So, you're contending that there is no skill building or ingenuity required for 3d modeling, for properly supporting a print, for post-processing a print? And have you ever 3D modeled an object? Have you ever post-processed a multi-part to get rid of all seams and layer lines? Have you ever paired 3d models you designed and printed with other mediums like paper craft, wood working, costuming, electronics, robotics, animatronics or the like? I suppose it is easy to dismiss 3d printing as a shortcut, when you've never done it.

Yeah, as a prop maker working on community theater stage props -- it is easier for me when I can simply download a model of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's lantern, print, sand, sand, sand, fill, prime and paint it than making it out of paper mache and/or wood (or metal, which isn't in my wheel house, yet). But I'd argue making Milky White out of cardboard, like the current Broadway puppet, would take me way less time and fewer skills than one I'm currently modeling and will be printing, assembling, post-processing, painting, and finishing...

"Overuse" is a short sighted argument... If you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If you get a saw and a hammer, you can make more things. Yeah, there are people who just print articulated toys others designed and sell them at craft fairs against things other people actually put effort into, and you'd be right to call them out for it. But, there are also mini painters who don't have injection molding equipment. There are prop makers who have to turn around props in short order so that actors have by tech week. There are cosplayers who design, print, and finish amazing helmets. There are people making animatronics, who want super strong, but lightweight parts made out of engineering materials that are hard to machine with.

When power tools first came out, there were people who argued about their overuse, and the death of artistry and the skill of hand tools. Do you use a power drill or modern drill press? Don't you know the skill required to use a hand drill? What about a table saw, lathe, electric sander, or Dremel? No immediate knee jerk reactions to their overuse? If you don't want to add a 3d printer to your workshop, that's fine. But, seriously, how dare you pretend to be the arbiter of what "real making" is and isn't.