A 3D printer – a machine that “prints” small objects rather than pages – has been used for the first time to give the characters in an animated movie a far greater range of facial expressions than has been possible before.
When fed with a design from a computer, a 3D printer gradually builds up objects by depositing layer upon layer of material. The materials can be plastic, nylon or metal powders, and each layer is set hard by a blast from a laser before the next one is laid down.
These devices, which are mainly…
