This week I was at another meeting of the Syncherts tech/startup group. The theme this month was 3d printing. We had two speakers. The first was Mark from Electrobloom. He started off making jewellery, but is exploring the potential of what 3d printing can do. He's using some high-end machines that can do much more than the desktop units. This is some plastic 'chain mail' that is printed as one piece.
It can by dyed and made up into garments. Apparenltly it is comfortable to wear, but is going to be very expensive at current rates.
Next up was Simon from Threedy 3d Printers. He is a puzzle maker who has created some ingenious puzzles that could not be made by conventional machines. He has developed his own models of 3d printer that can churn out items all day at fairly high speed.
He set up a couple at the meeting. This one is printing parts for the printers. I'm very tempted to get one of his kits, but I am not sure what I would make. As it is I lack the time for all the things I want to do, but I would like access to one of these for when I need it.
One of the members brought along his smaller printer and ran off this little toy catapult over an hour or so. They are good for making toys, but they can make useful items too that may allow you to repair various things.
I invited a colleague along and he was getting very excited about this technology. He really wants a printer too. I think a lot of other people there were coming up with ideas for what they could do with one. I know some Steemit people have them.
Someone did bring up the topic of the environmental effects. All this plastic adds to the waste we produce, although some types can be recycled. Apparently there are attempts to use plant-based materials that may be better. Some of the industrial machines use really fine power that can be nasty. You don't want to breath it in. The technology is exciting, but the impact should be considered.
I'm Steve, the geeky guitarist.
I'll buy guitar picks for Steem Dollars
