It's called the Makerbot Digitizer, it costs $1400 and will hit stores in October. It is a 3D scanner, an object that could make printing within everyone's reach. At the moment, there are so many requests that it will be difficult for them to be fully satisfied by the manufacturer. Still, tech experts remain cautious.
Until now, to 3D print you had to be an expert user capable of mastering design and modeling software. With this new device, however, it will be possible to replicate objects without having particular knowledge. It works like this: the Digitizer aims a series of lasers on the artefact to be replicated, tracing the contours of the surface. If you already have three-dimensional technical drawings, just do a simple upload via a specific site, Thingiverse, a platform that also allows you to share projects with other people.
The scan time varies by object, but a test run on a small gnome figurine took 12 minutes. “The Makerbot Digitizer is for experimenters and visionaries who want to be pioneers in the field of 3D scanning” – said the producer – We address architects, designers, but also ordinary people, teachers and artists”.
However, the Makerbot quickly made it clear that the scanner doesn't work with particularly complex shapes and that one shouldn't expect too much from the machine." In short, at least in this case, no hamburgers to print.
