Did you guys know that replicators are totally really real? I saw one yesterday at LAIKA in Hillsboro. The animation company is busy at work filming their new stop-motion film ParaNorman, every stage full of incredibly detailed sets and amazing puppets. But I think I was most blown away by the machine that produces all those puppets and their myriad facial expressions. Maybe I’m just a luddite, but I’d never heard of the existence of 3D printers before yesterday. They’re printers, in the style of your old dot-matrix printers with the cartridge going back and forth over a print surface, but instead of a crappy book report, it prints out objects. With working parts! This sounds impossible, right? But lo, check out the ParaNorman (fully functioning) wrench that I watched the folks at LAIKA print up.
- Nick Olmstead
- In which I pit my swag against each other.
Basically the printer at LAIKA has silicon ink cartridges and it puts down layers upon layers of the stuff then binds it together with a glue, then voila! Souvenir wrench! They can print ANYTHING! Tea, Earl Grey, hot. Hmm, actually it doesn’t print up liquids, just solids, but still… My mind is fucking blown.
Hit the jump for a video in which an expert better describes how a 3D printer works, some dude’s mind is also boggled by the possibilities, and he too receives a wrench.
you can actually get one that is not quite as robust at: http://www.makerbot.com/ you pretty much assemble it yourself but once you do you have a 3d printer.
I’d definitely heard of 3D printers before, but they never fail to make my jaw drop. Incredible stuff.
I look forward to being mocked by your grandchildren when I relate the genuine wonderment we all feel right now at the birth of 3D printing.
Of course, when they do, I’ll just print out another stab-bot to chase and kill them.
I’m going to print up some grandchildren right now, just so I can stab ’em myself.
I prefer my GeneSplicer when printing up some grand children or turning a chickens into a velociraptors.
Yes! I somehow discovered this same video a few months ago—don’t ask me how or why! But I was also boggled by it.
The world of printers is underrated:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/192595/15_a…
Go to the MakerBot website to find out how you can buy or make one for yourself http://www.makerbot.com
You should definitely check out the Colbert Report link. They made a Stephen head on the show. If he’s going to be running for president we will need to mass produce these.
If you are a male and have access to one of the replicators, you could give your significant other a VERY personal momento, couldn’t you. Just sayin….