Back in my day I had a typewriter, now you can print your own shoes....

[Ksandra]

Thought this was cool as shit.

inb4 someone on bg gets one and makes ten thousand dildos/fleshlights with it.

[Vandole]

uh, i have access to a 3d printer at school.. but the plastic it uses to print is not cheap for the one we have. it is so big that it can print out an entire car engine. the mechanical engineering students love it.

[Ksandra]

I think the idea is not so much that this is new (the guy even says they've been making parts for years). It's that this is something the average person can afford.

I'd agree that $1300 for a new "in home" electronic is pretty cheap considering. He did not mention how much the plastic would be though. If it's not too bad, I can imagine this could save parents some decent money on toys for kids lmao.

[rezn0r]

we've had them for years here, the engineers print prototypes (we make medical devices) with them. it's amazing watching the thing work, and pretty interesting to see them showing up in the news lately

[hey]

You can make small ones for a few hundred dollars. This has been the case for quite some time. And by make, i mean they self reproduce, so you can just print out the parts and put it together.

[Aksannyi]

That is very cool. I don't care that it may have been around for quite a while, it's new to me and that's fucking cool as hell. I would love to play with one of those things.

[Mertron]

i am going to print so many boobies

so many

[Boyiee]

I'm going to buy one and print more 3D printers, and then sell the clones.

And if I run out of plastic, I'll print more. GENIUS

[hey]

I'm going to buy one and print more 3D printers, and then sell the clones.

http://reprap.org/

All but the circuit boards can be printed.

[Kaisha]

Does CNN ever have positive news? Almost everything from the ticker in the video is depressing.

At any rate, those kind of 3d printers take forever to print. I don't really see how they could be any faster using that method of melting a plastic strip though, but it's the most affordable method currently. There's also the MakerBot, but that thing looks like a beast to self-assemble, and isn't cheap regardless.

Main thing I'm curious about is the limitations on the production of the objects. Some 3d printers print a 'bed sheet' to start off with so the object has some support on so it won't fall over, but what about things such as a flat surface protruding out from something? Main thing I'd use those kind of printers for are making LEGO blocks until they're a little more sophisticated as far as consumer-level ones go.

Still an interesting field though, can't fucking wait until we can just print out articulated action figures. I'm expecting the future to change from buying toys in stores to just purchasing 'blue prints'. Of course that'll be after a decade of business suits claiming people are pirating toys because they refuse to adopt the new delivery method.

[rezn0r]

this isn't exactly related, but it made me think of this thread - http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/s...sand-0402.html

[Khamsin]

this is exactly related, but it made me think of this thread - http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/105831-3D-Printer

Still, pretty amazing.

[Ashmada]

Pretty amazing, indeed.
But consider the larger picture: these are basically primitive replicators; we already have pads and mobile communication devices. One is forced to conclude that Star Trek was prophetic and it's not long until we're all assimilated by the Borg. Resistance will be futile.