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Digital Planet: 3D Printing

Factual: Science & Nature

Mini self 3D image of Gareth Mitchell

31/12/2013

3D Printing

BBC World Service - Digital Planet, 3D Printing

Is 3D printing set to revolutionise manufacturing?

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 BBC 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 © Gareth Mitchell)

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