Around 2006, I had the privilege of visiting the famous MIT media lab. Out of the numerous geek toys I had a chance to play with, one was a modified inkjet printer that sprayed glue on successive layers of powder until a 3D object emerged from the dust, thus a 3D printer. Even though I had never heard of 3D printers, this MIT machine was in reality a layman’s version of the SLS printer invented almost 20 years ago at University of Texas at Austin. It looked pretty neat, but I didn’t give it much more though at the time…
A few days ago, I stumbled on this video of a small 3D printed hand fan. The fan was printed as is, with cranks and all in place, no assembly required. I was stunned and realized it was time to do some research on 3D printing. It didn’t take me long to notice how much farther ahead we already are than I imagined. I now have an unshakable feeling that 3D printers are one of those technologies that are going to usher in a new era on humanity. Continue reading “A brave new world of 3D printing”