I think AI is ushering us into the 3D printing era of software.
I’m sure others have had this thought too, but it really hit me this morning during a conversation with a colleague. When 3D printers became affordable, people predicted the end of manufacturing. Everyone would print everything at home. Why buy a product when you can just make it?
But that’s not what happened. Far from it.
Most people still don’t own a 3D printer. Of the people who do own one, they mostly print models someone else designed. Only a small group actually opens up CAD and designs their own parts. And nobody’s printing their own fridge.
But for the tinkerers and designers and enthusiasts? There’s real freedom in building exactly what you want or need.
The bracket that doesn’t exist in any store. The replacement part for an appliance the manufacturer stopped supporting. The organiser that fits that one weird drawer perfectly. Small, personal, slightly ugly, and exactly what you needed.
I think that’s where AI is taking software.
Most people won’t build their own apps, even if they can. Some will remix things others have made. A smaller group will build tools that fit their exact workflow, their exact problem, and their exact weird drawer. Personal software, made for an audience of one.
And just like 3D printing, the limits are still there: · Printed parts aren’t injection-moulded parts. Personal tools aren’t production systems. · Someone still has to design the models everyone else prints. Someone still has to understand what’s underneath. · Every 3D printing hobbyist knows about failed prints, warped beds, and endless tuning. Every vibe coder is about to learn the software version.
But I’ve stopped thinking that’s a bad thing. Not everything needs to be a scalable SaaS product with a subscription and a growth strategy. Some software just needs to work for you.
There’s a freedom in that I didn’t expect to feel good about.
What would you “print” for yourself if you could?
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This post was originally published on LinkedIn