3D Printing Revolution

Listener Ron Roy from Ottawa is a tool-and-die maker, but he sees the future making his work obsolete.  Mr Roy thinks that 3-D Printing will transform our future, making it possible to fabricate anything at home - toys, drugs, even weapons and organs.  Dr. Matt Ratto, the director of the Critical Making Lab, in the Faculty of Information, at the University of Toronto, couldn't agree more.  Using technology similar to that used by inkjet printers, Dr. Ratto says that we're already printing all sorts of objects from plastic, and there have been successful experiments printing cells into simple human tissues.  The next step will be finding effective ways to print more complex objects that include different kinds of materials, and then ultimately finding ways to use some future technology to build or "print" objects from individual atoms or molecules on up.  Star Trek's replicator may not be far behind.