3D printing may have an image problem. It's sometimes seen as a hobbyist pursuit -- a fun way to build knickknacks from your living room desktop -- but a growing number of companies are giving serious thought to the technology to help get new ideas off the ground.
Last week, GeekTech bought you the story of the awesome Lego 3D scanner, which literally bought two-dimensional Lego objects to life. Now, quirky gift company Shapeways has taken it one step further, creating an intricate glass vase that your grandma would be proud of--with a printer. The team used a custom 3D printer to print out the floral shaping of the vase, so the full tech specifications are still slim. However they did use a mould prior to printing and finished up with lead glass enamels.