[wpaudio url=”https://media.shellypalmer.com/wp-content/images/usrn/120920_SHELLYPALMER_GEN_BED.mp3″ text=”Click to play … ” dl=”0″]
What do a child’s exoskeleton, a replacement eagle beak and custom designed pasta have in common? They’ve all been in the news recently because they were created using 3D printers. That’s right – doctors printed an exoskeleton to help a little girl walk and animal specialists printed a beak to help an injured bird. And the pasta? Visit the kitchen at Google’s headquarters, and you’ll find a 3D pasta printer. The possibilities for 3D printing are endless, and as the technology gets better, we’re seeing more practical uses and it’s becoming more common to hear that an object was printed. Makerbot, a company that manufactures and sells 3D printers, even announced that it will be opening a retail store in New York City in an effort to expose more people to the technology. It may not be time to run out and get a 3D printer yet, but it is definitely something to keep an eye on over the next few years.