If you paid attention to CES this year, a global consumer electronics trade show that takes place in Las Vegas at the beginning of every January, you’d know that 3D printing took the center stage.
If you paid attention to CES this year, a global consumer electronics trade show that takes place in Las Vegas at the beginning of every January, you’d know that 3D printing took the center stage.
3D printing was originally created as a way to make fast prototypes — meaning you could “quickly” create a piece of equipment and then be able to find out how to reproduce it using good old-fashioned man power.
I probably shouldn’t be the one to explain what the technology totally does, but after you watch a few YouTube videos on it you’ll be a little addicted.
If you didn’t know it already, 3D printing is pretty amazing. The technology allows limbs to be made for amputees; complicated car and airline parts can be prototyped; heck, it’s even possible to produce handguns (don’t worry, there’s a big debate going on about that one). One company even printed an entire car at the convention in just a few hours. I’m not about to go take that on a road test quite yet, but it’s pretty cool that it’s possible.
I have yet to notice something it can’t do.
What drew me in when following the convention were the 3D printers that can create food — something both incredibly interesting and equally worrisome.
Many of these printers showed flashy designs of anything from chocolate to pasta. Why would you need a giant noodle shaped like an art deco vase? I don’t really know, but it’s possible. One company, LeFabShop, made a few little pieces of plastic that parents could stick into fruits and veggies to make them more appealing to kids.
Even before the convention, ChefJet debuted a printer that is aimed to cost less than $5,000 and takes intricate designs to a whole new level — being able to create detailed candy designs that would be perfect for any budding or professional baker.
There were many, many more 3D printers that debuted this year at CES. All of them had different claims and draws, but all were alike in that they were food 3D printers.
I’m all for seeing where this technology is going to go, but let’s all cross our fingers that one day we aren’t eating food that is completely produced through a machine (or at least more so than we already are).
Sophie Kruse is a junior studying journalism. What would you like to see made with a 3D printer? Email her at sk139011@ohio.edu or tweet her @kruseco.
