Asking for “3d printable starship Enterprise,” for example ... at least for engineering purposes. Unlike a visual image, most 3D models need to be exact and have interfaces to other things.

A new, easily adopted, 3D-printed device will enable scientists to create models of human tissue with even greater control ...

“If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then a model is worth 1,000 pictures ... surgeon Erle Austin found a way, via a savvy engineering team with a MakerBot 3d printer, to save the child ...