As 3D printers become more and more accessible to a consumer audience, one question lingers above the rest: why? Granted, they’re incredibly cool, but what, if any, are the practical implication of such a technology? For the most part, the great ambassadors of 3D printing have largely been printable toys — cool, but not particularly useful. The question, as posed by John Mabry reads as follows, “What if printed prototypes could become actual products? Meaning, once off the print bed an object could be assembled without any tools and be made functional by readily attainable components.” Read the full story at Engadget.