If you’ve followed tech news at all over the past month, you’ve seen an explosion of articles around 3D printing. Companies like Makerbot, FormLabs, Printrbot, 2bot are all working the 3D printing market — bringing printers “to the masses” that are pretty mind-blowing. If you’ve never held a complex, movable object made by a 3D printer, the first time you do so, you will have the mind-blowing experience of “WOW!” It’s unavoidable.
3D printing is also one HOT research area. Imagine: what happens when I don’t go buy a cellphone, I just print one? What about when I can print bone? or Organs? or Dental Crowns? How about food?
Here’s the shocking thing: those last four — bone, organs, dental crowns and food — have all actually happened.
Professor Mark Ganter runs the University of Washington’s Solheim Rapid Prototyping/Rapid Manufacturing Lab, and he pushes his “printistas” to work with some outrageous materials in 3D printing. So far, they’ve done 50 materials (including printing a pineapple). Mark wants to get to 1000. He wants to experiment with 3D printing and mashed potatoes.
Yes. Really.
And it is in that context of sheer amazing-ness that I’m incredibly pleased to announce that Professor Ganter will be coming to Blur to deliver a keynote about the incredible future of 3D printing.
I hope you’ll join us.
