A new 3D printer has just gone on show at the Science Museum in London. The revolutionary printer uses a powerful laser to melt objects into a 3D shape using metal or plastic. For the next three days, visitors to the museum will be able to design and print a range of three-dimensional objects from lighters to pens.
The initial design of the object has to be created on a computer, using specialist software. The software analyses the shape of the object and breaks it down into layers. This information is then sent to the 3D printer where each layer is built individually by heating powdered plastic and moulding them together. The printer takes around two hours to print an inch of plastic, although several products can be printed at once.
"There are an incredible number of uses for this," said Dr Siavash Mahdavi of Digital Forming, "For instance, we believe shops could install these systems and let users create their own jewellery and even clothes or shoes. You can effectively customise the design in terms of shape, colour and texture, then print out your purchase." This could be the start of things to come, maybe one day the printer can replicate objects already created!
The 3D printer costs approximately £150,000, but experts predict the price will drop rapidly. Perhaps one day we'll all have one at home.