Comments on: Will 3D Printing Kill The Toy Industry First? http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/will-3d-printing-kill-the-toy-industry-first.html Ideas & Trends Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:50:05 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: csven http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/will-3d-printing-kill-the-toy-industry-first.html/comment-page-1#comment-13024 csven Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:42:45 +0000 http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/will-3d-printing-kill-the-toy-industry-first.html#comment-13024 Who's saying parents will do this by themselves??? I'm an industrial designer with 14 years professional experience developing the stuff people now buy at retail. Among other things, I've done toy design. And people like me will be doing more of what other designers like Martin Konrad Gloeckle (interviewed on the Mass Customization blog: http://tinyurl.com/yvwpwm ) are already are already exploring. In addition, you've got "Spore" and it's amazing (free) little modeling tool coming this Summer. And the game will either have a direct port to 3D fabbers or people will "rip" the data and make them anyway (I expect Fabjectory will be among those offering the service). "Tools don't make the craftsman". Funny. Tell that to Ryobi, Craftsman, DeWalt and all the other tool manufacturers that sell to amateurs. Tell it to O'Reilly and the folks at "Make:". Tell it the journalists who once claimed that blogs would never impact their livelihood or break important stories. How arrogant. No. This won't *replace* the toy industry. But it will impact it over time, because the ugliest creation can be the most beautiful thing in the world... to the person who created it. Who’s saying parents will do this by themselves??? I’m an industrial designer with 14 years professional experience developing the stuff people now buy at retail. Among other things, I’ve done toy design. And people like me will be doing more of what other designers like Martin Konrad Gloeckle (interviewed on the Mass Customization blog: http://tinyurl.com/yvwpwm ) are already are already exploring.

In addition, you’ve got “Spore” and it’s amazing (free) little modeling tool coming this Summer. And the game will either have a direct port to 3D fabbers or people will “rip” the data and make them anyway (I expect Fabjectory will be among those offering the service).

“Tools don’t make the craftsman”. Funny. Tell that to Ryobi, Craftsman, DeWalt and all the other tool manufacturers that sell to amateurs. Tell it to O’Reilly and the folks at “Make:”. Tell it the journalists who once claimed that blogs would never impact their livelihood or break important stories. How arrogant.

No. This won’t *replace* the toy industry. But it will impact it over time, because the ugliest creation can be the most beautiful thing in the world… to the person who created it.

]]> By: Piaras Kelly http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/will-3d-printing-kill-the-toy-industry-first.html/comment-page-1#comment-13019 Piaras Kelly Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:12:10 +0000 http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/will-3d-printing-kill-the-toy-industry-first.html#comment-13019 Can't agree I'm afraid. The tools don't make the craftsman. 3D Printing might lead to imitation, but realistically can you see parents sitting around and coming up with toy ideas that will capture their children's imagination? Perhaps for kids aged 0 - 4 where all they're doing is copying existing ideas - lego blocks or spinning tops. But particularly for older audiences when the influence of mass marketing comes into play - a la Barbie or GI Joe - you can't expect parents to compete with brands. Can’t agree I’m afraid. The tools don’t make the craftsman. 3D Printing might lead to imitation, but realistically can you see parents sitting around and coming up with toy ideas that will capture their children’s imagination? Perhaps for kids aged 0 – 4 where all they’re doing is copying existing ideas – lego blocks or spinning tops. But particularly for older audiences when the influence of mass marketing comes into play – a la Barbie or GI Joe – you can’t expect parents to compete with brands.

]]> By: csven http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/will-3d-printing-kill-the-toy-industry-first.html/comment-page-1#comment-12993 csven Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:28:00 +0000 http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/will-3d-printing-kill-the-toy-industry-first.html#comment-12993 For some years I assumed the car parts business might be the first industry to be potentially turned on its head by additive fabrication technology, but recently came to a similar conclusion regarding the toy industry. Additionally, I also realized that the first kirkyan (an object that has both a real and virtual representation, each of which interact with the other) may very well be a toy. However, it's a little early yet for that. As I reminded someone recently, the big issue with spimes (and by default, kirkyans) isn't the technology; it's finding companies willing to encode their blueprints into the objects *themselves*. For some years I assumed the car parts business might be the first industry to be potentially turned on its head by additive fabrication technology, but recently came to a similar conclusion regarding the toy industry. Additionally, I also realized that the first kirkyan (an object that has both a real and virtual representation, each of which interact with the other) may very well be a toy. However, it’s a little early yet for that. As I reminded someone recently, the big issue with spimes (and by default, kirkyans) isn’t the technology; it’s finding companies willing to encode their blueprints into the objects *themselves*.

]]> By: Floyd Hayes http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/will-3d-printing-kill-the-toy-industry-first.html/comment-page-1#comment-12991 Floyd Hayes Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:39:28 +0000 http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/will-3d-printing-kill-the-toy-industry-first.html#comment-12991 All you need is Lego. All you need is Lego.

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