VIDEO: A 3-D printer that can replicate a working adjustable wrench a la Star Trek "replicator"

It bends the mind, what this machine does, so think of the concept in chunks.

First, it's a printer; it prints things. But instead of using paper, it uses powder and a binder, and "prints" by creating a succession of 2-D layers laid on top of each other.

As a result, the "thing printed" is a physically correct, accurate-to-40-microns representation in 3-D of the original, created in 2-D one layer at a time.

Finally, because each layer is accurate, parts of the "thing printed" that only touch (for example, interlocking rings), are rendered accurately at each layer, and only touch in the final version. Interlocking rings are interlocked, but loose.

Bottom line, you put in a working adjustable wrench, you get out a working adjustable wrench — or anything else you want, as the video shows.

Watch (h/t Chris Hayes):



Just ... wow. Star Trek indeed.

GP