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Sat 03 Mar 2011Make it so: space age printers that could change life as we know it
Downloadable car parts and handles for spaceships? It’s not ‘Star Trek’ but a 3D revolution scientists say has already begun, writes PATRICK FREYNE
IN STAR TREK, when characters want a new lampshade, violin or Klingon ceremonial robe, they walk up to a “replicator” in the wall of their spaceship, say “lampshade” (or whatever), and one instantly appears. And in the real world, over the past few years, with access to the right technology, it has been possible to create solid three-dimensional objects by simply clicking “print”. Although 3D printing, which can take hours or days, is not quite as responsive as a Star Trekreplicator, aficionados of the technology like the analogy.
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