Beyond the Extruder

There has never have been a better time to purchase a desktop 3D printer. Nonetheless, they are still too expensive for many users. If you can’t justify the cost of a personal printer, you may be able to access one at a local hackerspace, and there are many online 3D printing services to choose from, including Ponoko, Shapeways, and i.materialise. These companies use a variety of printing technologies to create physical objects from your digital designs and can print in many other materials besides extruded thermoplastic.