Trade secrets... Print your world

All you need to make tools, models, decorations or toys – in any shape you can imagine – is a 3D printer and a computer. It’s becoming increasingly popular at home and in the lab, and the only limit is your imagination.

Many common ways of making things, such as workshop lathes or computer numerical control machines, work by cutting away material from a block, but with 3D printing the material is slowly built up on a surface from scratch. This results in less waste, greater control over what can be made and the ability to create things that are otherwise too difficult or costly to manufacture. Most importantly, modern 3D printers have rapidly become affordable, which has led to an explosion in their use. A large open-source community has sprung up around consumer printers and people are now using them to make everything from spare parts for household devices to custom-designed jewellery.

I was recently given a 3D printer and I have been using it to build electrical generators, tensegrity towers and other science-based objects. The printer consists of a moving bed upon which a moving heated nozzle extrudes a hot, thin plastic thread. The thread is layered up in a cross hatch pattern to create a strong, low density structure. The key to successful 3D printing is to find a suitable plastic that, when hot, will melt and flow consistently, yet when cooled will be rigid, strong and durable.