Instantly Upgrade Your Home Printer to a 3-D Printer

The notoriously finicky desktop printer is about to go from one of the most mundane and often infuriating home office products you own to one of the most exhilarating.

With help from the University of Cincinnati, you can turn that malevolent machine into a 3-D printing dynamo – instantly.

QUICK ACCESS TO DOWNLOAD FOR INSTANT 3-D PRINTING

The UC Laboratory of Advanced Filament Fabrication (UC LAFF) has found a way to bring 3-D printing – almost exclusively the domain of high-end research and development labs or early adopters with lots of discretionary income – directly into the homes and offices of anyone with an Internet connection, any brand of late model home office printer and a jones to print something awesome.

UC LAFF uses a proprietary process – code named Paper Jammin' – to link to the user's printer and perform an online upgrade, similar to a standard firmware update. The free service is being made

available to the public today only

via an online portal on the university's website. From there,

a simple download is required and 3-D printing can begin

.

It's a technique that seems too good to be true, but lead researcher and professor of mechanical and materials engineering Phil A. Mentt confirms the science behind this method. In fact, he says it could revolutionize printing as we know it.

"It might be hard to believe, but today UC has made it possible for anyone to immediately enjoy 3-D printing from their home printers," Mentt says.

APRIL FOOLING ASIDE, WE ACTUALLY MEAN THIS PART:

Three-dimensional printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a computer-controlled process of recreating a digital 3-D model by using industrial robotic "printers" to layer special materials in nearly any shape imaginable.

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have been on the leading edge of this advanced technology.

UCIT's

Center for Simulations & Virtual Environments Research

provides support for the application of virtual environments to enhance teaching and learning and to model complex processes and phenomena, including guidance on building instructions, modeling tips and best printing practices. Three-dimensional printing efforts are also ongoing in the

College of Engineering and Applied Science

and the

College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning

.

For more information and to test the process yourself,

access the university's online portal

.

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