Yeah, I found Shapeways a few months ago, when I found the Makerbot. That's a thing the Economist article didn't touch on -- a 3D printer priced for the home market. Right now it's about the same price as a good laptop, about $1g, but you have to assemble it yourself. It's fascinating, though. I've got a couple videos bookmarked on Youtube of the machine in action:
I can easily see, in about 5-10 years, the price coming down to the point where anyone can afford one just as they have an inkjet printer now. The Makerbot would work great for plastic items and for checking the models before you sent them to Shapeways to be printed in other materials.
no subject
http://www.youtube.com/user/plswog#p/u/6/W9tnqHS2vFo
http://www.youtube.com/user/plswog#p/u/27/LBzyZSVK_Gs
http://www.makerbot.com/
I can easily see, in about 5-10 years, the price coming down to the point where anyone can afford one just as they have an inkjet printer now. The Makerbot would work great for plastic items and for checking the models before you sent them to Shapeways to be printed in other materials.
It's a gripping idea, isn't it?