Domain of the 3d printer

3d Printers are not the "next industrial revolution" 

of home manufacturing they are hyped as.
The plastic is expensive, it takes multiple tries and tweaking to get a good print, and they can be maintenance nightmares.

I've been using the Makerbot replicator 2 for over a year now, and I have some feelings on what desktop 3d Printing is good for. I would not advocate printing anything out which you can buy easily mass market, and this includes items that others are 3d-printing and selling.

1) Replacement parts. This is the best use I have found.

I have a nice looking heavy chrome faucet which developed a broken plastic bushing, causing it to leak at the stem. I called Mohn, and they said that the only way to get a new bushing would be to buy a new faucet. I plan to measure it, prototype it, and print a new one.

2) Prototypes of physical parts

My ceiling fans have been breaking chains due to a poor design. The fan housing is made of stamped metal. Where the beaded chain comes out is a simple hole in the metal. This means that if someone pulls straight down on the chain (instead of outward to the side), the beads making up the chain will be pinched on the sheet metal and the chain will break. I've gotten used to this, but when I have guests they will invariably break the chain or be unable to turn on the ceiling fan. My solution? I have designed a part which is a low-angle tube shaped like a piece of elbow macaroni, which fits into the sheet metal hole and is held on the other side by a plastic nut. The chain is then pulled through this elbow and operates without any friction.

3) Enclosures for custom circuit boards / electronics projects

A no brainer. If you have a board which is a certain size, especially if it is protoboard with lots of wires running every which way, it helps to have an enclosure. Fry's sells expensive one-size fits all enclosures, but if you can design and print one which is a custom size for your needs, why not do that instead?

4) Personalized gifts and "if found" tags

Stuff like luggage tags which have your friends names embossed or engraved. I like these ideas:
 4a) key chain fobs that have an email address and phone number on them but no physical address. So if you lose your keys they are easy to claim, or someone will notify you on their location.
 4b) customized plastic rugged luggage tags
 4c) customized phone case, like key chain fob idea for lost phone
 4d) Personalized property plates for things like bicycles and cars. Try to screw these on some place that won't be obvious such as on the top of a car's glove compartment or under a bike's bottom bracket

5) Money making venture

People are willing to pay money for both prints of existing models and new models. Check out http://3dhubs.com for an example of 3d printing as a business venture.

What are your favorite uses for home 3d printing? Leave a comment below.