Four Person factory

Dirk Vander Kooij's furniture-making company, Studio Dirk Vander Kooij, in the Netherlands needs only a skeleton crew of four people. The hard work is carried out by an old industrial robot that Vander Kooij fashioned into a 3D printer. He converted an old industrial CNC (computer numerical control) extruder into an interfaced mechanical arm that prints, level after level, continuous layers of low-resolution plastic into furniture.

Using plastic recycled from old refrigerators, the machine "prints" furniture the way an ordinary printer uses ink to print documents. Many analysts expect 3D printing to revolutionize manufacturing, allowing more small firms like his to make products without hiring many people.

3D Printing First

Have written before how 3D printing is becoming more and more mainstream, but the following is amazing.

A 83-year-old female patient had developed a chronic bone infection and doctors believed reconstructive surgery would have been risky because of her age and so opted for the new technology.

A transplant jaw made by 3D printer claimed as first time a 3D printed object has been used in an operation. The implant was made out of titanium powder - heated and fused together by a laser, one layer at a time. Once completed, the part was given a bioceramic coating.

The lower jaw was fitted to the woman's face June 2011 in the Netherlands. Shortly after waking up from the anesthetics the patient spoke a few words, and the day after was able to swallow again. She went home after only four days.

3D Printer for Home

Origo may be the last toy you ever have to buy for your child. The prototype 3D printer under development by Artur Tchoukanov and Joris Peels allows children aged ten and up to design figurines and shapes on a computer, and then print them out to play with.

It will likely have a USB port, wireless connectivity, a price around $800, and it will use 3Dtin as its design software. The printer will be able to produce objects about the size of a large mug. Depending on complexity, Origo should be able to produce a small object (like a ring) in a manner of minutes, but larger objects, like a baseball could take a few hours.  Material costs for 3D printing are high as you might imagine. Instead of buying your children more toys, let them make their own.