Walk-up 3D print kiosk for on-demand retail fabrication
This patent describes a self-contained kiosk that houses one or more 3D printers inside a secure enclosure. A customer interacts with an interface to select or submit a design, the printer builds the object layer by layer, and a mechanical arm removes the finished part and deposits it into a secure pickup compartment. The customer retrieves their printed item from that compartment without ever accessing the printer itself. It is essentially an ATM or vending machine, but instead of dispensing a pre-stocked product, it manufactures one on demand.
What you could build
A publicly installed 3D print kiosk placed in retail stores, airports, libraries, or university campuses where customers pay to have custom or catalog objects printed on the spot; buyers would be retail chains, campus facility operators, or franchise entrepreneurs seeking a low-labor revenue-generating machine.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia's large university system, military base retail facilities (PXs), and suburban retail corridors are plausible placement sites; distributors or kiosk operators serving those venues would be the relevant local buyers.
Readiness: Prototype likely
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Christopher B. Williams, Amelia M. Elliott, David Lee McCarthy, Nicholas Alexander Meisel
- Granted
- August 16, 2016
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 9418503
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.