Ryan Demo, an electrical and computer engineering major, assembles a 3-D printer of his own (IMAGE: WILL KIRK / HOMEWOODPHOTO.JHU.EDU)
From a whimsical gadget to New Balance shoes to simulated organs, you can “print out” almost anything with a 3-D printer.
These mini factories bring digital files to life almost instantly, and increasingly, people are even constructing the printers from the ground up.
“Building a 3-D printer is a lot like assembling Ikea furniture,” says Ryan Demo as he cobbles together parts, guided by a 57-step instructional booklet.
Demo, a Johns Hopkins University sophomore, is building a printer of his own from scratch as part of a three-day Intersession class. From inside the Digital Media Center‘s MakerSpace—a creativity lab equipped with power tools and solder stations—Demo and five other participants set up shop, chiseling away at parts as they first assemble the frame, a high-density polyethylene otherwise known as cutting board.
Excerpted from The Hub. Read more.