Student journalism project on 3D printing

Northwestern journalism student Harry Swartout published a multimedia reporting project all about 3D printing. He interviewed a slew of people, including folks from MakerBot Industries and Bespoke Innovations. Harry called me too and I was happy to share my limited perspective on the topic. He also visited Columbian Model and Exhibit Works, the studio that printed an entire scale model of Chicago for the Chicago Architecture Foundation. (Image above.) A slideshow of his images from Columbian Model and Exhibit Works is here. And the whole package is on his blog: Harry Swartout on 3-D Printing.

• [hkdharmon]

  Hey! It’s Harry Dresden’s basement!

• [Anonymous]

  Satchel Ghost is impressed.

• [Anonymous]

  Hello 3-D printing, goodbye expensive Warhammerines

  Hello Small Soldiers!

  • [Nick Loven]

    That’s no satchel, it’s a tricorder! Spock beamed down while the photo was taken.

• [TNGMug]

  3-d printing is awesome and all… and I want one…..

  But why is additive CNC extruders the be-all and end all of it? When I was in high school we had CNC machine tools hooked up to 286′s…. and they worked great, there was both a mill in and a lathe. The mill could make most of what I’m seeing “3-d printers” make… but out of metal. And machine tools are only a couple thousand, that’s not a whole lot more then these consumer level 3-d printers.

• [Anonymous]

  That’s just the Loop, unless those people are standing in the United Center. Chicago is much, much more than the Loop.

• [phogan]

  I first read this as a student journalism project USING 3d printing. I spent a good minute trying to wrap my head around what form that might take, and then I realized it’s a student project ABOUT 3d printing.