from trinkets and knickknacks, 3d fashion and -- and from auto makers prototyping new parts to
3d printing service los angeles, nasa lamping a 3d printer to replace parts. >> space exploration, this is absolutely a critical
technology. >> from diy medical solutions. >> we've seen the people who made the robo hand project. >> to life altering research. >> i'm dr. ben asser. our lab makes ears.
it's alive whit goes into the printer and comes out of the printer. >> each is prototighting 3d printers aren't anything like your home >> 3 printing is a process that makes physical objects.
a 3d print er gradually layer by layer. not a picture of a cup of coffee but the coffee itself. >> he is a printing pioneer. >> every design file tells what the printer, where to put the
material. what you see here is the printed speaker. in any design software you can go ahead and make changes. >> that information has been sent to the printer that prince layer after layer, hour after hour.
>> what do we have here? >> we have here is the first entirely 100% 3d printed consumer electronic device. it's a loud speaker. >> why is this a big innovation? >> we have begun the second chapter, from passive parts to integrated systems.
that can act, react. >> we created our first innovation institute in youngstown, ohio. >> earned a shout out from the president. >> that has the potential to revolutionize how we make almost anything.
>> across the cornel l campus. >> heart valves are pretty complex shapes, and if we use 3d printing we can duplicate that shape. >> researcher laura hockaday is working on stem cells.
>> you could fabricate a living heart valve that would then be used as the prosthetic. >> just 3-print a valve with using the patient's own stem cells. put it in and it will grow with them.
>> yes, that's the idea. >> if it works it will be life changing for boys like nine-year-old max page. he's that cute pint sized darth vader from the supercommercial from volkswagen. >> we noticed max was in trouble when i went in for my 38-week
appointment. they took him by c section. >> max had a heart valve operation in 2012.
>> is not adequate for an active seven and a half year old boy. >> for max the valve won't grow with him. when he gets to be late teen he'll need a valve to match that size body and when he's a full adult he'll need the valve to match that body.
>> so the work at cornell is very specific. >> it makes me feel good to know that we have somebody on our side. >> we talked to somebody whose child currently suffers from
this condition. they're so excited about the work you're doing. >> wow, these technologies are so close to a break through. it's for us our future our reality.
and it's not just dreaming about kids that might be born today. it's this kid right here. >> from the beginning of the personal computer revolution, the world wasn't quite sure what a computer was good for besides counting and
calculating missile trajectories. it's sort of where we are today, with 3d printing. there's a great deal of potential as printers become easier to use. and this may be the epicenter of
that change. nicker bot. the idea that 3d printing is going to revolutionize our loams, that hasn't come to life quite yet. happen.
if you have a computer that you have at home you can't avoid having a 2d printer at home. who would need those in the home, the same is going to happen with 3d printers. >> across the country in los angeles, liz and cal von
hasseim create in the sugar lab. >> it spreads a very fine layer of sugar. it paints with water, wherever that model exists at that cross-section and then it spreads another very fine layer
of sugar and it paints the next cross section from the very bottom to the top layer until the whole model is built. and it is totally a magical process. >> then comes the fun part. >> we calls call this the
excavation station. that's when we clean off all the sugar that's burying the model now. >> that's like the mow delicious air i've ever breathed. >> it's like you annihilated
some sections of it here. >> i know how to get rid of these damaged goods. it's delicious! >> only on al jazeera america >> a team of scientists are taking their inspiration from nature...
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