Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is changing society. Very creative and talented people are using them for everything from prototype designs to toy quadcopters! They're finding uses in industrial and residential settings and even helping others out. For instance, a very caring man in South Africa used a Makerbot 3D printer to bring dexterity to children with no fingers. He used a 3D printer to make a prosthetic hand! The first design was for a carpenter, but now children without fingers are benefiting around the world.
Drexel University scientists have began using 3D printing to create scaled down models of dinosaurs! They begin by creating 3D scans of dinosaur bones in the lab and then 3D print as many copies as they want! Think of all the advantages this technology can bring. Now they show off smaller versions of real dinosaur bones and they use the models for other simulations too, like figuring out the mechanics of how they moved or behaved. It's much easier to visualize something moving in real life with a scaled model versus just looking at images on the screen. 3D printing is making this possible and you can do work like this too. Our Asterid 3D printer has similar capabilities to the Makerbot 3D printer and pricing starts at $499 dollars!
3D printing uses don't stop at prosthetics or dinosaurs, oh no, even full size cars are being 3D printed! The URBEE green car prototype was made completely by 3D printing! It was the first car in the entire world that manufactured using 3D printing, it's like we're living a new age of Edison!
