None of this has anything to do with the material properties of a finished print.
Butter isn't 'for' making statues with, even if plenty of people choose to do it.
If people start displaying butter statues on their mantle, that doesn't somehow make butter 'for' making statues.
I have no doubt that it is less expensive to keep 3d models of rare and rarely needed parts around, so they can be printed as PART of a process to make repair parts. That is a GREAT idea.
This is no different than carving a foam model and then building a mold with it.
As a PART of the production process, it is very useful.
No one here is talking about that.
People expect to push a button and get a finished part.
And if THAT s the kind of 3d printing we are talking about, then it is prototyping , toys, and art. It is decoration.
It doesn't matter how mainstream it gets, the physical properties of the plastic/resin and the mechanical properties of the printing itself are what determine it's usefulness.
Can I make an entire sailboat out of duct tape?
Sure. But it would be a BAD sailboat and I shouldn't do it because that isn't what duct tape is 'for', and the properties of duct tape make it bad for the job.
