3D printer at Cornell University produces fully functional speaker

The issue with have a really awesome stereo system is that they're expensive as all get-out...hence the cultural divide between people with really nice stereo systems and people with Xbox One. However, researchers at Cornell University have had a success that may make owning both of the aforementioned options a more realistic option for those with similar salaries to us: They managed to construct a speaker with a 3D printer.

Our first guess is that the quality of the speaker isn't exactly Bose-level, based on the fact that the researchers' report doesn't boastingly indicate the tech specs, but we do know that the device is in fact functional. The product's body, conductive coil and magnet were all spun by the 3D printer. The speaker wire was attached later.

It may not sound especially exciting to those who have seen what a 3D printer can do, but this accomplishment marks one of the few times that a functional electronic product has been created using the technology.

The two graduate students involved with the product, Apoorva Kiran and Robert MacCurdy, were using home cooking on the project. The Fab@Home 3D printer used to create the speaker was developed by Kiran.

Don't get too excited yet. Most of the 3D printers currently available on the market don't have the capability to print using different materials, such as plastic AND copper, and those that do are going to cost you well more than $100,000. So for now, I guess our best bet is to just save up for the stereo system.