Call Sign April 2009 - Page 12 - COULD THIS BE THE MOST INCREDIBLE INVENTION EVER?

Over the weekend I received an email from Call Sign’s Editor asking me what I thought about some groundbreaking new technology he had seen online? He sent me the link to a Jay Leno’s Garage video interview and I have to admit that when I first loaded the page, I thought it was going to be some boring video about American classic car parts. How wrong I was! The video interview introduced me to the Next Engine 3D scanner, an amazing piece of hardware that captures objects in full colour with multi-laser precision. If my memory (that it has to be said isn’t great!) serves me correctly, the idea of being able to replicate an identical copy of an object was first made popular in the old Star Trek episodes. One of the USS Enterprise’s unnamed crew members would place something (an alien object of SMILE An old man was sitting on the tube train. In the next seat was a younger man. The old man noticed that this young chap had a strange kind of shirt collar. Having never seen a priest before, he asked the man: "Excuse me, but why do you have your shirt collar on backwards?" The priest, a bit flustered, still politely answered: "I wear this collar because I am a Father." The old man thought for a second and responded: "I am also a father, but I wear my collar front-ways. Why do you wear your collar so differently?" The priest thought for a minute and answered: "Because I am the father for many." The old man quickly retorted: "I too am the father of many. I have four sons, four daughters and too many grandchildren to count. But I wear my collar like everyone else does. Why do you wear yours that way?" The priest was by now beginning to become slightly exasperated and blurted out: "Sir, I am the father for hundreds and hundreds of people!" The old man was taken aback by this answer and was silent for some time. As he got up to leave the tube train, he leaned over to the priest and whispered: "Mister, maybe it’s your pants you should wear backwards!"	COULD THIS BE THE MOST INCREDIBLE INVENTION EVER? Unlimited spares for the cab trade? Beam me up, Scotty!
	interest or maybe a stun gun perhaps) into a machine which rather resembled a microwave oven, pressed a few buttons and voila! An exact duplicate of said object appeared beside the original. Pure science fiction? Well, as is so often the case, science fiction has once again become science fact! The Next Engine 3D scanner allows the user to take a 3D photocopy of any 3-dimensional object. You simply stand the object on the turntable in front of the scanner and start the scanner up. While the turntable turns the object, the scanner uses multiple simultaneous lasers to generate an accurate 3D computer-based model of the original object. So essentially, what you have at this point is a 3D virtual copy of a physical object (like taking a photocopy or photograph of a 3D object – but the image is also 3D rather than a flat photo). Next, you would need to feed the 3D image from your computer into a Dimension SST Printer – like a cross between an assembly-line tool for manufacturing parts and a printer. What this does is take the computer-generated image and create a physical object out of a resin-like plastic. So what you end up with is an exact replica of the original object you scanned (for example, a plumbers wrench)… only it would be in plastic. By now you’re probably asking – okay, so it sounds cool and all, but what good is it and why would anyone pay so much money for one? Watch the video at http://tinyurl.com/cvnbla and you will see just how useful this is - especially for the licensed taxi industry.	Your taxis are unique and expensive to make, buy and maintain. Some of them are older and I’ve heard of the difficulties some of you face in obtaining spare parts for the cabs. I would imagine (and correct me if I’m wrong) that if one vital component breaks and your taxi is of an older model, the cost of obtaining the part and having it fitted can become prohibitive, so you either end up off the road for some time or having to replace your taxi if the part is no longer available. Neither solution is ideal. All our industry needs is a company that has the scanner, printer and a good machinist and these concerns will become a thing of the past. Just think about it. If you’ve got a cracked vital component of your taxi’s engine, you can simply go visit that company who will take a 3D copy of the damaged component, print out a 3D plastic replica of it (so you can confirm the part is correct) and get their machinist to make a metal version of it. You now have a replacement part that is specifically built for your requirements – at a fraction of the cost! No need for spare parts to be created and stored away, never getting used. This technology can revolutionise the way we operate by providing us with one-off, custom replacement parts – irrespective of the age or availability of said parts! You can see the Next Engine 3D Scanner at www.nextengine.com or the Dimension SST Printer at http://www.dimensionprint-ing.com/3d-printers/3d-printing-sst.aspx. I wonder if we could convince the Board to invest in this technology and have the equipment at Roman Way…what do you think? By the way, well spotted, Ed! Jonathen Winterburn DaC Network Administrator PS: For those reading this on April 1, it is most definitely not an April Fool’s gag… Ed

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