The Scoop - March 6, 2017
Posted by Heather Rutz on Mar 07, 2017
3D scanning technology is developing quickly.
Technology advancements allowing mass customization is coming closer to reality, an entrepreneur told Lima Rotary Club Monday.
Dr. Jake Kuttothara, a physician and COO of Knockout Concepts, explained the technology of 3-D scanning, a partner technology to 3-D printing. Kuttothara, who co-founded the Columbus company,
While 3-D scanning is most popularly understood as a way to make video games more realistic, the technology is rapidly developing and headed to our phones, Kuttothara said. Think of being able to order a pair of shoes made for the contours of your feet because you scanned your foot with a 3-D scanner in your phone.
“There is no more small, medium or large,” Kuttothara said. “Now, there’s your size. Everything is customizable.”
The technology has many uses, for everything from helping a 3-D printer replacement skin tissue fit perfectly for a burn victim to providing three-dimensional blueprints for reverse engineering, to digital archiving.
Knockout Concepts brought the first mobile, handheld 3-D scanner to market. The equipment looks like a souped-up tablet. It works hand-in-hand with 3-D printers. The scanner captures the data that allows the printer to make something.
“Kids get it, as they always do,” Kuttothara said. “They have great ideas about what the technology can do.”
In other Rotary business:
Winners of the 4-Way essay and speech contests will be at Rotary in the next few weeks to give their winning speeches and recite their winning essays, President Dave Frost said.
The club is participating in a mission trip and has contributed $2,000 for the work in Costa Rica. The trip is scheduled for the week of April 15.