3D printing has been in the news a lot recently, but until the costs of the printers themselves come down, these potentially-revolutionary devices won’t be performing wizardry in many UK homes.
Enter eBay, that place where they can get you pretty much anything you want at a moment’s notice.
The e-commerce site has launched a new iPhone app it is calling eBay Exact, where you can buy customised 3D goods from those who’ve already set up shop.
The app brings access to retailers like Sculpteo, MakerBot and HotParty, where you can buy jewellery, figurines, iPhone cases and more, all tuned to your own specifications.
For example, if you’ve a penchant for dangly earrings, you can choose the colour and the shape (no, not the Foo Fighters album, unfortunately) of your chosen item.
If you wish to buy a ring, you’ll choose your size, pattern, materials (wood, metal, plastic etc), height and thickness among other things. You can also get your item engraved.
Just submit your order and the retailer will fire up its 3D printer and take care of the rest.
At the moment, the choice is quite limited and everything on the store appears to be mightily expensive, but we’d assume the selections will widen and the price will come down as more retailers get involved.
Just don’t go getting any silly ideas about 3D printed guns, OK?
Via The Verge
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
