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| ISS Commander Barry Wilmore displays the first object 3-D printed in space |
This week, NASA tested a 3-D printer in space. An on-demand machine shop is a pretty incredible tool if you want to get to Mars. A couple of years ago it was widely reported that we'd all have such devices in our homes by now. Turns out it was a little ambitious to think we'd be fabricating toaster replacement parts in the basement. Still, you can probably have a decent one out of the box and working for about $1000.
The obstacle to ubiquity isn't affordability. It's creativity. Jessica Banks, CEO of RockPaperRobot says "it might be that many people get their 3-D printers and they're like 'This is going to be awesome. I can make everything in my life.' And what do they do? The make a spoon." Spoons are the sorts of objects Banks refers to as "digital poop."
