For Real! 13 Futuristic 3D Scanner & Printer Designs

Manufacturing is about to undergo its biggest transformation ever, but it won’t come with big factories and a booming work force: it will happen with the use of small-scale 3D printers. Imagine being able to create just about anything you will ever want or need with little more than the push of a button. Everything can be made on demand, so there’s no waste and no need for warehouses to store loads of i nventory. Although the materials and exact mechanisms vary, 3D printers all work in basically the same way: they build 2D layer upon 2D layer of material, following a three-dimensional guide, to create a 3D object. It sounds futuristic, but it’s happening right now thanks to 3D printers – and there’s no telling how far we can take this promising t echnology.