Jay Leno has one which prints in plastic, so he can prototype, and then he sends the data to a CNC machine. It’s an excellent way to maintain any piece of obsolete machinery. I was at a show last weekend where there was one being demoed. It was aimed at model train collectors, with the idea that you could model some rolling stock and then print off however many you need. A rather costly piece of kit for a hobbyist, but if you were a business looking to make loads, this could save a lot of cash before going to full production.

I would, of course, love to have a machine like this.

I am starting to doubt the metal printing part, though. It seems that a number of April Fool gags came out a day early, so I am now feeling a bit sceptical about that side of the tech. It would be wonderful if they could print in steel, but I wonder if the heat requirements would be above the abilities of such a machine. I suppose heating a very thin piece of steel wire to melting point would be relatively easy.