The technology lets users send a file of a 3-D design to a printer-like device that will carve the design out of a block of resin. A manufacturer can make scale models of new product designs without the expense of model makers. Or consumers can have models of the avatars they use online. Ultimately, manufacturers can consider making some components on demand without having an inventory of replacement parts. Printers priced less than $10,000 have been announced for 2008, opening up the personal and hobbyist markets.

Gartner Highlights Key Predictions for IT Organisations and Users in 2008 and Beyond

This seems very surreal…but it’s real. The future is now.

Fabbers  build 3D objects by carefuly depositing materials drop by drop, layer by layer.  Slowly but surely, with the right set of materials and a geometric blueprint, you can fabricate complex objects that would normally take special resources, tools and skills if produced using conventional manufacturing techniques.

Lose a chess piece? Need a new pair of flip flops? Make it yourself with a 3-D printer. You may have seen similar technology used on American Choppers, but now you can afford to bring it on home. This rapid kind of prototyping takes a CAD design, transforms into horizontal cross-sections and then creates each cross-section in physical space, one after the next until the model is finished.