Chapter 11. Service Providers

If you don’t have a 3D printer, you can still enjoy the benefits and fun of turning a CAD file into a physical object. It’s well worth getting familiar with the growing number of 3D printing service providers, and commercial providers can print in a surprising range of materials not available to the home printer user. Even if you do own a printer, it’s great to be able to turn a piece of art or technology you prototyped in plastic into something enduring, like titanium or stainless steel.

A Strandbeest mechanism by Theo Jansen, printed in nylon on an EOS selective laser sintering (SLS) machine at Shapeways headquarters in New York. Dust it off and it’s ready to walk.
Figure 11-1. A ...

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