Remember back when inkjets first gained momentum in consumer tech? You know, with the painstaking pace of printing what seemed like a page per hour. And to think they now average between one and two dozen per minute. Today, that’s where we’re at with 3D printers: they’re relatively slow, taking about roughly half an hour to print an item the size of a Lego brick. We’ve barely gotten warmed up.

Leading tech research and advisory firm, Gartner, just released their 2014 report on the Hype Cycle of 3D Printing, outlining the status and trajectory on sentiment and advancements of this technology. Various applications, from bioprinting systems to product prototyping, fall along this drastic curve, marked by a prediction as to when it’ll reach plateau of productivity. And this “Hype Cycle Graph” (pictured below) has been tried and true for 20 years.

3d printing hype cycle, 3d printing future

Despite spreading awareness and substantial media fascination, 3D printing still has 5 to 10 years before it becomes consumer commonplace. Until recently, it’s been geared more toward enterprises than small businesses, thriving in niches like research/development, education, and manufacturing. That, or hobbyists churning out gewgaws. So that may leave you with two questions:

Why do we have one?

Simple. It’s the future, in one shape or another. We use our MakerBot Replicator (5th Generation) around these parts for refining our 3D modeling skills, testing concepts, and manufacturing items like iMac headphone hooks, iPhone cases, and sporks. It’s resulted in quite a few custom desk trinkets, and in a few cases, something useful. But the best way to understand the process and innovate with this technology is to dive into it ourselves.

How can you experiment with 3D printing?

It’s really something you should see first hand, and more possibilities are revealed each day. Luckily, there are shops popping up all around that allow you to send in files for print (search locations with this 3D Hubs database). Even UPS and Home Depot have been trickling printers out onto shelves in select cities and offering free demonstrations. For those in the Orlando area, the new Melrose Center in the public library downtown has two at your disposal!

Can’t design, or don’t know where to start? MakerBot’s open-source design community, Thingiverse, is filled with user-created digital files to get you going. Or you can always just order a custom bobblehead from Amazon’s new 3D printing store.

“One of the criticisms we get is, ‘Does the world need more plastic crap?’ But you have to look beyond the plastic crap, to the design, to the experience, to the empowering nature of the MakerBot and the community.”Bre Pettis, MakerBot CEO

So if you’re looking to dabble in this hyped technology, there is clearly a growing number of resources to learn more. We’re also here, if you have any questions or postulations. Here are a few good reads to get you started.

Gartner’s report on the 3D printing hype cycle
Fast Company’s piece on MakerBot, CEO Pettis, and the state of 3D printing
ZDnet thought-leading on what needs to happen for 3D printing to go mainstream
WSJ covers three big companies using 3D printing

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