Imagine being able to make your own game pieces, model sets or toys? lf you have a 3Dprinter, you can do it. It sounds like magic, but a 3D printer is a real machine. It can be used to create toys, clothing, as well as things like machine parts and musical instruments. Some 3Dprinters can even make food!
3D printers do not use paper or ink. Instead of printing pictures, they print three-dimensional (三维空间) objects with different sizes and shapes. Instead of ink, they use many different materials (材料), like glass, wood, and even chocolate!
Most 3D printers are quite expensive, and they can take up a lot of space. However, making objects with a 3D printer is often more efficient than making them in other ways. For example, accompany in China built a house using a 3D printer. The house covered an area of 200 square meters. The cost of building a house was under $500. It cost far less than a home built in the usual way, and the whole job was finished in just forty-eight hours!
People keep coming up with new ways to use 3D printers. Companies have used them to make shoes, airplane parts, and even hamburgers. The U. S. Navy (海军) came up with the idea of putting them on ships, so sailors (海员) can print new tools or parts while they are at sea. The printers have even been used by astronauts in space. 3D printers are turning ideas into objects, on this planet and elsewhere.
