Phys.Org has a report from the CES about the 3D printers on display. They had 30 of them, from very expensive to very inexpensive. 3-D printing set to break out of niche

One of them prints in sugar, in color. It is one of the more expensive one about US $100,000. The main users of that will be bakeries making wedding cakes.

But they showed a lot more of them. In fact the CES had more applications for 3D printer manufacturers than they had space for.

Bill Gill

And now for something a little different.

Little, low-priced 3-D scanner

A 3D scanner that costs less than US $600. It was shown at CES last week. It can scan objects up to 190 mm X 190 mm X 250 mm (roughly 7 1/2" X 7 1/2" X 10") at accuracy up to .25 mm (roughly .001"). The scan can be manipulated in your computer or sent to your 3D printer.

Bill Gill

Thanks for the info, Bill. Following the progress keenly. Can see these printers becoming as common as microwave ovens before too long - 'too long' being defined by one's age, that is.
(btw, re your typo: 0.25mm would be about 0.01")

I wonder if it can scan chicken nuggets? I can see this having interesting ramifications. Does it just scan the surface, or can interior detail be produced? Interesting for producing copies of small toys or figurines. You could produce a prototype, scan it and send the results to someone else with a 3-D printer and have a signature series of a couple hundred widgets to sell at a high price because it is a limited series. I can see this working for artists who work in 3-D materials. Sculptors could produce works for a lot less than bronze casting costs. Part for broken or outgrown prostheses could be scanned at one location and transmitted to the location of the user and printed for immediate use. The potential is virtually limitless. The mind boggles.

Rose, I think that is one of the big things about 3D printing. You can make quick one-offs of just about anything. If something important breaks you don't have to have one made up special at the factory, just download the pattern and run one up at whatever local facility is available. You probably won't need one of the high end printers, because there will be shops to do it all over the place, kind of like copy centers now.

As far as prosthesis are concerned, you can scan the patients stump and print an exact fit, without having to send it off someplace for a high precision company to manufacture one to order. I understand that the people that make the 'Invisalign' tooth braces use 3D printers to make up the brace.

Oh, and the scanner is a surface scanner. It uses lasers.

The possibilities really are huge.

Bill Gill

Now the Dutch are trying to print a house.

"At the core of the project is a 6-meter (20-foot) -tall printer dubbed the Kamermaker, or "room-builder." It's a scaled-up version of the open-source home 3-D printer made by Ultimaker, popular with hobbyists.

It takes the Kamermaker about a week to print each massive, unique, honeycomb-structured block, layer by layer. The first block, which forms one corner of the house and part of a stairway, weighed around 180 kilograms (400 lbs)."

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140314/DACHEVE83.html

NASA to send 3D printer into space

Machine will let astronauts create parts to order.

http://www.nature.com/news/nasa-to-send-3d-printer-into-space-1.15884?WT.ec_id=NEWS-20140916