3D printing 'Factory of the Future' launched

3D printing is changing the way creatives can make their designs and ideas a reality, and it's taken another big leap forward, with 3D printing marketplace and community Shapeways cutting the ribbon on its new 'Factory of the Future'.

Based in New York and billed to be the world's largest 3D printing factory, it will house 30 to 50 high definition, industrial-sized 3D printers, each capable of producing more than 100 products a day and three to five million products a year.

Shapeways' director of industrial engineering Kegan Fisher comments on its website: "We are building a factory that gives everyone the ability to create, where the only barrier to entry is imagination."

We are building a factory where the only barrier to entry is imagination

The 3D printing facility will have more than 50 engineers, craftsmen, 3D printing specialists, and industrial designers to ensure everything runs smoothly. Staff will be "fine-tuning and tweaking a Willy Wonka-esque system in which pixels go in and objects come out," says Fisher.

Currently still under construction, the factory is due to be finished and filled with 3D printers around January 2013. 

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