Aspiring silversmith? Print your own 3D jewelry
Plagued by werewolves? With new service from online 3D printing community Shapeways, you can get your own silver bullets.
Longing for a pair of Starship Enterprise silver earrings? Now you can craft your own, and even sell them. Shapeways, an online 3D printing community, has launched a service to print objects in pure silver.
Launched in 2008, Shapeways lets designers create 3D models in bulk for sale, or individual items as prototypes. The silver-printing service is available to those with or without 3D modeling skills. After designs are submitted and approved, objects are first printed in wax and then cast in silver.
The service can produce silver parts in layers with a resolution of 25 micron pixels, according to Shapeways. Prices are based on the amount of silver--$40 for the first cubic centimeter, with an extra $20 for additional cubic centimeters.
Creations on Shapeways include metal tetrahedon puzzles, dinosaurs, and funky bracelets.
Designers can open their own silver shop on Shapeways and sell to customers worldwide. The site handles printing, shipping and customer service.
Next time I need silver bullets during a werewolf attack, I know where to go.