Robots, guns and pizza: A field guide to the 3D-printed world

Entertainment Editor

UpdatedSat, August 23, 2014 at 3:31 PM UTC

Sure, 3D printing is such a tech industry buzzword that you'd have to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to escape news of its impending onslaught. But there's good reason for all the fanfare: 3D printing is poised to upend current manufacturing standards by making industrial fabrication methods democratic. Imagine: Any object you want or need can be (somewhat) instantly "printed" at home. Let that sink in for a bit.

The kicker is -- that future is already here, albeit in a minor form, and it's rapidly evolving to be not only affordable, but also practical for everyone and every industry. Need proof? Then check out the gallery below.

When Google sold Motorola to Lenovo, it retained one very important aspect of the business: Project Ara. The concept behind the modular smartphone initiative, overseen by Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects division, is pretty simple: Make smartphones that are everlasting by allowing for swappable parts. That’s right. The ENTIRE phone can be customized module by module (i.e., camera, storage, display, etc.) and the goal is to get the first one out by 2015.

You’re right in thinking a phone this flexible might make for a good bedfellow with 3D printing. That’s why Google’s partnered with 3D Systems to make those hot-swappable parts and meet the precise demands of consumers — right down to the exact hue you’d like to see on your phone.

*Sesame Street* figurines. April Fools’ gag products. *My Little Pony* fan art. These misfit toys have one thing in common: They’re all brought to life by 3D printing.

Earlier this summer, MakerBot inked a licensing deal with Sesame Workshop that let Replicator owners download files to print out their own *Sesame Street* character models. Not to be outdone, Hasbro (perhaps catching on to the Brony trend) joined forces with Shapeways to help bring fan creations of its beloved brands to life via 3D printing.

The practice isn’t just for hobbyists, though. ThinkGeek, the novelty toy company behind the Tauntaun sleeping bag, uses 3D printing to mock up prototypes for its in-house line of products.

A “sewing machine” that makes plush toys using CAD? That’s the spin Disney Research Pittsburg and Carnegie Mellon University have brought to 3D printing.

Alright, so maybe the end goal of the project isn’t quite to make teddy bears on demand, but the technique developed by the two teams does allow for the creation of soft, felt-based fabric objects. These can range from standalone plush items, to objects with embedded hardware or even articulated frames, and everyday apparel.

As if actual shark teeth weren’t fearsome enough (thanks *Jaws*), it turns out those aquatic predators are also literally *covered* in teeth — or denticles, as scientists prefer to call them.

Seeking to understand why a shark’s seemingly smooth, yet rough exterior gives it such a swimming advantage, a group of researchers from Harvard managed to replicate the skin with 3D printing. Using a high-res scan of a mako shark’s skin as a blueprint, the team then experimented with various 3D production methods -- due to the number of materials involved -- before nailing the right mix to create the artificial skin. Though you won’t see Michael Phelps donning a sharkskin suit anytime soon, the team was able to prove the artificial skin offers significant benefits to increasing speed and reducing energetic output.

Not everyone can be an astronaut. Heck, not everyone *wants* to be an astronaut, anyway. But for those of you seeking the next best thing to actually being there in space, NASA's got loads of files to help you print your own mission to the cosmos.

The space agency has a dedicated site where 3D-printing hobbyists can download models for anything from asteroids to astronauts in space suits to satellites, probes, and even the space shuttle. You'll have to mock-up your own mission control, but that's nothing a few cardboard boxes can't handle.

Before the robots enslave us and successfully take over our world, they will first be our companions. And they will have endearing human names like Jimmy, Intel's 3D-printed robot.

Intel trotted the "walking, talking... dancing and even tweeting" robot onstage at a conference earlier this summer, announcing plans to make a consumer version available by year's end for $1,600. That's still a hefty chunk of change, no matter how you slice it. But if you were in the market for a relatively cheap and open-source DIY robotics kit, Intel's got you covered.

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The revolution will be 3D-printed

Sure, 3D printing is such a tech industry buzzword that you’d have to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to escape news of its impending onslaught. But there’s good reason for all the fanfare: 3D printing is poised to upend current manufacturing standards by making industrial fabrication methods democratic. Imagine: Any object you want or need can be (somewhat) instantly “printed” at home. Let that sink in for a bit.

The kicker is -- that future is already here, albeit in a minor form, and it’s rapidly evolving to be not only affordable, but also practical for everyone and every industry.

Need a primer on the subject? Then check out Engadget's handy cheat sheet.

[Image credit: Associated Press]

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