something’s shifting.
right now, 3d printers are for nerds. everyone knows they exist, but almost nobody has one sitting in their house. that’s about to change hard.
every decent sci-fi story imagines futures where we just print whatever we need. the exact material science of the “ink” is still being figured out, but the concept has stuck. i’ve been watching for the consumer signals that this is actually happening.
just saw one… philips (yes, the people who make my electric shaver) announced they’re releasing printable accessories.not the whole razor, just the blade guards. those flimsy plastic snap-on things that let you control how close you cut.
seems helpful on the surface, right?
but look closer… it’s brilliant recurring revenue design. they’re thinking: how many people already own our shavers? what’s the replacement cycle? how do we get them spending more often? and yeah, obviously they found a way. i’ve got a drawer full of worn-out guards. would i pay a few bucks to print a fresh one that clicks in perfectly? probably. if i had a printer.
that’s going to be the pitch. the printer becomes a utility, like wifi. not having one will feel weird, backward, stuck. give it five years max.
once they prove people will pay monthly for guard files, they’ll move to razor files. then everything else with sustainable MRR.
most objects becomes services. the physical thing is just rendered locally.
supply chains don’t ship products anymore. they license geometries 3d file.
ownership was already dying. this just makes it explicit as much as any dystopian corporate strategy i can imagine, obviously.
you’ll print everything. you’ll own nothing. they’ll call it convenience.