What I think is interesting is that this particular list, with it’s particular tiers, would have looked completely different 10 years ago. Back then, I was begging for a 3D printer that was appliance easy to use. Then the Adventuer 3 came out, and I was thrilled, even though everyone in the community insisted that it wasn’t that good and they were happy with their cobbled together RepRaps. But the Adventurer 3 was really the first 3D printer that would have merited a tier list that differentiated “Fun for All” and “For Pros”. But really this list exists as a snapshot of this time. We’re still seeing a lot of 3D printers that just clone what came before and don’t innovate, but they work. But we’re also seeing the rise of 3D printers that push 3D printers to be easier and easier to use. Will there come a day where there’s no margins in making a 3D printer that isn’t easy to use? Will I one day have to reorganize the tier list with new tiers that reflect the value of their built in library of parts? I don’t know, but that day definitely isn’t today, looking at the 3D printers I have to review next.
It’s been a while since I uploaded a proper video, and I wish I could just say “I’ve been busy with the kickstarter” and call that the reason. And, in fact, that’s true, but it’s not the whole story. Part of the reason I haven’t released any other videos is because this video was so much more work to do than I thought, and I needed to finish this video before I could record the printer reviews I have lined up. You know, because I want to talk about them in the context of this tier list.
I know it looks like I cracked it out in one take, and it was, but that one take was after two whole takes I had to throw away. Okay, one of those was because the mic wasn’t on, but this was take #3. But this was also revision #2 on the graphic and revision #2 of the whole idea.
And I still wish I could have taken the time to put pictures of the 3D printers I was talking about, but quite frankly I don’t expect this one to do so well, so I think I’d probably be better off leaving it as is. Besides, I hear the internet prefers their content a little rough.
And, like I said in the video, the point of this was to establish talking scheme for future discussions, and to that end, I think it’ll do. Now I can record the next reviews.
