Upon seeing a demo of 3D printing for the first time, I  was convinced that it must be some kind of spoof, perhaps a setup to hype an upcoming science fiction movie.

In reality the technology has been developing for a decade, but news of this technology and its practical applications is just now breaking into the mainstream media. In February 2011 The Economist published and article titled The Printed World proclaiming that now more people can start making things.

The term ’3D printers’ is a bit of a misnomer, because it implies the use of paper, rather than a process for creating actual three-dimensional products in a variety of products.

Not only will 3D printing and additive manufacturing change the way we think about developing new products, it has the potential to create a new industrial revolution.  Imagine if there were a 3D Printer aboard the space station, or on the moon, or even on Apollo 13 at the time of the famous accident.  Nasa would have simply sent the data file and the Carbon Dioxide filter would have been created in minutes.

These 3 dimensional objects are “printed’ or created by laying down successive layers of material in a single build process.