3D printing has seen a significant rise in its popularity, though they’re not as common as your average printer. The main reason behind this is that 3D printers are expensive, an average unit might cost over $1,000. So even though everyone would like to use it, they won’t be able to because of the evident problem. 3D Hubs is a new service that fixes this issue to an extent. The service will display 3D printers that are available in your locality, you can upload your design and the owner can print it out. You can then meet the owner, pay a fee and pick up the printed object.
The service has been publicly launched today. Once users upload their design, they can choose the nearest 3D printer from an interactive map. The owner of the printer gets to work on a new project and make money as well. A “hub” is only unlocked once a specific number of printers are listed. For European cities, 10 3D printers must be listed before that particular city can be unlocked. For other locations, the magic number sits at 20. Cities unlocked so far include London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Antwerp and Copenhagen. Give the fact that 3D Hubs was launched today, it might take some time before your city gets unlocked. [Image via TNW]
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