Sometimes those futuristic movies seem very far-fetched (‘2001: A Space Odyssey‘ anyone?) and other times they show remarkable foresight (‘Back to the Future’ nailing what’s to come with great accuracy HERE).

And sometimes, every now and again, they actually shape the future themselves. The guys at Carbon 3D were so taken with the movie ‘Terminator 2’ and the iconic scene where the villain rises out of a pile of metallic goo that they set about making a printer that could pull off such a stunt. This from the Washington Post:

Just as the evil T-1000 rises from its puddle of metal alloys, objects created by the new printer seem to ooze into existence from the ether. They come out fast, too: 25 to 100 times faster than anything on the market now…

To create an object, CLIP projects specific bursts of light and oxygen. Light hardens the resin, and oxygen keeps it from hardening. By controlling light and oxygen exposure in tandem, intricate shapes and latices can be made in one piece instead of the many layers of material that usually make up a 3-D printed object.

And if that all made sense to you I doff my cap in your direction. Here’s the printer busting out a mini Eiffel Tower.

There are of course far more practical uses for such a printer. Washington Post again:

…the technique’s knack for making small, smooth objects will help make breakthroughs in the tiny sensors we rely on for smartphones and fitness bands, as well as in making microneedles and other drug delivery systems.

Pretty cool really, although we want to be the first to know when they decide to recreate the famous Terminator scene. We’ll be back.

[source:washingtonpost]