As 3D printing continues to grow, rapidly, the technology teeters on the edge of usefulness and becoming a trendy toy. Though additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping are nothing new, it can’t be denied that it has finally found the limelight.

Now that the public is far more aware of this technology, it might be assumed that people would be running with all sorts of ideas and entrepreneurial endeavors. One would think that technology, or at least some areas of general design, would not only be budding, but exploding onto the scene. We should be a matter of months away from every home printing DIY plumbing, tools, and various apparatuses to make life easier.

Instead, we have websites like Layer By Layer. The site doesn’t sell files or designs, but rather it sells prints. You may ask yourself, “Isn’t that just an online store for novelties?” It isn’t because there is no shipping involved or material exchanged. You hand over money, and the site sends a file directly to your 3D printer.

The company’s intent is to have 3D-printed products delivered to consumers exactly how the designer intended. At the same time, the site totes, “Finally, a way to make money without giving away your designs. Sign up to be a seller, and help build the future of 3D printing.” Basically, they are looking to make 3D printing exactly what The Economist, as well as many others, have called it, The Next Industrial Revolution.

In one of many articles The Economist has published on the topic, N.V. says, “[E]xpect manufacturers to lobby for their own form of DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act], with copyright protection expanded to cover functional objects that contain elements of design.” In the traditional form of engineering and manufacturing, this is already present in the form of patents, as well as many other forms of intellectual property protection. The difference is that with 3D printing, unlike downloading your favorite Metallica album, might cost more than purchasing the original product.

Sites like Layer By Layer have a place on the market, and its creators had their finger on the pop-culture pulse. It just worries me that this is what our culture does with a profound new tool. Perhaps this tool is not so profound. Terry Gou, president of Foxconn recently said, “3D printing is a gimmick.” While I feel compelled to agree with him on an industrial and manufacturing level, 3D printing is revolutionizing many marketplaces.

It seems to be our compulsory need for instant gratification that drives websites like Layer By Layer. I’ll admit, as soon as Saelig graciously sent PD&D an Afinia printer for review, I instantly started printing various statues, figurines, and even a scan of PD&D Executive Editor, David Mantey’s head. But, this was out of a combination of novelty and sincere inquisition to learn what this printer was capable of. Now, consumers are being driven to go to sites that will print their toys for them? Sounds like a slam dunk for the companies and/or designers; no overhead, no supply, just a digital file and a Paypal account.

My concern draws on what this says about consumers. Are the masses so lazy that they would rather buy a $1,600 (the prices vary) desktop 3D printer, click a button, and wait 14 hours for a Yoda figurine, rather than go to the store to buy it? Not to mention the cost of the final product. The ABS material used by most desktop 3D printers makes the BOM of any given toy higher than some gas and a walk through the store.

Is it just current pop-culture novelty driving sites like Layer By Layer, or do you think this is the beginning of a new consumer revolution?  Email chris.fox@advantagemedia.com or comment below.