Constraints of 3D Printing

Although the future of 3D printing seems to be very promising and the technology keeps improving over time, there are still some obstacles to overcome if we want to apply 3D printing to the manufacturing industry.

Mass Production

The speed of printing out objects is still relatively slow if we compare to factories in China. 3D printing technology is very useful when customizing products, but so far this technology cannot be used in mass production.

Material
Although the technology allows us to print out by plastic, aluminum, glass, sugar or even ceramics, the cost (including machine and software) is still too high to print out objects that are not made from plastic.

Cost

The cost of 3D printing is average of $4 a cubic inch. Since the cost is relatively high, it is only cost-effective in low volume production. 3D printing is efficient in complex design but less efficient in simple goods.

Legal Issue

Intellectual property, copyright, and liability are the main obstacles for 3DP. For example, if you downloaded a script, printed an object out at home, and then it breaks, it is hard to say whose fault is it.  Is it the script designers fault or your own? This may seem like minor problem in consumer goods, but when it comes to aerospace or healthcare devices, the issue becomes more controversial.

Software

According to MIT Technology Review, few consumers or designers can actually operate the software used to render objects and turn them into files that can be printed.

We downloaded the software offered from Makerbot, which is called "Makerware," and attempted to use it. The software allows you to download the script from sharing websites like Thingaverse and add to your file, but it’s not very user-friendly. If the file was bigger, it become more difficult to operate.