The one I want is about $2,500 (Makerbot Replicator 2).
It uses an additive process. Think of how a hot glue gun works, that's basically what a 3D printer does, heats up a plastic rod and ejects it through a small nozzle. That nozzle is connected to a print head that can move on all three axis (x, y, z). It builds very thin layers of that ejected hot plastic in order to build a part. Like making a a sphere out of LEGOs. Same idea, but at a much higher resolution.
That make sense?
