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Comment by Claudus | Hacker News Reader

3D Printing is going to have numerous challenges for humanity to face as it becomes more and more mainstream...

A 3D printer in every home?

  - The first virus that prints dangerous / obscene objects
  - The toy industry facing the same challenges are MPAA/RIAA
  - Printable lenses for eye glasses, contacts, cameras
  - Printing keys for any lock
  - Printable press plates for counterfeiting currency
  - etc.

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Printable lenses seem like a good thing. I don't think the others are serious concerns:

An object that is dangerous just sitting inside a 3D printer seems unlikely in the near future. It would be very difficult to print something that has stored mechanical or chemical energy. Even printing something that's sharp would be a challenge. Obscene objects are not really more problematic than subjecting unwilling viewers to on-screen pornography.

The toy industry exploits peer pressure in children to make parents buy overpriced junk. It deserves to be disrupted.

Printing keys is not likely to be a significant attack vector. Most keyed locks can be easily defeated with picks or bump keys, and new keys require only a file to manufacture today. A grinder or Dremel tool makes it as quick as a 3D printer would be. Getting a good image of the key to be copied is a bigger challenge than being able to make a new key of any shape.

Printing plates are not the most significant barrier to counterfeiting modern banknotes. Other security features are harder to duplicate, and a 3D printer is unlikely to help.

I can't comment on lenses for eyewear, but lenses for cameras is significantly more complex. High end camera lenses use a diverse range of glass through methods such as doping, are polished and have complex anti reflective coatings applied.

A modern lens may have a large very strong front element, with a series of smaller fragile elements behind it. Each lens may have a different anti-reflective coating applied.

You may be able to 3D print a lens, but at least for high end cameras this technology is going to have very little impact.

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