3D Printing: The Next Technology Gold Rush - Future Factories and How to Capitalize on Distributed Manufacturing (3D Printing for Entrepreneurs)

First thing I want to say is this book is really underpriced. Other books on the subject typically run five times as much. Many of these other books are very superficial, here's the next big thing, but no real information. In this case, the author Christopher Winnan is very knowledgeable on the subject.The book is written in three parts:Part one is most important. Info on the new technology and printers. Info on 3D scanning. Info on 3D Modeling and Design. All of it really great info, well written in a way that's easily understandable as well as knowledgeable and informative.Part two is a lot of ideas on how the new technology can be used. Again the author has really researched these different ideas as well as given any number of places to get additional info on each of these areas. It's a section you can read the parts your interested in and skip the others.Part three is upsides/downsides and legal issues of the new technology. All important info for anyone who wants to go into the business themselves or invest in others.I looked at a number of books on this subject both in store and online. This was undoubtedly the best of the bunch, and yet, the lowest priced. Some just focus on one aspect of 3D printing and others just give a superficial overview. This is a really great book with a lot of detailed information and tons of links and references as to where you can get additional info on the aspects you're interested in. Highly recommended by this 3D artist. My compliments to the author on a job well done.

I purchased the this book to learn more about financial opportunities that are possible using 3D printing technologies. I was impressed with the authors knowledge of the existing equipment and their relative strengths and weaknesses and I was also impressed with the authors deep knowledge of all the different characters one could make across the world of comic books, video games and anime. However, what I wasn't impressed with was the financial model the author claims readers can capitalize on. Essentially, the idea is that print up these characters and models one by one and sell them on eBay. I am sure you can make a few bucks but no one is going to quit there job doing this kind of work.What really set me off was when the author ran off the road and started talking about politics with the author's leftist leanings became very apparent. It's not just that I didn't buy this book to hear about the author's political hobby horses, but that his ideas were so naive. The author suggested that the revolution of 3D printing could actually put the majority of manufacturing workers out of a job! Like many lefty pseudo-political thinkers, he falls into the trap of believing in a zero sum gain economy. 3D printing won't destroy the manufacturing industry any more than robots did. It will change the industry, it will shift the industry, it will create many new opportunities, but it will not put tens of thousands out of work.To compound my frustration with the book, the when the author started to talk about the potential of printing firearms on a 3D printer, he again ran off the road to talk about politics. The author suggested that the easy availability of firearms in Thailand accounted for it having the 3rd highest murder rate. What he didn't mention is that South Africa has the highest murder rate in the world with virtually no murders by firearms due to the draconian laws on the books. Again, naive politics that shouldn't be in the book.In closing the core proposition posed by the book proved to be not very compelling and when the reader has to suffer through the author's sophomoric political views, it makes for a book that is not worth reading. Take a pass on this one.

I have another 3D printing book of this author, “Adventures in 3D Printing” (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H7CZWQ6/), which is a great read for people who want to know more about 3D printing and the related business opportunities. I heard that the author’s new book was banned by Makerbot, so I was curiosity to know what the author said in this previous book.It turned out that this old book by Christopher Winnan is another great book packed with useful information. I was surprised that the content was not nearly as out of date as I expected. I like how Christopher explained technical ideas in a plain simple way. Despite the highly technical topic, this book is still an interesting and enlightening read.3D printing is definitely the next big thing to expect, there are suggestions that it will drive a new industrial revolution. This is a book to read if you want to know more about this evolving field.

The first chapter is very nice, which talks about all sorts of facts about the technology. But then on the second chapter, which is suppose to be the most important chapter, the author simply says that, OK here we have a 3D printer, what things can we print and make money out of it? What I'm looking for is the forms of businesses we can do with 3D printers, for example making product samples for manufacturers using rapid prototyping technology, or a printing/designing service for university students working on design projects, or a printer renting service etc., not like let's print some giant mushrooms and sell it. Nevertheless, I still like the author's imagination though, it's kindda cute btw.

I'm totally blown away with all the valuable information in this book. I think everything I ever wanted to know (and a lot I wasn't even aware of) is covered in this excellent book...After reading it, now I'm going to go back and read it again but this time write down the websites that it mentions... I was going to them 'online' while reading but it took me away from the text and I think I'd be much better off making a spread sheet with topic titles and copying the links from the book to the spread sheet where I can explore them more fully.If you're and export or a novice, you'll find new and highly useful information in this book. And what a price bargain...Thank you Amazon and Kindle for giving us such excellent books at this price...This one is a winner!Randy

A great overview of 3D printing technologies, their history and their potentials for a more than reasonable price!If you are generally interested in 3D printing without a certain knowledge about this topic, this eBook might be the right choice. If you already know a lot about 3D printing, this book is a great consumption of many things you might have heard of, and furthermore an inspiration for what you can do next with your own 3D printer.Christopher D. Winnan describes the basis in printing, scanning and modeling with many examples for available (free and low cost) products. In many examples he shows up, what is possible with 3D printing today, and gives a critical view on the economical and social impact and potential of this technology.

I enjoyed this book and do feel that it gave a good insight into the 3d printing industry from the authors point of view.There is a lot of information inside and many ideas on how to take advantage of a 3d printer to make commercially viable items. Unfortunateley I did not find anything to help me justify buying a printer just yet although I do believe this book is a good bit of research into making a printer pay for itself and possibly setting up a business from this sector.

Delivers a very interesting and entertaining (lots of examples and good explanations) introduction regarding 3d printing - the book does not only focus on the essentials of the printing itself but also connected areas including market places, 3d scanning, 3d modeling tools/cad. Each topic is described by introducing (actual) basic technologies (formats, handling...) as well as examples regarding software or hardware solutions. A large part of the book contributes interesting and creative ideas on how to become a part of the "maker community" - for fun or to make money (both is possible too :-P).

I have this book as the Kindle edition, and have found it to be a real page-turner. The writer covers so many aspects of the "New" technology from hardware and its availability through commercial uses to prospects of future development.Anyone with even the slightest interest in technology or commercial enterprise will get something from this well - written book.It should be required reading.

Well written, giving good overview of the pros and cons of this new technology.