Stardate What Now?

What could you do with the world’s smallest 3D printer? Klaus Stadlmann demos his tiny, affordable printer that could someday make customized hearing aids — or sculptures smaller than a human hair. (Filmed at TEDxVienna.)

Can anyone tell me what the Stardate is?  The Star Trek replicator is now here.  Maybe the transporter is next?

I am over-the-top excited about 3D printing.  I can imagine a hundred applications a minute just in my areas of interest.  For starters:

• creating that miniature bodkin for tucking the beginning and ending threads on my thread crochet
• beads of every size, shape and color
• scrapbook misc
• Christmas ornaments
• cake decorations
• babydolls
• knickknacks
• jewelry and jewelry making misc
• organizing containers in custom sizes
• bookmarks
• shoes with perfect fit
• replace missing parts
• toys
• puzzles
• games

Imagine taking the web entrepreneur concept to the next level.  Today many of the online stores sell digital products like ebooks, music and video.  What if they could sell physical products that you download the minute you pay.  

Of course it is still a digital product--the program that instructs your own 3D printer in making the physical item so you would be supplying the raw materials in the substance used by your 3D printer.  Of which there are quite a few alternatives already though each alternative raw material requires its own printer.  

The materials in use already include paper, plastic, nylon, metals, ceramic.  The printers themselves come in various sizes from large industrial sized that can make things the size of a car and bigger down to this small one featured in this video.