He had brought out two large plastic bins filled with the artifacts of his research, and he spread the contents on the table: a metal octagonal disk, sketches on lab paper, a black plastic laser housing that served as the innards for one of his printers.
The pride of completion includes plastic-fashioned laser cannons, escape pods, Darth Vader meditation chamber and a hologram of the evil Emperor.
Two examples that have already proved this--plastic surgery and laser vision surgery.
Using a thin film of polyfluorene, a light-emitting plastic, they have created a laser which reacts with explosive vapour.
The laser light dims within seconds when the plastic comes into contact with even the tiniest emission of vapour.
Public educators can use 3D printers or laser cutters to make inexpensive copies out of plastic or cardboard at extremely low cost.
Whatever the truth, the group responsible clearly had access to plastic explosives, professional bomb-making expertise and a nice laser-printer.
With this early model, the laser had to be set on low power to stop the plastic overheating, or even catching fire.
EOS, a German supplier of laser-sintering 3D printers, says they are already being used to make plastic and metal production parts by carmakers, aerospace firms and consumer-products companies.
Lucent's 30, 000 techies work on such advances as plastic fiber flexible enough to wire your home, a new over-the-air laser system for local optical transmission and routers with mind-boggling capacity.
The frame is no longer assembled from laser-etched wood, instead there's a powder-coated steel frame with PVC plastic sides to help shield the various moving parts and lend an air of professionalism to the affair.
ENGADGET: MakerBot unveils Replicator 2, 2X and launches retail store, we go eyes-on
By zapping the silicon with a laser it is possible to heat it, and cause it to form crystals, without melting the plastic.
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