FutureCake? Cupcakes You Can Print
By jpower on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
At my place of employment, we have a two little machines known as MakerBot Cupcake CNCs (I think the name comes from how the inventor of the Cupcake CNC originally wanted to make a frosting extruder). These adorably named bots can print small 3D shapes out of plastic. It didn’t take much time for the crafter-types who use a machine like this to put together a program (or two) that lets the Cupcake CNC print out cupcakes. Out of plastic, mind you, but still cute little cupcakes.
Just recently, I heard about 3D bioprinters that can print basic organic tissue, technology that can hopefully someday be used to print full organs. I also know that the folks at MakerBot Industries have been tirelessly working to create a fully functional frostruder, and may have in fact succeeded. What’s next in the world of 3D printing? Carbo-printers? Printcakes? A girl can dream…