Taking its cues from computer-aided-design software, an extruder stacks thin layers of gooey thermoplastic that cure into shape.

FORBES: Almost Out of the Woods

Raw rubber is heated and extruded on to the drum, followed by successive layers of steel wires and strips as the tyre takes shape.

ECONOMIST: Re-inventing the wheel

Many batteries are made in a kind of "Swiss roll" geometry, in which the layers are rolled up into a cylindrical or round-edged rectangular shape.

BBC: 'Paint-on' batteries demonstrated