Prof James Scanlan, of Southampton University's department of engineering and environment, is developing larger UAVs containing low-cost nylon parts produced by a 3D printer.

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Instead of going off the shelf, doctors turned to a 3D printer from Stratasys to create custom molded parts and a lightweight vest for Emma.

ENGADGET: 3D printed 'Magic Arms' give a little girl use of her limbs

You might wonder why someone might need all that in one box, but the idea is that you can use the printer to create the sorts of custom parts that don't necessarily come with the kits -- something like a band to go with your Timesquare watch, or a case for the MintyBoost.

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Earlier this week Wilson posted a video online showing a single shot being fired from "The Liberator, " a plastic handgun that, with the exception of a metal firing pin and a piece of metal included to comply with the Undetectable Firearms Act, was assembled entirely from parts made with a 3-D printer.

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But Prof Colin Pillinger, the scientist behind the ill-fated Beagle-2 mission to Mars, said the printer would have to be really precise to be able to fabricate complex parts that usually make up the body of a spacecraft.

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