I've been talking to a couple of different 3D folks, one of whom is part of a team that makes and sells 3D-printed designs on Shapeways and the other uses CAD as part of his QA/QC work in the oilfield-tools business. I've been digging into things and I'm seeing a pattern emerging from the fog.
3D printing is a LOT more expensive than resin-casting.
3D printing at its least expensive has a very gritty surface texture.
3D designs can be altered fairly quickly and easily.
There is a HUGE treasure trove of 3d designs available for sale.
I made a joke on facebook today that started me to thinking. Would it be feasible to run a Kickstarter campaign for the purpose of raising the funds needed to purchase a rather substantial set of designs (I'm thinking primarily crates and other similar diorama accessories, but the wall/floor/ceiling modules are a distinct possibility), have them modified, have them printed in the finest detail possible on Shapeways, and then mold and cast them? Kickstarter has turned into something of a pre-order catalog, which wasn't its intended purpose, but which it seems to function rather well at. I know we have the hallway displays crew running a kickstarter in order to get the machine they need and a lot of people are jumping on that bandwagon. (I would too, if I'd not lost my job!) I'm not looking to buy a printer for Production Platform 3 (yet), just the plans, modifications, initial printing of a high-quality part, and the molding/casting supplies needed to turn out parts. Would folks be tentatively interested in supporting such an effort?
