3D printers can produce a variety of objects from guns to food, but now, thanks to Disney, they can print plush toys!
The entertainment giant's research lab recently released footage of a 3D printer that has the ability to print fabric material. The printer, designed by researchers from Disney, Cornell Unviersity and Carnegie Mellon University, uses a mixture of laser cutting and layer printing to create a unique printing method. "The machine builds the object up layer by layer by cutting shapes out of a sheet of adhesive felt, cramming/heating each layer together as it goes. You know those 3D puzzles where you stack a bunch of sheets to eventually build a weird, blocky version of Abe Lincoln's head? It's like that, but created on the fly," reported TechCrunch.
The results end up being a bit blocky (due to poor resolution), but if you tear off the extra bits, you'll get your printed object!
While a felt-esque 3D printer is a fairly unique creation, TechCrunch doesn't believe it to be a game-changing technology. "Unlike Makerbot and the rest, you probably won't see something like this built for home use any time soon." It's also clunky and not easy to use.
However, TechCrunch doesn't believe Disney is building this device for retail sale or technological innovation, but instead has a particular purpose for the machine, specifically making prototypes of future stuffed toys.
Disney's researchers have experimented with a variety of 3D-printing devices in the past. For example, they designed a series of 3D-printed tops that spin perfectly despite their unorthodox design.
