When Will 3D Printing Become Affordable?

Printing in 3D is just the right mix of practical, innovative, and fun to excite large-scale businesses and individual tech enthusiasts alike. Once prohibitively expensive, the technology is steadily dropping in price. A single machine cost upwards of $20,000 in 2010, but just seven years later there are dozens of machines for under $1000 on the market.

Still, while the downward trend in costs has allowed 3D printing technology to move beyond the realm of manufacturing powerhouses, it hasn’t yet made the jump into the average American’s living room.

First, Let’s Address What Defines Affordable

Look up affordable in Merriam-Webster. You’ll see that it means “having a cost that is not too high.” Obviously, what’s affordable is different for everyone.

The definition of affordable is one that has adjustable boundaries—which presents opportunity for 3D printing. While consumers just aren’t quite ready to push those boundaries very far for 3D printers at the moment, that will change. To get there, the 3D printing industry must do two things:

1. Highlight and actively market the benefits of owning a 3D printer. Speak to the needs of the consumer, and show how this tech makes life better.
2. Push to make 3D printing cheaper. Machines are already declining in price, but there needs to more innovation around making the materials cheaper.  

When the benefits outweigh the costs

Consumers have already demonstrated their willingness to spring for a steep price tag on a discretionary tech tool. For example, think about smartphones. Nearly 80% of Americans own a smartphone device, even though prices easily exceed $500 for quality ones. Why has such an expensive item become so commonplace?

It’s because smartphones promise us access to everything from GPS services to music to real-time video conversations with the people who mean the most to us in the world. Smartphones offer many clearly defined benefits and fulfill many important needs.

Now, think about 3D printers. How can they enjoy similar success?

While a price drop of 95% may seem like 3D printing has become affordable, most consumers remain skeptical. In order to justify that kind of purchase, there has to be much more of a clearly defined benefit.

Simply put, consumers will view 3D printers affordable when they feel the benefits outweigh the costs. They need to feel that they’re getting return on their investment in some way—whether that be through enjoyment of using the machine, savings on physical products, or improvement in work productivity.

The answer is that home-based 3D printing needs to show how it can benefit a large range of people. Sure, these machines can print clever eccentricities, such as music albums on vinyl records, pizza, and even printing more 3D printers (how’s that for meta?). But there is so much more potential.

For instance, home-based 3D printing can benefit many different kinds of people, like:

• Inventors who need to make and tweak prototypes quickly and more affordably.
• Entrepreneurs who require a more efficient way to manufacture products.
• Families who need a faster, cheaper way to make household necessities.

Without a doubt, everyone can benefit from having this technology. It’s just a matter of proving its utility—which will make it “affordable” to consumers.

As David Jones, co-founder of M3D, notes, “We are entering a period when everyday users can get their hands on this technology and one day we might see a 3D printer in every home.”

When materials get cheaper

The other major reason that 3D printers still come up on the losing side of the cost-benefit analysis for consumers is that the low cost of the machine itself may be slightly misleading. First of all, lower-cost printers are usually highly limited in what materials they can print with, with lower-end models typically only being able to work with plastics. That realization bursts the bubble of consumers who get excited after reading articles talking about endless possibilities using a broad mix of materials.

Secondly, even after acquiring the printer, the owner will have to pay for those materials. Even if their printer just works with plastics, those costs can add up quickly. Obviously, there is a wide potential cost range of materials depending on what materials the printer works with. Still, in any case, the cost is non-negligible: printing materials typically range from $19 to $175 per kilogram. That puts small items within range, but larger, heavier items can be financially out of reach for the average customer.

Still, the 3D printing industry can overcome these concerns. In particular, there must be a focus on how 3D printers are actually already cost-effective. A study back in 2013 proved that 3D printers pay for themselves, not just for when you print expensive items like scientific equipment and auto parts, but also for printing of low-cost, everyday items like kitchen utensils and toys.

The study, which was led by Joshua Pearce, a materials science and engineering professor at Michigan Technological University, has highlighted the significant return on investment 3D printers provide households During research, he’s proved:

• By printing one high-end custom item per week, the average 3D printer will pay for itself in six months.
• By printing normal household goods that you find at Walmart or Target, the average 3D printer for the average household consumer will pay for itself in three years.

Additionally, the industry is coming up with innovations and ideas to make materials more affordable (which will only make having a 3D printer at home more beneficial). Through effective recycling, improved logistics, and greater production efficiency, 3D printing materials will get cheaper.

For example, in Pune, India, Protoprint, a social enterprise that makes plastic filament (ink for 3D printers), has set up a production facility near a rubbish dump. Protoprint is using plastic waste directly from the dump, allowing them to produce that “ink” at cheaper prices while tackling plastic waste and employing locals.

So, while we haven’t reached the tipping point, it’s going to happen. Prices will continue to drop and consumers will gradually see the value in owning a 3D printer—because it makes perfect financial sense.

Only a Matter of Time

While the current financial concerns and practicality questions are enough to prevent many consumers from purchasing a 3D printer, the market is still on the rise and shows every sign of continued growth. The industry still has a long way to go before the individual consumer market becomes saturated, but the latest industry numbers show that over 217,000 desktop 3D printers were sold in the first 3 quarters of 2016.

That’s a 27% increase from the previous year, giving industry analysts good reason to be optimistic. As with any economic market, those increased sales should help continue to bring costs down, further feeding a future growth cycle. A recent global market research report confirmed those predictions of lower costs as demand rises.

In terms of making predictions about future growth, perhaps equally important to the cost is the fact that consumers currently have a high interest in eventually owning a 3D printer. A OnePoll survey found that one in three Americans said they would be interested in buying a 3D printer for the home. Even more promising, they cited a wide variety of reasons for that desire: some wanted to print everyday items to save themselves a trip to the store, others wanted to experiment with designing and printing their own inventions, and yet others were interested in personalized, DIY crafting projects.

That wide variety of goals shows that more than just hobbyists are excited by the idea of 3D printing, and excitement is just what the industry needs to move forward. Decreased prices and an increased appetite may finally push into the market into that sweet spot that consumers deem “affordable.”