Design anything and get it delivered in ten days

Relaxnews
Tuesday 18 May 2010 00:00 BST
Comments
(courtesy of Shapeways)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A website called Shapeways is making any aspiring designer's dream come true: it "3D prints" any submitted design and even lets you sell your items directly via its online store.

No matter whether it's custom jewelry, toys or sculptures you're after: all you need to do is submit a 3D model (as STL file) of your object of desire, and they'll do the rest, working even with 'difficult' materials such as metal or glass.

The price naturally depends on your project, but designers who have tried it say it's "relatively cheap," especially considering that you can skip the usual hassle of manufacturing and retail.

One commenter on design site Core77 said: "The only negative I can think of is that they seem to be getting popular and an occasional la[g] in turnaround or shipping (wrong item) does happen. However they're friendly and problems are usually solved very quickly."

Just like fashion, interior design seems to be opening its doors to the wider public.

For more information, visit http://www.shapeways.com.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in