Till now, despite the great advances 3D printing has made in terms of accessibility and price, the technology has nevertheless been viewed as a novelty. The practical uses of 3D printing are seen to be limited to scientific research?specially shaped containers can be created and, in some cases, even body implants are specifically designed and printed. Now, however, a company called MakerBot (one of the biggest names in 3D printing) has released a $1,400 3D scanner that stands to revolutionise the way normal people use 3D printing technology. The device, called the Digitizer, can render any small object into a computer model ready to be printed. The uses of such a technology are only limited by the imagination. Imagine breaking a cup from a set and being able to simply scan an intact one and print out a replica. Or your child breaks her toy: scan and print, and she?s happy again. The applications are potentially endless, as are the repercussions on the manufacturing of these small objects.
At the moment, $1,400 may seem expensive, but consider the fact that the potential savings over the life of the machine are likely to far exceed that figure, and that the previous 3D scanner in the market costs almost double. The technology is advancing at a frenetic pace; it is only a (short) matter of time before almost every aspect of our daily use?shoes, cellphone cases, tables, chairs, ashtrays, everything?is created in our own homes.