What can you make with a 3D printer? The better question is, what can’t you make? Seriously,
your imagination is the only limit with these things. Everything from tiny houses to gaming
systems. There is no end to what we can create with this cutting-edge tech.
Also known as “additive manufacturing” these amazing machines allow for crazy precise
construction of nearly anything you can think of. The technology was developed in the mid-’90s
and really took off in about 2014. At that point, roughly eleven percent of manufacturers had
moved to using a substantial amount of 3D printing. In the tech industry, if something is adopted
at about twenty percent it’s considered mainstream. By now, we’re probably there.
Building Homes
Using concrete instead of plastic and an industrial-sized 3D printer, it is possible to build an
entire small home in about twenty-four hours. All for about $4,000.
From aiding in the homelessness crisis to developing tiny retirement communities, the
applications here are vast. You could even commission a wicked man-cave or she-shed for the
backyard. For just double the cost of a new MacBook Pro, why not?
Art
Making 3D art is super fun, allowing artists to expand into three-dimensional space and create
beautiful and unique pieces. Additionally, an innovative new start-up Unseen Art is printing
classic masterpieces for the blind, recreating the Mona Lisa and Starry Night out of sand-based
material for the visually impaired who have never been able to see and appreciate such
amazing pieces. Until you stop and think about it, it’s probably never occurred to most people
that art such as paintings aren’t very conducive to being enjoyed by a large subset of the
population.
Food
With the right ingredients you can even make delicious food, though it sometimes comes out
looking kinda funky. Alternatively, you can design super cool and intricate molds for baked
goods and make some tasty and awesome looking things.
Check out some of these crazy cool geometric pastries. They are baked in and popped out of
silicon molds printed by a former architect, now pastry chef.
Gaming
Everything from designing epic dice for a tabletop game to creating awesomely unique board game pieces is well within your grasp. There is also a growing new trend of printing good old retro arcade-style consoles.
For those looking for a little nostalgia, you can print it in no time. Some master gamers are even using 3D printers to enhance existing consoles. They are designing their own controllers or improving the current one in some way.
A Makers Dream
There is no doubt that 3D printers have revolutionized the way we make things. Anything you can fathom can be printed in an astonishingly short period of time. The practical and super cool things we will be able to do in the future are almost mind-boggling. The sky’s the limit, and even then, we could probably print a giant ladder to get us there.