August 23rd 2006 The Herald Journal, Techno Section 3D Imagination by Jasmine Michaelson A computer printer that prints in 3D? It's not sci-fi, and a local designer is hoping this new technology will have a market in Cache Valley When Quin Checketts tells people he's invested in a 3D printer, they often brush it aside, assuming that can't mean what it sounds like it means.  Seriously - a computer printer that produces solid three-dimensional objects?  Isn't that a little "Star Trek"? But when they see his Z Corp Spectrum Z510 3D Printer and what it can do, their "jaws drop." "People don't make the connections that it creates a three-dimensional object," Checketts said. Turns out, a 3D printer does pretty much what it sounds like it would do: It converts an image on a computer screen into a real, solid object with height, width and depth. The process starts with a 3D CAD (or computer-aided design) drawing that is sent to the printer, which is a 450-pound white machine with color cartridges, like a standard inkjet printer - one for white, one for magenta, one for yellow and one for cyan.  But instead of straight ink, they're filled with a colored liquid adhesive.  Inside the printer is a 10-12 inch-deep tray filled with fine white plaster powder, finer than flour.  The adhesive is selectively applied to the powder by the printhead in horizontal cross-sections that are about the width of a human hair (4 thousandths of an inch).  Wherever the adhesive and the powder combine, they bond into a solid.  The process can take up to 15 hours or can be as quick as 30 minutes depending on the size and detail of the project.  When it is finished, Checketts gently digs and brushes through the powder to uncover the printed object. "It makes me feel like an archaeologist,” he said with a laugh last week as he demonstrated the process. Checketts calls the full-color objects the 3D printer produces "communications tools." "This is a big shortcut to the final design," he said. Occasionally the objects can be functioning on their own, or can be "reverse engineered" (used to create a mold from which a final product can be created).  But mostly, their purpose is to turn an idea into a concrete, full-color prototype that can be shown to investors, brought to trade shows or used to more effectively explain how something works.  Or it can just be used to fine tune the designing process. "This bridges the design and the final product," he said. Checketts knows the value of this from firsthand experience.  As a CAD designer from the Logan-based thrill ride company S & S Power, Inc., he frequently has to prototype ride parts, like arm rests or hand grips. "You don't really know how they'll work until you feel it," he said. But having parts machined is expensive and time-consuming, especially when all you really want is to see how it'll fit in your hand. "With (a 3D pinter) you can use it the next day," Checketts said. Betting that others would see the value in having color 3D prototypes and models, Checketts decided earlier this summer to purchase a $75,000 Z Corp Spectrum Z510 3D Printer and form a business, Q Dimension, out of creating 3D printouts for customers.  In addition to the models themselves, Q Dimension will also offer design consultation, reverse engineering and drafting.  Checketts estimates most projects will cost customers between $50 and $2,000 depending on size and detail. "The printing materials are pretty costly," he said. But as the owner of the first 3D printer available to the public in Cache Valley, and one of only a handful in the state, he feels confident that the new (only a year and a half old) technology will make an impact. One area Checketts sees the idea of 3D printing really taking off is in architecture, where being able to create a color, scale model of a project overnight could be invaluable.  But the applications, he says, are really limitless.  Among the objects already in Checketts' portfolio are a detailed bust of his daughter and an interior designer's entire furniture line in miniature (so she could ship them to trade shows more easily). "This can achieve shapes and details even a machinist can't," Checketts said.  "This can do everything you can imagine as long as you can create in on a computer." Q Dimension is located at 350 W. 2500 North Ste. 2 in North Logan.  For more information, contact Quin Checketts at 435-753-0188 or qchecketts@lookfortheq.com. On the Net: Q Dimension http://www.lookfortheq.com/ Z Corp http://www.zcorp.com/