Jessica Fosler points to the website for DesktopFactory.com, manufacturers of 3-D printers.

This reminded me that months ago I read an article in Fortune Small Business, "3-D Printing for the rest of us" about a number of businesses that were already using 3D printers which had fascinated me.

From the FSB article: "A computer-aided-design program converts 2-D or 3-D images into a format compatible with the printer. An image is sent to the printer, which takes anywhere from minutes to hours to re-create it, layer by layer, in plastic. The finished object is removed from the printer, dipped in an "infiltrant" for hardening, and then painted."

The article mentoined $20000 as the cheapest printers and wrote about a motorcycle custom parts guy who uses 3D to create models of parts before he actually manufactures them. ANother company creates models for architecture firms.

But Desktop Factory is now taking pre-orders for a $5000 printer and in the CNN interview that you can watch on their website, they believe that an under-1000 product is acheivable in the next few years. THey are targetting the consumer market, with the idea that people will be able to fabricate toys or even replacement parts right at home.

Remember that old EBay ad that showed someone ordering an item on a computer and it appeared in a "printer" on his desktop? We're almost there! Of course, these are just plastic models so far and I guess we're still a few "years" away from saying Beam me up, Scotty!