A company called Z-Corporation specializes in 3-D printing. See their latest news at http://3dprintinginaec.blogspot.com/

Featured in a National Geographic video on YouTube, and the subject of an investigation by the email debunker Snopes.com, this 3-D is real.

Here’s how it works. An object, any object, is scanned with a sophisticated scanning machine that makes a blueprint of the object in a computer. The blueprint is detailed smaller than a human hair. Once the scanning is finished and the object is colored the way you want (yes, you can use colors), the specifications are entered into a printer. The printer uses a proprietary blend of polymers and binders in a powder form. When printing is finished, the object is presented in the output tray, covered with powder.

The printer is capable of reproducing moving parts, such as gears, and creating very hard objects, such as tools. In the National Geographic demonstration, the printer reproduced a working wrench and added red to the center gear.

According to The Economist, you’ll soon be hearing about 3-D printing in areas such as jewelry making, lampshades, race car parts, mobile phones and football shoes.

Although the prices for such printers are already affordable now, one day they might work in a home like a Star Trek replicator.