3dprinter


3D Printing hits mainstream BBC TV

A big thanks to Andy Piper for tweeting this. He was watching Bang Goes the Theory last night on BBC1, which is a prime time science investigation show. On it the one of the presenters, Dallas, went and had a full body scan and then showed a laser sintering 3d printer build the model of him from that scan.
3dprintbbc
The show was not actually about 3d printing, it was a prop they built to investigate bio degrading plastic, by then destroying his mini me.
The 12 inch figurine was rendered in a large machine, but of course there are many smaller printers and you dont always have to wear a white coat and glasses. The 3d body scan was part of the process, but as 3d Printers can build anything you don’t always have to go from such a complex to gather model.
It will be interesting to see the viewing figures for this show, as now that means a whole host of people who had never heard of or seen 3d printing will have seen it was real, not science fiction. A bit of a shock 15 minutes after Eastenders I am sure. I also wonder in this sparked any future Fabricaneurs to realize the impact of this technology on the planet?