3D Ceramic Printer: ‘Nuff Said.

3D printers of every build tend to get geeks excited (maybe it’s the inevitable Star Trek replicator comparison), but Unfold Lab‘s 3D ceramic printer still fills us with a particular brand of awe.

Spec out a bowl, cup, or other design, hit ‘print,’ and — voila! you’re just a kiln firing and a few glazings away from a functional ceramic vessel.

designboom explains how it works:

“the design is based off an open source project and prints wet clay from its nozzle, which can then be placed in a kiln and fired. the machine uses powder clay which is mixed with water and printed out using a syringe.”

Alas, the 3D printer isn’t coming to a ceramics studio near you anytime soon: it’s very much a prototype. But it’s a great illustration of what’s possible when science and the arts team up.

(Unfold via designboom)