It was over three years ago that Mykita was showing off 3D printed frames at Silmo in this very blog, and since then most of the press the technology has got has been silly or sensational.
The technology is essentially a manufacturing technology, and it's making progress, but print your own specs? No way. It was a great technology for prototyping then and...err it still is!
It all looks a bit like the early days of 3D TV, it sounds great, its got a sexy, high tech name so it must be great. Everybody looking for a whizzy bandwagon jumps aboard. The problem was that the public, more fool them, haven't embraced it.
A little more exciting is the news that the Dutch have 3D printed optical lenses and frames together. The history of instant lenses is a long and tortuous one. The problem is that instant is great but dedicated makers are alwyas going to be able to make a quality product.
I sense 3D printing will remain a topic for the geeks for sometime to come.
