Nick Wedoff and I have been talking for a while about Rapid Prototyping equipment. Sometimes called "3d Printers," rapid prototypers are devices that can "print" a 3d object using plastics.
Normally, these machines are in the realm of impossibility for education, since entry level models start at $15,000. However, a new company has released a statement saying that they will be releasing an extremely cheap 3D printer, to the tune of about $5,000. That is much more plausible.
These are amazing for engineering, when we can draw something and then "print" it in 3D to see how the pieces fit together. We had a chance to borrow one a few years ago, and the projects the kids turned out were incredible. There was a custom fishing reel that a student had drawn, and all the pieces were printed and fit together perfectly.
Here are some pictures of things made on a rapid-prototyping machine.
Another:
From design...
To Reality:
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