As the technology has advanced, 3D printers have become smaller and significantly more cost-effective. Due to this, multiple different types can be purchased online from reputable retailers like Amazon.

The affordability and accessibility of these printers have led more people and researchers than ever to purchase them. In turn, this has led to genuinely incredible prints, some of which will make you double-take and wonder what the person was thinking when they formulated the idea. Here are ninebelonging to the latter camp that will leave you in disbelief.

Biting into your juicy burger may herald a different experience if the meat came from a scientific factory rather than a nearby field. This, however, is precisely what American company Modern Meadow tried to achieve in 2013.

Using stem cells (which naturally replicate themselves exponentially), the company loaded an ink cartridge with the living cells from an animal biopsy. After lines of printing, the company managed to print a piece of meat, with the stem cells fusing together to form a delicious piece ready for the grill.Other companies have also joined this venture, with a Spanish firm aiming to make 3D-printed meat a household staple.

Many may cringe at the idea of more mice running around, but researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago don’t share this view. A team there began looking at 3D-printing ovaries for infertile mice to see if they could viably implant them and allow the mice to have litters.

Using gelatin layers, the team 3D printed the carefully designed ovaries, surgically implanted them in seven mice incapable of childbirth, and waited for results. In a short while, three of the seven successfully gave birth to litters of baby mice, opening new avenues for experimentation that could have massive implications for human fertility down the line.

The space race has been reignited recently due to companies like Boeing and SpaceX’s development of innovative launch and landing systems. However, one of the most significant costs of space flight remains the incredible amounts of fuel needed to launch rockets.

In 2019, scientists from James Cook University in Australia decided to find a solution to this problem using a 3D printer. Using a mixture of aluminum, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic, and other compounds, the team successfully printed and tested solid rocket fuel. While the experiment worked, it wasn’t ideal, and further research is required to perfect it.

Losing your home to a fire is devastating. This happened to Freddy, the tortoise, during a fire in Brazil that caused her to lose 85% of her shell. That is until a team of veterinarians decided to help her with a spiffy new home.

Using 49 images taken from different angles, the team designed a bespoke new shell made from four interlocking pieces. To ensure safety, it was printed using corn-based plastic. It looks incredibly natural as it sits on her back, protecting her from the elements.

If 3D-printed meat is a bit out of your wheelhouse, you may be more willing to settle for other forms of food. Thankfully, there are various to choose from, including quiches, croutons, candies, cereal, and even chocolate thanks to industry leader Hershey.

Taking things a bit further, BeeHex, a Silicon Valley company, created a printer capable of 3D printing an entire pizza. Showcased in 2017, the printer uses three nozzles that each protrude dough, sauce, and cheese. Together, these create a delicious pizza that can be printed and baked in less than seven minutes.

Princeton University, where groundbreaking research is conducted regularly, was at the forefront of new 3D printing research for human applications in 2013. Seeking to aid those who have difficulty hearing, a group of researchers developed a 3D-printed bionic ear.

The process, which is incredibly involved, requires using a printed gel to craft the shape of the ear. Following this, a layer of cultured cells taken from a calf is added. The final layer, a thin sheet of silver nanoparticles, acts as an antenna that catches sounds and feeds them to the cochlea to enable the person to hear.

Although guns can be easily found in most stores, in 2012, a law student at the University of Texas decided it may be easier to print one. After months of design changes and tweaks, he successfully created a plastic gun that was entirely 3D printed aside for the metal firing pin.

Tested on a Texan firing range, the gun performed impeccably. A year later, 3D guns were thrown into the spotlight by Defense Distributed, a company specializing in creating 3D printable weapon designs made available online.

In many cases, 3D-printed objects are considered relatively small. A group at the Institute for Advanced Architecture decided not to stop at such limits and began designing a group of Minibuilders—3D printers that work together to print a complete home.

This idea has been replicated by others, such as Mighty Builders, which offers 3D-printed homes at affordable prices. These can be built in less than a week and can give you the perfect home to sleep in, relax while watching TV, or even take advantage of a PA online casino no deposit bonus.

Bioprinting, the act of 3D printing biological materials, has successfully been used to 3D print bones, blood vessels, and even bladders. One of the strangest things it has also been used to print is skin. This was first done by a group of researchers at the University of Toronto using a specially designed handheld 3D printer.

Using stem cells taken from a pig, the cells were grown and then added to the printer and used to print a perfect strip of skin over a wound on the animal. This research has expanded, with other universities developing even more advanced methods that can potentially be used to treat human wounds by 3D printing new skin layers.