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3D Printing

3D printing looks set to revolutionise manufacturing. But is this democratising at the expense of expertise? Does 3D printing really facilitate high quality bespoke productions?

Imagine holding a mini version of yourself. In the near future, you will visit a 3D print equivalent of a photo booth and emerge not with a passport photo but with a plastic, chess piece-sized sculpture of yourself.

Earlier this year, Click brought that possibility to the 大象传媒 Radio Theatre where a 3D scanner was assembled and volunteers 3D printed in the course of the show. In a re-run of that edition, Gareth Mitchell and Bill Thompson are joined by a panel of experts to explore how 3D printing has evolved from gimmicky reproductions of jewellery to life-sized 3D printed houses on the canals of Amsterdam.

The panel includes: Bre Pettis, the CEO of Makerbot; the architect Hedwig Heinsman; Jonathan Meyer from EADS; the poet, Elvis McGonagall and the technical team from 3Dify.

(Photo credit: Mini self 3D image of Gareth Mitchell 漏 Gareth Mitchell)

Available now

18 minutes

Last on

Sun 5 Jan 2014 23:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 31 Dec 2013 20:32GMT
  • New Year's Day 2014 02:32GMT
  • New Year's Day 2014 09:32GMT
  • Sun 5 Jan 2014 04:32GMT
  • Sun 5 Jan 2014 23:32GMT

Podcast