We are all familiar with the everyday copier, but recently, 3d printing has come onto the scene.

The 2d printer, the one where it prints ink on one or two sides of a piece of paper, was absolutely humongous in its time. Nowadays, the development of a new type of printer, one that could recreate specific items, has already gotten under way.

In fact, it has been successful so far. It’s been pushing the old out of the way to make room for the new. The idea of 3d printing is exactly what it sounds like. A device scans a three-dimensional object, such as a toy or tool, then replicates it, alongside the option to input your measurements and create an object from scratch. Once the printer understands what the task is, it layers different materials, most commonly plastic, wax, glass, silver, gold, or nylon, to forge another of the object or image that you desire.

It sounds like an incredible invention, so why hasn’t it hit stores yet? Well, there’s the issue of pricing. Printers can be priced at as much as $500,000! A very few amount of people may have that kind of money, but it isn’t enough to begin mass production. It wouldn’t be uncommon to see one in the workshop of a large industrial company, but having one in the home is unheard of. Efforts have been made to lower the costs of parts and materials to allow for everyday use of the invention, and while it isn’t being sold in stores yet, that time is growing closer and closer. Prices continuously decrease for the materials needed to create, market, and sell the tool.

The impact of such a printer will be experienced around the world, as it could recreate any item from a baby toy to stylish shoes, to parts to a car. The possibilities are limitless and could be used by almost any company established today. Having been used already by medical staff, firearm industries, construction companies, and more, the influence will reach millions upon millions of people. Not only could it reproduce items at a decent speed, but it could also do it with a fraction of the cost. Assembly lines are not necessary, requiring pay for the materials and workers, as now merely the materials are needed to mass produce a certain product.

We constantly hear of new inventions being created, tested, and supported everywhere. A new scientific era has landed, as technology allows us to make strides to produce what was once seen as impossible. About to make its stand and sweep the nation, 3d printing falls within that list.