3D printers let people create three-dimensional models out of designs created on a computer, constructing the model by either removing material from a block or by building it up gradually from another material. Stratasys will manufacture an HP-branded 3D printer set for release later this year. Stratasys's least pricey 3D printer: the $14,900 uPrint 3D
The least expensive Stratasys model, the uPrint 3D, which is small enough to sit on a desk and can make an object measuring a maximum of 8in x 6in x 6in, costs $14,900 (£9,100). The company's printers use a technology called FDM (fused deposition modelling) that gradually builds up a shape layer by layer out of a material called thermoplastic that turns liquid when heated.