What would you make if you could print anything?  Northeastern students will start testing the technological possibilites this fall when the school opens a 3-D printing lab in its library. All students and faculty will have access to the latest manufacturing technology that was, up until recently, reserved only to design and engineering labs. According to The Boston Globe, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Northeastern, Stephen W. Director, believes that “this is a technology that’s moving out there” and that the modern library is “not just a place where you store books, and information doesn’t just come in 2-D physical forms. Information comes in all sorts of forms. Now, it’s in 3-D.”

The new 3-D printing lab will be in the Digital Media Commons that Northeastern recently opened in its Snell Library. According to The Boston Globe, the lab’s dozen machines will include full-size and smaller desktop printers as well as 3-D scanners and laser cutters from companies like MakerBot Industries LLC, who produce printers that costs around $2,000.

3-D printing is becoming faster, cheaper, and more versatile. Special software is applied to design objects or shapes which the printer then uses to create a three-dimensional version of the input. The physical objects are constructed by shooting out successive layers of plastic filament. Students at Northeastern will be able to test and design all sorts of objects while being exposed to the escalating technology that is spreading throughout the workplace. Northeastern will also enlist instructors to teach workshops and help its students master the necessary software in order to take advantage of the 3-D printing – because in the end, it’s still not as simple as a push of a regular printer’s button.