3D printers can be used to create different things from medical devices to works of art.
Now, a San Diego based company is bringing 3D printing to the masses. Inventions in your head or even on a piece of paper can be quickly transformed into a plastic prototype.
"Our graphic designer will take that idea off of the paper and make it a file, which this machine can then print and they get their device, which they can then find funding or go into production and then begin to sell," said Burke Jones, owner of the UPS Store in Clairemont.
Its the first in the country to offer 3D printer service to consumers, small businesses and start-ups. The cost can vary from $35 for a small belt clip to $600 for a life-size model of a femur.
"It depends on how much support material it takes and how much extra plastic it uses," Jones said.
The 3D printer, which costs nearly $21,000, isn't much larger than a microwave oven but UPS Stores are betting it does big things to create more businesses.
Tracy Marks, spokesperson for the UPS Store, said the San Diego company is expanding the service into five other cities.
"San Diego has a lot of entrepreneurs, small businesses and it's a huge market for tech," Marks said. "There's a lot of techies everywhere and they have so many ideas. Who knows? We might have next millionaire waiting to happen, getting their idea out there."
