Ever wanted to buy a boat but couldn’t swing the cost? Well, print one. That’s what the guy behind Grass Roots Engineering did.
The kayak consists of 28 separate sections joined together with machined bolts and a bit of silicon. It’s water tight and actually floats. It took 42 days to print at a cost of around $500. But this wasn’t done on a Makerbot, but rather a large-scale home-brew 3D printer with a heated printing chamber to ensure the parts didn’t warp or crack during printing.
As the cost of 3D printing decreases, more uses will appear. A 3D printed couch. A 3D printed snow shovel. There could even be a time when it makes more sense for a consumer to print a toothbrush rather than buying one at a store.