (all?) elements?

[Sauromosis]

Yep, one day we will buy plans from Lego online and their branded ABS powder from the stores.

Interesting to think what will happen to the value of sets made now, both boxed and used.

Lego will probably still sell complete sets for those without 3d printers but everyone will have them in 50 years, for example to print food like on star trek.

[No More Monkeys]

Damn... back to trading stocks and futures then?

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

this is why lego doesn't care about the china fakes." no reselling our products just make your own "

[Cetona]

Here's another interesting article on the topic:

http://3dprint.com/1383/lego-awarded-3d-printing-patents-may-allow-users-to-print-own-bricks/

[LegoSteve]

Damn... back to trading stocks and futures then?

 

No. No. Never trade stocks or futures.  If you don't hold it then you don't own it. 

[No More Monkeys]

Here's another interesting article on the topic:

http://3dprint.com/1383/lego-awarded-3d-printing-patents-may-allow-users-to-print-own-bricks/

Soooo.... hold on... are we loading up on grand emporeums or not?

[LegoSteve]

Soooo.... hold on... are we loading up on grand emporeums or not?

 

Buy a 3D printer and sell both.  Not everybody will own a 3D printer.  I'm sure eventually Lego will have exclusives for 3D printers so crank them out and put them on ebay.  Even after Lego puts out 3D printer specs it will have a good 10 to 20 years for the kids to become AFOL and support the 3D printer.  In the mean time factory sealed boxes will reign supreme.

[Alcarin]

Thank God my plan of LEGO investing is to end by 2020 and move on to other stuff and priorities

[Doofy McGee]

I still can't believe that people are even talking about this.  Does anyone really believe that 3D printing poses any threat to our beloved Lego hobby and activities?  I wouldn't want a crappy 3D printed piece in with my collection any more than I would want a MegaBlok in there.  There are so many people that are Lego purists, and that is not going to change.  There is something so satisfying about holding the real McCoy in your hand.  I think I speak for a lot of us here when I say that I wouldn't touch a knock off minifigure with a 10 foot pole.  If it's not LEGO, it belongs in the trash. 

 

The other thing that is hard to overlook is the fact that Lego has such a strict quality control policy.  Isn't it something astonishing like 3/2000th's of an inch is the allowable margin of error?  People may like the idea of simply printing out a brick when they need it, but the home version will never compare to the good old molded

version.

 

One other factor to consider is that most people are never going to own 3D printers, regardless of how inexpensive they one day become.  It's just not for everybody.  It will always be more convenient for most people to just run to the local retailer and pick up what they want.  People have always paid for convenience, and always will.

 

I don't mean to come off as a jerk with this comment.  I just find it laughable that this topic keeps coming up.

 

ps. I also had a rough night at home tonight, so I may be a little surly.  Lol.

[TheOrcKing]

I don't mean to come off as a jerk with this comment.  I just find it laughable that this topic keeps coming up.

You have brought up points of consideration to be sure. My defense and only reason for starting this topic was that the Lego company itself is pondering on the notion of offering 3D printing as a viable option in the future. At this point, we have no idea as to how they would implement such a choice. For all we know, it could be a replacement for their Pick-a-Brick wall as in Lego stores featuring a Print-a-Brick area instead. Maybe even an online feature where you could log on to create your own custom minifigure or brick with printing of your design, submit the content, and then wait for their factories to do the rest. Honestly, who knows what exactly they have in mind?

[seapotato]

My friend's bf makes 3D printers and I asked them to print me a LEGO brick just to see. Thought some of you might be interested since there was talk about 3D printers before and how it might affect LEGO investing. It takes a while to print, and they turned the speed up so it would print faster so the brick did not come out as well as it probably could have.

 

The brick is by no means perfect, but I can see how easily you can just make your own bricks in the future when everyone owns a 3D printer. I tried putting a minifigure on the brick but it did not stick very well (too loose), but they only use a small hand-held 3D scanner so it's not the best technology.

 

Honestly the 3D printers are quite impressive, and I want one for myself!