@limburger – your links to Shapeways models was interesting (for me as a new 3d printer owner). And I think this is where the difference in opinions on 3d printing stems from.

The idea of taking something ethereal – like a digital file – converting into something physical (a printed miniature) to then be put into a box and couriered in a van to someone, possibly on the other side of the world, feels “old fashioned” and a backwards use of technology: yes, I understand that it’s a delivery mechanism for people who aren’t able to print at home. But the Shapeways model isn’t going to revolutionise tabletop gaming.

But *in the event of more people being able to print at home* then the goods sold remain ethereal – a bunch of ones and zeros flying through the ether. From content creator to end user, the transaction is 100% efficient; no time spent creating a physical object, boxing it up, sending it, delivering it, receiving it….

I believe that this is the disruptive nature of 3d printing.

Not the idea that we get “more choice” or “alternative providers” – but the entire manufacturing chain can be removed and replaced by lots of people doing a little bit of work at the end, rather than a few people churning out thousands of products in a factory, to sit on a shelf: the end user becomes the manufacturer, the product becomes a service, waste is minimised, transport is eliminated – and all this is on top of the other benefits of 3d printing (such as faster time to get a mini in your hand, ability to produce multiples for negligible repeat cost, ability to modify/scale relatively easily etc).

In a world where Shapeways was redundant, and everyone was manufacturing their own miniatures, with designers and content creators being rewarded directly for their output, we’d see a truly disruptive technology being used properly!

As @sundancer says, this *technology* will be disruptive. This particular printer won’t, because it’s reinforcing the idea that one central manufacturer should produce the product. For me, desktop home-use machines like the AnyCubic Photon and the Elegoo Mars are better examples of disruptive technology for our hobby. I’m expecting to see development going into UV-curable resins, to make them more “user-friendly”. Once people have got over their fear of handling chemicals, I think we’ll have cracked it! (although household bleach and many multi-surface cleaners are more hazardous than resin and IPA – I think a lot of it is down to perception).