I Look Forward To

3D Printing’s Near Future – Download New Shoes and Print them out at Home

3D printing technology is maturing and on the verge of radically changing the rules for what, how and where everything is made, as manufacturing literally comes home.

How 3D printing works

Let’s say you’re an engineer. You’ve made a design of a bridge with your CAD software, and you wonder how it will hold up in real life. There was a time when you’d have to cut and glue and paint your own prototypes, but with a 3D printer you just click a button and wait.

Picture an inkjet that not only moves horizontally, but also vertically. The 3D printer builds layer upon layer of, for instance, plaster dust, and fuses it together with a laser or tiny drops of glue. Gradually, the object takes form, and after a couple of hours you’ve got yourself a prototype.

Food in the future – Cleaner, cheaper and healthier

Nutrition will take on new dimensions in the future, that much is certain. But in which particular ways will we change what and how we eat? Here’s a quick look at some ideas that may revolutionize food, if we’ll only let them.