The origins and direction of the fabricator revolution

Fabricators are ultra-modern machines that make things automatically. They use raw material and computer data to generate three-dimensional, solid objects that can be held in the hand, submitted to testing, or assembled into working mechanisms. Fabricators are being used by manufacturers around the world for low-volume production, prototyping, and mold mastering. They are also used by scientists and mathematicians for solid imaging, and by a few artists for innovative computerized sculpting. Manufacturers report enormous productivity gains from using fabricators. This paper discusses the types of technologies used in fabricators, both currently available and anticipated in the future