UC Berkeley Students Build 3D Printing Vending Machine
[Philip Lelyveld comment: since they are using off-the-shelf products and an ejection arm, the most interesting part of the story is knowing that UC Berkeley has an inhouse accelerator.]
Combining 3D printing technology with the convenience and accessibility of the DVD-dispensing Redbox service, student entrepreneurs at UC Berkeley have built a vending machine with a seemingly infinite selection of products.
The Dreambox, which now lives in the campus’s Etcheverry Hall, is the first fully automated 3D-printing vending machine, representing a step forward in the democratization of the still-young technology.
You can print almost any object using its touchscreen and watch said object materialize before your eyes. When the print is complete, a mechanical arm will push the object into a locked drawer for safekeeping until you pick it up.
In Dreambox’s office at Berkeley Skydeck, the university’s technology startup accelerator, Berwick, along with his co-founders David Pastewka, the CEO, and Will Drevno, COO, were fixing some final glitches with "Dolly," the vending machine’s nickname.
So far, Dreambox has completed more than $1,000 in prints, and could be profitable in a matter of months if it’s used at full capacity.
See the full story here: http://science.kqed.org/quest/2013/03/26/uc-berkeley-students-build-3d-printing-vending-machine/