If you tailor the use-case to one a consumer 3D printer can&#x27;t match, then you can certainly show that the materials science won&#x27;t allow the consumer-grade machine to compete- the issue here is one of imagination and applicability.  Like the other fellow here says, what you&#x27;re saying has deep shades of the same &quot;why would I even WANT a computer, green monochrome, blocky text, stupid games?&quot; Arguments I had the misfortune to deal with personally, and the good fortune to avoid being swayed by. It&#x27;s very much still a hobbyist&#x27;s game, and just as it was then, when it would be substantially less time-consuming for most hobbyists to just, I dunno, modify their spreadsheets by hand and do calculations with a slide-rule than to program a computer to modify the order some little blinking lights came on.<p>So powerfully, we don&#x27;t really disagree- I concur that my use case (replacement parts for toy robots) doesn&#x27;t justify even a 500$ 3D printer- but the communal one we share at university was extremely valuable (did I mention the quotes from services like Shapeways for the part were in the 17-25 dollar range, where I was charged 3-4 bucks?).  Moreso, the REAL value here is in all the crazy designs I&#x27;ve been concocting since then, like the adjustable desk I&#x27;ve been toying with building for ages, but always found my toolbox, workspace, and expertise somewhat short to make the gear setup- the portion of the project that intimidated me would be trivial and cheap with this 3D printer- and this printer, it&#x27;s one of the ones that <i>really sucks</i>!  This breaks that barrier right down, and that&#x27;s all technology is really for, anyway- to help us make our visions into realities.<p>You obviously know more about materials than I do, but I think that your perspective is skewed by upper limits- you&#x27;re trying to decide this technology by comparing it to other tech that it has zero need and zero business trying to compete with- when we DIY guys require materials that strong, then maybe we can talk (not saying it wouldn&#x27;t be nice, and break down more barriers, I&#x27;m saying that it sounds like you&#x27;re saying that unless it can compete with injection molded ABS plastic, it&#x27;s not worthwhile, and I hotly contested that assertion), until then, you&#x27;re trying to shortchange our moon rockets because they won&#x27;t get us to Mars, and that&#x27;s pretty silly, in my book, even if it&#x27;s true.<p>So, indeed, hobbyists machine- someone purchasing this as an appliance like a refrigerator- meant for convenience and time-savings, I can agree that they&#x27;ll be disappointed.  In the meantime, hobbyists who only want to give the vision-to-reality ratio a boost are going to continue to be tickled pink at their 3D printers, and I suspect that their enthusiasm will drive enough interest and investment in the technology to maybe deliver some of those high-quality, cheap Laser sinterers you mentioned before- all possible as long as there&#x27;s an enthusiast market to consume the hobbyist level iterations along the way! :D