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Researchers were able to build the printer with off-the-shelf commodity parts for $7K.MIT researchers, using off-the-shelf components, have built a 3D printer capable of building with 10 photopolymer materials at once. And the school's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) said the researchers were able to build the printer for less than $7,000. That compares to systems that print with just three materials at one time and can cost $250,000. The MultiFab 3D printer works by mixing together microscopic droplets of photopolymers that are then extruded through inkjet printheads similar to those in office printers. The printing process is...

One day 3D printers will be able to churn out working electronics and fully-functional machines, instead of just plastic parts. And that day is now slightly closer with MIT CSAIL’s MultiFab 3D printer that can use ten different materials to build working devices in a single print run. For 3D printers to fully realize their Star Trek ‘replicator’ potential they can’t just be one part of the manufacturing process, they need to do it all. The holy grail of 3D printing is to one day let anyone recreate any device with a simple button press. We want to be able...

Not sure it'd be my cup of tea, so to speak, but if a space tourist wants to kick back and sip a brewski on the ride, there may be one on the beverage list. Testing on a space beer is scheduled to begin in November -- not by NASA, our staid civil space agency has a strict no-alcohol policy. Instead, a nonprofit research group called Astronauts4Hire is doing the honors aboard Zero Gravity Corp.'s airplane, which simulates the microgravity environment of space by making parabolic dives. ANALYSIS: Space Age food and drink comes in all shapes, sizes and