Could Santa be 3D printing your presents next year? Potentially, thanks to researchers from the University of Birmingham, UK, who created a festive family of penguins using 3D laser printers.
The Penguins were made using a technique called Stereolithography (SLA), which creates a 3D model slice by slice using a UV-curable liquid resin that hardens when struck by a laser beam. They were created by Parastoo Jamshidi, a research fellow in the School of Metallurgy and Materials. A snowflake was also made at the university using 3D printers.
Moataz Attallah, professor of advanced materials processing at the University of Birmingham says: “Thanks to 3D printing technology, Christmas shopping will be made easier in the future. Christmas presents, especially toys and other items could be 3D printed. It will be possible to print unique items without waiting days for them to be delivered!”
