“There are barriers primarily in the usability of the entire stack, software, machines, materials,” Pickens said. “No-one has succeeded in making a 3D printer where you just ‘hit print’ and get the object you want. Various amounts of post-processing have to take place that make the experience frustrating for users. In particular the machines require tuning and babysitting to function properly and often the failure modes are due to engineering flaws that could have been solved.”

I am not holding my breath till 2016 to see if this is solved. Seems that more sensors and software are needed to track the position of the extruder and placement of materials. I hope it happens. It would be cool to have an actual replicator on hand.

via What’s holding back 3D printing from fulfilling its promise? | ZDNet.