Background: I'm a web and mobile dev who's entering the 3D printing space. I've researched and experimented for months, have gone to industry conferences, and I know the space pretty well, including its limitations and history of hype.<p>I'm wondering whether there's any appetite among app developers for integrating 3D printing into their apps and what they would need in order to do that.<p>At the moment, 3D printing is entirely focused around modeling. Either you're using CAD to create a model and then you print, or you download a model file and print that.<p>I'm more curious about building an app ecosystem where 3D printing is casually integrated into all kinds of apps that don't involve the traditional modeling workflow. For example, maybe a video game that can print a trophy as a reward for beating a level, or an app that prints jewelry or fasteners or auto parts on demand (or part of upsell during checkout). Or all kinds of things that I can't even imagine (that's the whole point of an app ecosystem, no?)<p>My questions are:<p>1) Are you/have you ever been interested in adding 3D printing capabilities to your app(s)?<p>2) If yes, what's prevented you? E.g., lack of market, unreliable printer technology, no standardized API, no easy to use SDK.<p>As I wrote, I'm fully aware of the hype that's surrounded the industry and the limitations of the technology, especially hobbyist printers. I'm thinking big picture: if one were to start ironing out all the kinks, where should one start? What are the biggest showstoppers?