This is incredible!

Great the next thing we know, now they are gonna be printing computers and boom now everything can get to be 40 microns wide

The future is wild O; this is the first time I've seen a 3D printer that can also do color. That, to me, is even more a game changer. They are working on printable circuit boards using conductive polymers as well and that, along with OLED technogy and you can see where I'm getting too. I can't even imagine what we will be able to do in our own homes at a cost effective 3D printer. Not sure I'll be around then, but still, a glimpse is better then nothing at all.

I assume if an object is scanned, the scan can be saved for future use. Potentially breakable items can be scanned, scan saved, original breaks. Voila! Duplicate keys! Whatever.

What a clever idea!! It's the first step toward a Star Trek style replicator.

I don't know how many of you have worked with, or heard of, Mathematica. If you haven't, it is more or less an advanced computer-based calculator / programming language. It has 3D printer capabilities which would allow you to print out models. Here's an example:

http://blog.wolfram.com/2007/07/19/3d-printing-with-mathematica/

I've recently been reading about the Mandelbulb 3D Fractal. With a high enough resolution, you could probably print these things in 3D. I'd love to see a color one.

Also, if you'd like one, you can build one for a reasonable price. Look up RepRap:
Link

The last time I looked, it cost about $1,000... which isn't cheap by any means, but not out of reach. If you can afford a wide screen TV, you can afford a 3D printer.

I use to play quite a lot with the free Mathmatica player that you can run the various cool apps with. I've not done so for a little while now though.

Fascinating,
When they figure out how to replicate food then we will be one big giant leap ahead of world starvation.

I have heard people working on "printing" organic objects like organs.......think of THE possibilities!!!

I've thought about that - but the energy and materials to make the food still has to come from somewhere.

I could print out myself some more grandkids!

The Reprap is particularly interesting because it can print ~60% of its own parts. If they can get that up to 100%, it could reproduce on its own.

Self duplicating machines? Greeeeaattt

Somehow that brings up a vision of a robot that keeps replicating itself. I see an endless line of robots going out my front door.

Can't unplug the machine because a robot comes back and plugs it in. Can't destroy the machine because a robot makes a new one. Robots gather the resources to make new robots and depletes the earth of all resources ...

*screams in horror*

If you ever watched Star Gate SG-1, they are called Replicators and they have the potential to destroy the Galaxy.

There is a book of short stories by David Drake; "All the Way to the Gallows." It contains one called "Mom and the Kids" which fits the subject of this thread perfectly. It is a humorous look at self-replicating machines and the possible consequences. It addresses that limited resources problem too...