3D printing has existed in one form or another since the ’80s, but its myriad capabilities are quickly expanding its popularity into the mainstream. Its allure assembled entrepreneurs and enthusiasts by the thousands at the two-day 3D Printer World Expo in Bellevue last week.
“I think a lot of people in this industry think this is going to be the next big disruptive event, much like the PC years ago,” said John Mertel with 3D Bento.
Mertel gave expo participants a demonstration of Robox, a $1,400 3D printer that has now launched in the United States. Using specialized plastics, the printer pieces together the solid form of whatever object it’s programmed to copy.
He said many of the small figurines printed and on display can take hours to make. Hobbyists enjoy this, but manufacturers are also continuing to explore practical uses for 3D printers, like copying parts for devices, tools and more.
“If you can imagine this now, they’re making houses with 3D printers,” Mertel said.
3D Plus Me lured expo-goers in droves to its booth, where people were given the option of becoming one of their favorite superheroes.
Founder Cydni Tetro said 3D Plus Me has been making the rounds at events like Comic Cons in San Diego and Chicago with its device, which uses facial scanning to print a person’s likeness onto a figurine of one of their favorite Marvel comic book characters. The company also has licensing rights for Major League Baseball, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and more.
“In the Marvel world, Captain America and Iron Man are neck and neck,” she said of those scanning themselves onto superheroes.
Microsoft isn’t interested in manufacturing 3D printers, but came out during the two-day event to promote its 3D Builder software, which is free at the Windows store.
Program manager Steve Olsson said Microsoft has been releasing updated versions of 3D Builder over the past year, hoping to get people interested in 3D printing and Windows 8.1. The program allows people to create things like trophies, toys and miniatures using predesigned templates.
“We’re constantly adding additional capabilities,” Olsson said. “It’s a very easy stepping stone to getting into 3D printing.”
Online art school UARTSY is expanding its offerings to include more 3D courses, said moderator Louis Kaufman, who was encouraging new enrollments at the expo.
“We’ve got a lot of people interested,” he said. “We had one 3D class, and then we had an immediate higher demand for it.”
Those not wanting to commit to a high-end personal 3D printer can join novices like themselves at The Foundry, a Bellingham Makerspace — high-tech community workshops.
While many 3D printers use plastics, the $30,000 machine on display by The Foundry uses multiple sheets of paper to form dense 3D copies; This is done by cutting over the designs of the paper and gluing them on top of each other, over and over.
Troy Greig said 3D printing one item can take up to six hours, so printing is usually done in batches that take about 24 hours to complete. The Foundry is slated to open to the public in September.
