Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

3-D Printers Come Home

by Tom Conlon on May 8, 2007 at 07:32 AM

3-D Printers Come Home
Though it sounds like something straight out of 'The Jetsons,' this year the first consumer 3-D printers will begin making their way into homes.

Capable of creating three-dimensional plastic objects from scratch, the technology paves the way for a future in which consumers will go online to buy things like toys, replacement parts or even toothbrushes, then simply print them out instead of waiting for delivery.

Printers capable of 3-D output are commonplace in industrial design, but at more than $100,000, they're out of reach for the average consumer. Later this year, however, a company named IdeaLab is introducing a model that will sell for $4,995. Another company, 3D Systems, will hawk its version of the home 3-D printer for $9,900. Both say prices will fall dramatically within a few years.

The printers work by melting down nylon powder, then creating models from the material layer by microscopic layer. Heat, light and chemicals are applied when necessary to shape and harden. After several hours of layering, a three-dimensional object has taken form.

While the applications for this technology are seemingly limitless, toymakers are particularly interested in the prospect of allowing gamers to create figurines based on their avatars from such online worlds as 'World of WarCraft' and 'Second Life.' EA has expressed similar interest for its massive online game 'Spore,' which comes out later this year.

As for us, we just can't wait until next year's Oscars to see what kind of replacement parts Joan Rivers prints out for her face.

From AOL News and The New York Times

Related Links:

Tags: breaking+news, future, predictions, print, printer, top, toys, video games, VideoGames

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular