VISITORS to a pop-up shop in Festival Place can see 3D printers in action.

The pop-up shop is being run by Tim Varley of Collaborat3D, who is showcasing four of his Ultimaker printers until Sunday, at Space Qube, on the upper level of the shopping centre near BHS.

He said there has been a lot of interest in seeing the printers plugging away printing things as diverse as models of the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower to jewellery, tools, coffee mugs and cupcakes.

Tim who is selling Ultimaker printers, which start from £995 to £1,894, said the 3D objects are created by sending a digital file or scan to a printer which then builds the item layer by layer.

The plastic resin he is using in the demonstrations is polylactic acid (PLA) “It’s corn starch in essence so it’s a bioplastic,” explained Tim.

He said people of all ages have been intrigued with what the printers can produce, such as Tony Knight, from Lasham, pictured below.Basingstoke Gazette:

Tim said: “I’ve been talking to adults who will be going ‘wow,’ while the kids will be saying what else can it do?”

“But the kids love and I’ve been giving away Ultimaker model robots away and stretchlets bracelets, pictured below.

Basingstoke Gazette:

 

 

Basingstoke Gazette:

Tim said: "I've got a lot of models on display, in terms of architecture and engineering and a lot of kids' models as well."

Starting on Wednesday, Tim is holding a competition, where youngsters can draw a 2D design.

It will be split into two age groups, from 10 and below and for those over 10 to 16 and the winners will have their designs printed.

Richard Moir, who manages Space Qube, said: “The 3D printers have certainly been a big draw – we’ve had a fantastic response.”