# What could 3D printing look like when the technology reaches maturity

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-3d-printing-look-like-when-the-technology-reaches-maturity/850768>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 31, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-3d-printing-look-like-when-the-technology-reaches-maturity/850768 "2020-03-31T22:18:36Z")\
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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-3d-printing-look-like-when-the-technology-reaches-maturity/850768/24 "2021-03-18T17:18:02Z")

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Sorry, not a common 3 axis printer. As I think about it I realized that no printer may be able to rotate the head and print upside down for that purpose, though I suppose the table could be rotated instead.

So, yes, that looks like a problem for all the conventional techniques unless someone is making the super-duper version that can do that.

Here’s something I saw previously, [Computed Axial Lithography](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computed-axial-lithography/831142). That would be able to print those kinds of shapes, and should only need support structures for shapes contained in other shapes, assuming the shapes could support themselves when completed.

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