3D Printing getting closer to home

[Gremlin73]

http://store.makerbot.com/makerbot-thing-o-matic.html

Imagine what you could make with this! (Still out of my budget though!)

[fallacy]

ya just watched some video on it. the idea if it is out of this world. Like right now I am trying to restore a T2 I am missing the plastic fram that goes around the bottom of both guns

I looked everywhere can they can not be found. Someone print me off a couple of this frames, I will pay good money 

[RandyT]

ya just watched some video on it. the idea if it is out of this world. Like right now I am trying to restore a T2 I am missing the plastic fram that goes around the bottom of both guns

I looked everywhere can they can not be found. Someone print me off a couple of this frames, I will pay good money 

The printer looks cool.  It amazing that the technology is now so affordable (relatively, at least.)  But if you are talking about that housing for the gun base, find someone who can take some measurements from one (or wing it yourself, based on the photos and your machine) and visit a local metal fab shop.  Looks like a fairly simple job to make them out of thin sheet metal.

[RayB]

Instead of worrying about owning a 3D printer outright, just use a service like this:

http://www.shapeways.com/

[fallacy]

The more I think about it the more I want one. I was into 3d modeling when I was gong to school 10 years ago, but in the end it felt time-consuming and pointless. I never felt like I had the artistic talent to make money in the video game industry with it. So I did what everyone does when they fail to be an artist I went to IT and just do web page design and graphic design as hobbies. But man to be able to print your own design or modify other work, I would defiantly have a renewed interest in 3d modeling.