[gundas]

We've just got a 3D printer at work, I'd never even heard of one before but it's amazing(ly slow).

Basically, it takes a CAD drawing and turns it into a 3D print out. As in it uses a mix of abs and wax (the latter to build the support structure) to create a model. You then wash off the wax and you are left with a 3d construction of what you visualised in CAD.

It's slow though, we created two drink bottle holders (that hold 12 mini-cans each) and they took 36 hours to do all the parts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSJ12...ext=1&index=30

I'm not allowed to post pictures of the things we are prototyping, but here is an example of what they do (the output material feels like a very brittle plastic/cardboard):