Printing of three-dimensional objects has been a
hot trend in the tech world for the last several years, but an obstacle
has kept the process from going mainstream: To print anything, you
first need a computer-created digital model that tells the printer what
to make. Models are available online for thousands of common objects,
but if you wanted to print a rare or custom-made item you had to somehow
model it on your own.
Where did you start?
Enter the MakerBot Digitizer, a desktop device that scans almost any small object up to about 8 inches in diameter. Place the item on its rotating turntable, and the Digitizer uses two lasers and a webcam to create a 3-D digital file of it within 12 minutes. Anyone can do it -- no special expertise is required. Once the digital scan is completed, an object can be manufactured right away by feeding the resulting file to a 3-D printer. It’s much easier and faster than using software to design a digital model from scratch.
Let’s say, for example, you lose a knight piece from your favorite chess set. You can simply scan the other knight and print a replica that will be identical in size and shape, if not color or weight. More significantly, astronauts aboard the International Space Station could scan and print replacement parts for broken or lost equipment instead of having to wait weeks for them to be delivered.
The device, meant to be paired with a MakerBot desktop 3-D printer, is still somewhat imprecise – it’s geared more for designers and hobbyists than engineers. But it’s a first step towards a new industrial revolution in which average people can become manufacturers.
“It’s a powerful tool that’s going to give you a whole new way of looking at things,” says MakerBot founder Bre Pettis, who encourages users to “blaze a trail into the future.”
Where did you start?
Enter the MakerBot Digitizer, a desktop device that scans almost any small object up to about 8 inches in diameter. Place the item on its rotating turntable, and the Digitizer uses two lasers and a webcam to create a 3-D digital file of it within 12 minutes. Anyone can do it -- no special expertise is required. Once the digital scan is completed, an object can be manufactured right away by feeding the resulting file to a 3-D printer. It’s much easier and faster than using software to design a digital model from scratch.
Let’s say, for example, you lose a knight piece from your favorite chess set. You can simply scan the other knight and print a replica that will be identical in size and shape, if not color or weight. More significantly, astronauts aboard the International Space Station could scan and print replacement parts for broken or lost equipment instead of having to wait weeks for them to be delivered.
The device, meant to be paired with a MakerBot desktop 3-D printer, is still somewhat imprecise – it’s geared more for designers and hobbyists than engineers. But it’s a first step towards a new industrial revolution in which average people can become manufacturers.
“It’s a powerful tool that’s going to give you a whole new way of looking at things,” says MakerBot founder Bre Pettis, who encourages users to “blaze a trail into the future.”
Source: www.cnn.com
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