3D Printer Used To Produce Vase

The possibilities of 3D printing have been further highlighted this week after a 3D printer was used to make parts of a vase. According to PCWorld.com, Shapeways, an innovative US gifts firm, used a custom 3D printer to create the vase's intricate floral trimmings.

However, the process isn't always easy. The website quoted the firm's Glen G, who wrote on the company's blog: "The glass becomes like soft toffee during firing and without support it will move in unexpected (usually disastrous) ways. These are things we know for fact."

Reporting on the story, Wired said 3D printing is increasingly becoming the preferred option for many firms thanks to it removing the need for tooling and environmental focus. The tech site quoted Jim Kor, president of Kor Ecologic, who co-managed the Urbee project, as saying: "Urbee was designed with environmentally-sustainable principles dictating every step of its design.

Earlier this month, a 3D printer was used to create the prototype of a road car, nicknamed Urbee.

Posted by Johnny McMaster.