An interesting, if slightly impractical, software idea... A program that turns 3D Models into physical models using just a printer and standard printer paper, scissors, you, and glue.
Knowing that paper has a certain thickness and that paper can be cut into shapes, the program can cut a computer created 3D model, that has been given physical world width, height, and length, into thousands of paper thick "slices."
It then prints the outlines onto pieces of paper, as many will fit on a page on a page. You simply cut them out in order, one at a time, and glue them together one after another in order. Shave any edges as needed and there you go. An easy* 3D model printer for a fraction of the cost!
It amused me and would work, up to a point. A machine could be constructed to do this for you, but if you want to go that far, just make(or simply buy) a model printer and be done with it.
*Easy for a given value of easy. Gluing paper together is easy, gluing paper together thousands of times, while still technically easy, is much harder.
slightly impractical idea - print physical 3D models
Re: slightly impractical idea - print physical 3D models
Yes, this has been done before.
I'm not if you're familiar with the 3D term of "UV unwrapping", but it basically means, "take an object, and unfold it into a flat shape" - which is pretty much the perfect opposite of taking a flat shape in paper, folding it, and getting a 3D model. UV unwrapping is used so that a normal image or photo can be projected into a 3D model. UV unwraps don't have to be geometrically perfect, and as such the flat UVs can't always be cut-n-glued into a perfect representation of the 3D object, but if they're made correctly, that is indeed possible.
Here's a brain modelled in Blender, UV-unwrapped, and then prepared for printing in Inkscape.
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=135181
Bert Simons does rather realistic-looking heads using models made and unwrapped in Blender. I don't know what other programs he uses with them, but some of the final results are available in printable PDFs.
http://www.bertsimons.nl/zenphoto/paperworks/
There's also a semi-automated program called Pepakura, which I have never used myself, which promises to do something like that automatically.¨
http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/p ... index.html
I'm not if you're familiar with the 3D term of "UV unwrapping", but it basically means, "take an object, and unfold it into a flat shape" - which is pretty much the perfect opposite of taking a flat shape in paper, folding it, and getting a 3D model. UV unwrapping is used so that a normal image or photo can be projected into a 3D model. UV unwraps don't have to be geometrically perfect, and as such the flat UVs can't always be cut-n-glued into a perfect representation of the 3D object, but if they're made correctly, that is indeed possible.
Here's a brain modelled in Blender, UV-unwrapped, and then prepared for printing in Inkscape.
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=135181
Bert Simons does rather realistic-looking heads using models made and unwrapped in Blender. I don't know what other programs he uses with them, but some of the final results are available in printable PDFs.
http://www.bertsimons.nl/zenphoto/paperworks/
There's also a semi-automated program called Pepakura, which I have never used myself, which promises to do something like that automatically.¨
http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/p ... index.html
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Assaultman67
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Re: slightly impractical idea - print physical 3D models
Yep ... they're getting pretty common ... I saw a low res, homemade one that utilized a syringe method to print out anything that could be squeezed through it ... sillicone, chocolate, cheese, and well as other various crap ... (probably even crap would work 
)
I actually have to use a 3D printer as well to produce some functional models for a prosthetic leg in one of my classes next week. They're are two I get to use, one which builds in plastic layers and looks like paper stacked together, and another that uses some kind of plastic waxy material.
unfortunately the leg is to be marketed to poor people so it has to be cheaply and easily produced.
Personally, I've been thinking about building some kind of universal machining device that can cut, surface, etc with a single point tool as well as utilize other types of tools (bandsaw, etc). when i got done, doing some basic idea sketching it pretty looked like a heavy duty optical table with arms on two sides.
)I actually have to use a 3D printer as well to produce some functional models for a prosthetic leg in one of my classes next week. They're are two I get to use, one which builds in plastic layers and looks like paper stacked together, and another that uses some kind of plastic waxy material.
unfortunately the leg is to be marketed to poor people so it has to be cheaply and easily produced.
Personally, I've been thinking about building some kind of universal machining device that can cut, surface, etc with a single point tool as well as utilize other types of tools (bandsaw, etc). when i got done, doing some basic idea sketching it pretty looked like a heavy duty optical table with arms on two sides.