> Actually, you're not too far off track. The 3D scanners and moulding=20
> machines actually exist right now. They just cost an arm and a leg,
> not to=20
> mention your firstborn,
My totally-uninformed-estimate (not including the firstborn) is around
400,000.. I'm hoping I might be able to find one at Purdue University
and a prof who will let me use it for some reasonable cost.. (they are
an engineering school after all)
> They are essentially 3D printers which use a plastic material in powder
> form
An interesting point here is that I read an article about the
techo-visionaries who see a time when ordinary people could buy one of
these things like you buy an injet today, and you could *print* the
latest super-action-figure for you're kid's birthday instead of buying
it (of course, they'd charge you an arm for the plan file [which would
be encrypted and locked to one computer and printer of course], and a
leg for the raw material). Apparently, someone's figured out how to do
this with something no too different from a normal inkjet head.
Jim
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