Real-life Star Trek Replicator (via #kottke)

I found this remarkable video at Jason Kottke’s weblog and the implications suggested have been bouncing around in the back of my head for a while. You should watch the whole thing but, if here’s the gist of it: 3D printers allow you to create any object, on-demand. I knew this already —I’ve seen them in action at trade shows— but the story this video tells puts things together in an exciting way.

The printers themselves use a special dry, powdery material which, when combined with a binder, can be shaped. In the video, the interviewer has them scan a large, adjustable crescent wrench using some sort of 3D imaging device and, about 90 minutes later, he’s got another wrench.

Now, there’s no doubt in my mind that the costs associated with producing that duplicate wrench are higher than the cost of picking one up at Sears. But, costs generally come down, right? What are we talking about?

• The printer and scanner: these are, simply put, commodity computing devices. They will definitely become cheaper, probably quickly.
• The time and expertise of the operator: these will also become cheaper over time. Of course, a skilled operator can create a 3D object in software, obviating the need for the scanner… either way, though, costs will drop.
• The raw powdery material: This is the rub. I don’t know what it costs but, like inkjet ink, it’s probably the most expensive component over time.

I think that the key to making the most of this technology is cracking the raw material problem. Imagine if, for example, we could produce this raw material cheaply… perhaps by converting something else, like trash. I could move to an island taking with me only a printer and a database of objects… it’s like a Star Trek replicator, but real. The nerd in me loves the application to eventual space travel and exploration, but the more prosaic, earth-bound uses are exciting, too.

Cool times.