Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
We became even more confused when the salesman dropped his next
bombshell. “All of the gears, handles, and knobs that you see here were never
assembled. They were all printed in place as a single, preassembled bunch of
d i st i nct p a r t s.”
The confused buzz in the classroom increased in volume as our energetic
visitor gleefully closed his presentation with a inal data point: A computer, not
a human, had been the guiding “hand” that steered this miraculous machine
through the production process. The salesman rummaged through his bag
and pulled out a piece of paper he waved in front of us. The page showed
a photograph of a computer on whose screen was a design ile for the same
plastic object he had just shown us.
The Cubital salesman smiled and asked whether we had questions.
Somnolence forgotten, my classmates and I peppered him with questions.
What did he mean he “printed” all the plastic parts using a laser? And what
sort of manufacturing machine could possibly fabricate something made of
interlocked parts that didn't need to be assembled? Could it print in materi-
als other than plastic? And, of course—how much would it cost to get such a
machine for oneself?
Traditional manufacturing felt instantly obsolete.
I still remember that day. Our guest lecturer's enthusiastic pitch convinced
me that this miraculous machine would indeed spark a revolution in the way
we make and design things. I'd never seen such a close connection between the
software design of an object (design software was a new and growing passion
of mine at that time) and its physical manifestation.
That day was two decades ago. The revolution we were promised didn't
happen as quickly as planned. A few years later, Cubital went out of business.
Like many pioneering technologies, Cubital's 3D printing process was too com-
plicated and slow, and its machines were too expensive for margin-conscious
manufacturing companies to embrace.
I sometimes wonder where that salesman went after Cubital folded. His sales
pitch—unabashedly dramatic as it had been—was dead on target. It's just a
matter of time until regular people will rip, mix, and burn physical objects as
effortlessly as they edit a digital photograph.
