Very cool, NASA is using 3D printers to “print” metal rocket parts.

“Basically, this machine takes metal powder and uses a high-energy laser to melt it in a designed pattern,” says Ken Cooper, advanced manufacturing team lead at the Marshall Center. “The laser will layer the melted dust to fuse whatever part we need from the ground up, creating intricate designs. The process produces parts with complex geometries and precise mechanical properties from a three-dimensional computer-aided design.”