Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The electronics chain Maplin has become the first high street retailer to sell 3D printers to consumers.
The £700 machine allows users to print three-dimensional objects and has been hailed as the future of manufacturing.
To print something simple such as a new mobile phone case can take 30 minutes, while something more complicated such as a piece of jewellery could take several hours.
Last week at Paris fashion week for haute couture, the Dutch designer Iris van Herpen used the technology to create intricate shoes for the catwalk.
Maplin hopes to tap into a market which has so far been used only by professional printing companies. It appears to be popular, with online orders for the K8200 printer already requiring a 30-day wait for delivery.
The device is no bigger than a paper printer but users must assemble it and replacement cartridges of the plastic raw material cost £30.
The new technology has caused controversy in the US after a student managed to build a working gun with the printer. He later posted the designs online.
The printers work by building tiny layers of plastic on top of each other to make the 3D creation.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Czech President Milos Zeman has sworn in a new cabinet despite the opposition of the main parties in parliament.

New Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok replaces Petr Necas, who resigned last month amid a corruption and spying scandal.

But there is significant doubt about whether his new "government of experts" will win a confidence vote due within 30 days.

Critics accuse President Zeman of trying to grab powers from parliament for the presidency.

The new cabinet comprises 14 men and one woman.

Mr Zeman invited them to Prague Castle on a sweltering summer morning for their formal appointment as ministers.

Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Rob Cameron

BBC News, Prague

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Milos Zeman became the country's first directly elected president in March he warned he would not be a mere spectator in the rough and tumble sport of Czech politics. He meant every word.

Mr Zeman has seized the initiative in the vacuum left by the spectacular fall of Petr Necas, installing his own economic adviser Jiri Rusnok and a "government of experts".

The 15-member cabinet may be unelected but it's far from apolitical - several ministers served in previous governments, some are close to the party Milos Zeman founded in 2009.

The cabinet may lack a parliamentary majority but it can still take major decisions, such as awarding a multi-billion-euro tender to expand the Temelin nuclear power plant.

The speaker of parliament described the government as "toxic" and boycotted the appointment ceremony. She is not alone in her anger.

He thanked them for taking on the task, and advised them to ignore the criticism of what he called "invidious fools".