家用3D打印机一年可以收回成本 你要买一台么？

新华网8月2日电 据美国科技博客Gizmodo报道，如果你还在考虑购买3D打印机是不是一个划算的主意，那么现在已经有答案了：研究人员经过计算得出的结果是，3D打印机只需要一年就能收回成本。

美国密歇根技术大学研究了20种常见的家用物品，包括智能手机外壳、捣蒜器和莲蓬头等，用Google Shopping算出网上购买这些物品最多和最少需要花费多少钱，不包括运费。然后研究人员又计算了3D打印这些物品的费用。

研究结果很令人惊奇：购买这些物品需要312到1944美元，但是3D打印的费用只有18美元。很明显，打印机本身很贵，但上面这些数据告诉我们，收回成本很快。领导这次研究的约书亚·皮尔斯解释说：

“免费的设计图纸数量和3D打印机的数量呈几何式增长，我们正在为每个人制造潜在的财富……不是只有工程师和专业人员才能操作3D打印机。有些打印机只要半个小时就能设置好，即便是RepRap的打印机也只需要一个周末就能自己装配完成。”

当然，下载设计图纸、修改图纸然后试验打印，这些都花费时间成本——但这也可以被看做玩3D打印的乐趣。如果现在你还对3D打印没什么兴趣的话，这条新闻也许能帮你打定主意。

译者：林杉

百度新闻与新华网国际频道合作稿件，转载请注明出处。

Household 3D Printers Can Pay For Themselves in a Year

If you've been pondering over whether a 3D printer is a sound financial decision, here might be your answer: researchers have calculated that they can pay for themselves inside a single year.

The study, conducted at Michigan Technological University, considered 20 common household items—smartphone cases, a garlic press, a shower head, the list goes on—listed on Thingiverse, then used Google Shopping to work out the maximum and minimum cost of buying them online (not including shipping). Then, the researchers also calculated how much it would cost to make each using a household 3D printer.

The results are pretty amazing: it would cost between $312 to $1,944 to buy the items, but just $18 to make using the 3D printer. Clearly, the printers are expensive, but those figures suggest that they can pay for themselves in a time frame of months to years. The research is published in Mechatronics. Joshua Pearce, who led the research, explains:

“With the exponential growth of free designs and expansion of 3D printing, we are creating enormous potential wealth for everyone... [Y]ou don t need to be an engineer or a professional technician to set up a 3D printer. Some can be set up in under half an hour, and even the RepRap can be built in a weekend by a reasonably handy do-it-yourselfer.”

Of course, there's a time investment involved in downloading designs, tweaking them, and experimenting with manufacturing—but that could be seen as part of the charm, too. If you weren't excited about 3D printing by now, this news might be just enough to tip you over the edge.