3-D Printing Goes from SCI-FI Fantasy to Reality

By MARTHA MENDOZA AP National Writer
Posted: 06/02/2013 06:29:19 AM PDT

SAN MATEO, Calif.—Invisalign, a San Jose company, uses 3-D printing to make each mouthful of customized, transparent braces. Mackenzies Chocolates, a confectioner in Santa Cruz, uses a 3-D printer to pump out chocolate molds. And earlier this year, Cornell University researchers used a 3-D printer, along with injections of a special collagen gel, to create a human-shaped ear.

Once a science-fiction fantasy, three-dimensional printers are popping up everywhere from the desks of home hobbyists to Air Force drone research centers. The machines, generally the size of a microwave oven and costing $400 to more than $500,000, extrude layer upon layer of plastics or other materials, including metal, to create 3-D objects with moving parts.

Read more: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_23372914/3-d-printing-go...