Virginia Tech has come up with a new way to teach their mechanical engineering students about future technologies while allowing the students wider access to 3D printing machines. They placed a Dream Vendor, the vending machine with infinite inventory, in the lobby of the campus allowing students to create new projects by simply slotting a SD card in the vending machine, that will read the design file and produce the physical object in front of you.
This story of the ultimate vending machine was covered earlier this year, however the past month has seen several interesting applications for the use of 3D printers such as 3D printed food, racing cars and guns. The consumer propositions are coming ever closer to us and perhaps these are the first signs that there will be a significant increase of innovative start-ups who will start offering 3D printed products directly to the consumers.
The vending machine consists of four separate MakerBot Thing-O-Matics and contains physical examples of the latest research by the members of the DREAMS lab. The individual 3D printers are still relatively expensive and out of reach for most students, so this initiative will give the students access to 3D printers to enable them to physically create their research projects and prototypes with ease. What is even better, you don’t need to slot in coins to develop your creations.
Have a look at the presentation video:
