3D Printing

Imagine holding a mini version of yourself. In the near future, you will visit a 3D print equivalent of a photo booth and emerge not with a passport photo but with a plastic, chess piece-sized sculpture of yourself.

Earlier this year, Click brought that possibility to the BBC Radio Theatre where a 3D scanner was assembled and volunteers 3D printed in the course of the show. In a re-run of that edition, Gareth Mitchell and Bill Thompson are joined by a panel of experts to explore how 3D printing has evolved from gimmicky reproductions of jewellery to life-sized 3D printed houses on the canals of Amsterdam.

The panel includes: Bre Pettis, the CEO of Makerbot; the architect Hedwig Heinsman; Jonathan Meyer from EADS; the poet, Elvis McGonagall and the technical team from 3Dify.

(Photo credit: Mini self 3D image of Gareth Mitchell © Gareth Mitchell)