3D printing in your home

3D printing in your home

File picture of an MIT student demonstrating a portable 3D printer in Germany Getty Images Sruthi Ramakrishnan and Neha Alawadhi Not so long ago, harried moms and dads would have to buy those Lego accessories or that Star Wars battle cruiser. But as three-dimensional printers become available in markets such as the US, they can turn out such gifts in the family living room. 3D printers — which use a process called additive manufacturing to make objects from a digital model by laying down layers of material — aren't new. They've been used to make manufacturing and engineering prototypes for more than 25 years. But printer makers are now turning their attention to the consumer market, and have been rewarded with soaring sales. Some printers capable of churning out simple items such as keychains, wine bottle holders and missing board game pieces are already selling for as little as $350 (approx Rs19,000). "The consumer segment in the next few years will potentially devour everything else that we do," said Abe Reichental, chief executive of 3D Systems. Demand is three times more than expected, Reichental said, although he declined to give exact numbers. "If someone develops a very inexpensive and safe 3D printer for children, then I could envision maybe more than half of homes having 3D printers in them, as a toy," said Wohlers President Terry Wohlers. Tom Nardone is the proud owner of one such printer. Nardone, who runs a marketing company, believes these printers hold great potential for making homemade toys. "Some company will launch this device and it'll be $199 and your kids will be begging you to buy them." 3D Systems operates an online platform, Cubify.com, that works like Apple's iTunes and Google's Android app store. The owner of a printer can download patterns for jewellery, toys, lamp shades and more — many of them created by independent developers. Taking a cut of those sales generate recurring revenue for 3D Systems, as does the sale of consumables and a service where users can order a printed product and get it delivered. People are already using printers to make Star Wars battle cruisers or a cheaper alternative to Lego or Mattel Inc toys. One thing Nardone realised right away, though, is that the process is slow -- about 45 minutes to make something the size of an egg, and about four hours to create an item the size of a soft drink can. Items he has made so far include shoe lifts for his young daughter and a back scratcher. "The longest it took to make something was nine hours, it was a big plastic heart I made for my wife," he said. "When we woke up in the morning it was still printing." Reuters