Makers who create affordable 3D printing technology open the door to a whole new model of distribution.
The research demonstrates the latest advances in 3D printing technology, which is already in use in medicine, fashion, car manufacturing and other industries.
As researchers, they were inspired by the promise of 3D printing technology but frustrated by the price tag and complexity of truly high-quality machines.
The combination of the Internet and 3D printing technology creates an opportunity for artists, makers and entrepreneurs to sell their own creations to others using online marketplaces.
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Instead, today anyone wanting access to 3D printing services can get it from companies like Shapeways, Sculpteo, or Materialise, each of which can put the type of high-end 3D printing technology into the hands of creative types required to make anything from toys and puzzles to jewelry and clothing.
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Scientists continue to make major advances in 3D-printing technology for the medical community and for wider consumer applications.
Government will likely be unable to suppress this application of 3D-printing technology.
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But this should not be a pretext for restricting 3D-printing technology.
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They were also shown 3D-printing technology and innovative crafts kit.
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At Cornell University, researchers are experimenting with using 3D printers to print food that could be eaten by astronauts in space, and scientists in Edinburgh successfully 3D-printed embryonic stem cells for the first time, demonstrating how 3D-printing technology could one day eliminate the need for organ donation.
He added that, in his view, 3D printing was a technology that justified its hype and said it was "the sequel to the Industrial Revolution".
One of the highlights of the week will be a three day competition between design schools from France and the USA to create prototype lighting designs, using 3D printing as an in situ maker technology.
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He referred to 3D printing as an example of a future technology for which the U.S. should be a leader.
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Even the world of physical things will soon become an information technology with the advent of 3D printing (The Economist Magazine recently had a picture of an actual violin that was printed out on a 3D printer).
It will be innovation more broadly, and new technologies across all sectors of our economy, that will create long-term expansion for the economy and a new great cycle of job growth.(See The Next Great Growth Cycle.) Manufacturing is coming back, and is being revitalized by advancing technology from the full infusion of information technology to the seeming magic of emerging 3D printing.
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And a confident President addressed a future of growth 3D printing, scientific research, early childhood education, new energy technology.
While the technology is still in the very early stages, 3D printing is nearing becoming a real world application. 3D printing is a tool that can be used to validate a design, ensure pieces fit together properly and even make a product mock-up for marketing.
At least seven companies are expected to show 3D printers at CES 2013, demonstrating the potential benefits of the technology for a wide swath of industries and users. 3D printing uses an additive process to create an exact physical duplicate of a product based on a digital model.
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For years, the potential of 3D printing has made tech geeks drool, but now we're finally starting to see the technology graduate from a mere novelty into a highly useful tool.
He said Nokia already used 3D printing internally to do rapid prototyping, but decided to back it more publicly to help the nascent technology realise its "incredible potential".
General 3D printing in the home has not arrived yet but that will pick up as prices come down and the technology proliferates.
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Continuing a shift in focus from apps to hardware, Makerbot CEO Bre Pettis spoke about the 3D printing renaissance, in which all manufacturing needs, even prosthetic limbs, can be created through this new technology.
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