“Printing” 3D models is about to get cheaper – thanks to a machine that uses A4 paper as its feedstock. Most use lasers to melt powdered nylon or metal, layer by layer, into 3D shapes. But Mcor Technologies in Ardee, Republic of Ireland, is patenting a way of doing the same thing with layers of paper cut into shape by a computer-controlled knife and then glued together with water-based adhesive. The resulting models are cheap, strong and easily recyclable, says co-inventor Conor MacCormack.
Camera-carrying radio-controlled planes that fit in a soldier’s backpack are commonplace in war zones – but they don’t…
