Disney patents and 3D printing

If someone sculpts/creates their own original work of say Boba Fett's Helmet, whether it is done digitally or using materials, they will have no problems from Disney.
If you buy a Black Series Stormtrooper helmet, 3D scan it, and start selling 3D prints of it, yeah I could see how Disney would have a problem with that.

I have a hard time seeing Disney patenting every Star Wars costume part.
 
I don't think they'll give a **** until some company buys the license to mass produce costumes.
It might me a too small market for it to happen but it could.
 
I don't think they'll give a **** until some company buys the license to mass produce costumes.
It might me a too small market for it to happen but it could.


...you mean like Anovos? ...yea its already happened. My thought with them is once they [Anovos] really get going, that "the mouse" will slowly start knocking out the fan made stuff..at least the larger makers anyway. If you dont really produce a whole lot, they seem to turn a blind eye to it, for now anyways.
 
I know Anovos and Rubies exist but they are not competition for the highest qualitiy fan-made stuff.
Considering how strong cosplay is for Star Wars Celebration I don't think they want to destroy the bond with that whole community. They would only force players like Bobamaker out of the market for earning money with their license if some big company is willing to mass-produce products of the same quality, wich I see unlikely to happen soon.
 
While not a fan of Anovos promising and not delivering, I do think they, along with Rubies , sell ( maybe not ship) a TON of stuff compared to fan produced stuff. It may not be quality but there are a lot of people who care more about low cost and close enough costumes that but their stuff obviously
 
Disney is the ABSOLUTE worst when it comes to copyright infringement "HOWEVER" they know the best Star Wars props are made by fans and still encourage the fan films and have a the awards so when it comes to Star Wars as long as it isn't so in their face I'm sure everything will be ok... Cause let's face it. We're not gonna buy their crappy toys BUT WE WILL ALWAYS Make our own props! Lol

BUT SERIOUSLY ALWAYS!!!!!
 
I think Disney is getting ahead of this thing (3D printing and patents). Right now, fans no doubt make the best stuff. Anovos puts out a pretty quality product, but it is highly expensive. Most people are not going to spend between $2K and $4K on a costume, so that market is really small and there is not enough profit there to go after.

As costs come down and quality increases for 3D printing, I can see a day where Disney can put out high quality pieces for a fraction of the current prices. When this happens, Disney will start to care a bit more about what is now a small and high end market. Of course, at that point, the entire marketplace will be different. Right now, the fan community leans primarily on casting. I have 3D printed a number of parts of my costume, but 3D printing is still too expensive and low quality for most parts. Let's look at some Shapeways pricing:
Jet Pack...$2,780.00
Helmet...~$630.00 for all parts
Armor...~$1,200.00 without the knee pads
Gauntlets...$700.00
Pulce Sidearm...$355.00

These prices are way too high currently, especially for what you get. I actually bought the sidearm because I like the design and I ended up with a functioning trigger, but there is no texturing on the handle grip and it took a lot of work to sand down the "pixelation." I also used a 3D Printed Rangefinder topper and I think it looks really good (but also required substantial work).

Another thread here says that there is a new technique that will allow machines to 3D print metal at 1/10 of the current cost. Take a decimal point off of all of the above prices and you see how 3D printing will get very competitive very quickly. Imagine paying $63.00 for a helmet, $120.00 for complete armor, and $70.00 for gauntlets. 3D printing is the future of what we do and it isn't even that far off. Disney will get ahead of this. If they can offer 3D printed scans of the original pieces at prices lower than what we are paying now, we will be lining up down the block. At that point, the cottage industry of prop making will focus primarily on paint jobs, something that computers can't quite do as well as humans.
 
I think Disney is getting ahead of this thing (3D printing and patents). Right now, fans no doubt make the best stuff. Anovos puts out a pretty quality product, but it is highly expensive. Most people are not going to spend between $2K and $4K on a costume, so that market is really small and there is not enough profit there to go after.

As costs come down and quality increases for 3D printing, I can see a day where Disney can put out high quality pieces for a fraction of the current prices. When this happens, Disney will start to care a bit more about what is now a small and high end market. Of course, at that point, the entire marketplace will be different. Right now, the fan community leans primarily on casting. I have 3D printed a number of parts of my costume, but 3D printing is still too expensive and low quality for most parts. Let's look at some Shapeways pricing:
Jet Pack...$2,780.00
Helmet...~$630.00 for all parts
Armor...~$1,200.00 without the knee pads
Gauntlets...$700.00
Pulce Sidearm...$355.00

There's a lot of truth to that...

I paid $320 for 100% Fiberglass Jet pack from Korbanth and I know I'm a bit new to this whole game but why on earth is a shapeways jetpack $2780.00?

Just a question, what makes it so expensive?
 
RafalFett uploads his 3D schematics to Shapeways. Right now, 3D printing is too expensive and time consuming for large items. I used 3D printing for my dental expander on my gauntlet because it was metal and small enough to be affordable. Large and complicated designs are too expensive NOW. However, as better, faster 3D printers are developed, those costs will come down, which is the point of my post. Those 3D printers are expensive and slow, which makes print time come at a premium. The more plastic the printer is laying down, the more print time it takes up.

I believe that some day, the printers will be cheap enough and fast enough that those prices are going to come down substantially. When that happens, prices will drop.
 
Well, I guess that'd be a good thing... "Hopefully"? As long as Disney actually provides awesome stuff for a good price.

I just hope they don't have a corner on the market and hammer anyone (like us good people) if we still try to make better stuff than what they put out? Hope not? But,,,, it's Disney they'd sue their own grandparents for wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt they didn't produce.

But thanks, I get your point... I was looking on shapeways site wasn't really sure what it was exactly I've heard of people doing lots of 3D printed stuff but never seen any in person or done it myself.
 
RafalFett uploads his 3D schematics to Shapeways. Right now, 3D printing is too expensive and time consuming for large items.

To outsource to shape ways, absolutely. If you have other access to printers it is a super cheap way to do it. Printing a full Jetpack at home is probably a $150 prospect. Sure, there's a fair bit of finish work, but for someone who has time and sandpaper it's totally viable.

Cheap, larger format printers can be had now for under 500 bucks, so it's pretty plausible to build up a home print farm (I've got 4 printers running at the moment!)
 
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