Shapeways is a 3D print-on-demand service that allows people to order items to be printed from one of the company’s printers for a fee, and have it shipped to them within 10-15 business days. Shapeways printers can render objects in various kinds of plastic, and in ceramics and metals also. The printers used at Shapeways are more advanced than the consumer-level models that are becoming quite popular for home use, and the company last year hit the mark for producing one million customer orders.
We’ve talked before how 3D printing could become a very significant technology going forward — in fact it already is. The video below shows some of the technology that Shapeways uses, and what they are capable of producing. It also discusses some of the limitations in current current state of 3D printing — specifically the limits on size of objects and speed of production.
We can be sure that over time these printers will become increasingly sophisticated and more widely used, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to one day see the printing of LENR reactors from machines similar to the ones shown in this video.
