When Victor Picked Up His Own Hand, I Knew 3D Printing Was Real

I felt like I entered The Twilight Zone of manufacturing today, when I learned that in the future, if you break an item in your home, you will be able to print out a new one at home on your 3D printer.

Victor Kulla, from Spira3D showed me that we may even be able to print out replacement body parts. Victor printed out an exact replica of his hand, and he picked it up off the table at The Cloverdale Market Days in Surrey BC today and showed it to me.

He had also made 3D movie props, and a small scale 3D model of a local mountain. It was an exact physical copy of the mountain landscape that was created from a 3 dimensional digital model.

The technology is so versatile, that it will overtake manufacturing in the future because many different kinds of objects can be produced using many different materials all from the same machine. Similar to a computer printer, where an image is scanned and sent to print, instead of being printed with one layer of ink, 3D objects are built from thousands of tiny layers that are built up in whatever material you desire.

The cost of the technology is still out of reach for the average person, but innovations continue to make the printers more affordable, until one day, if you break your favorite cup in your home, you will be able to repair it by printing out a replacement part using 3D technology, or simply print out a replacement cup.

It will revolutionize the dental industry. Victor showed me a printout of a human jaw and set of teeth, and in future, dentures and dental appliances can be made exactly to size, quickly and affordably on the spot, bypassing the current laboratory system.

I got chills when Victor reached across the table and picked up an exact copy of his own hand.

Doodoodoodoodoo......

check out their website at www.spira3D.com