Editorial pointers

COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM June 2005/Vol. 48, No. 6 5 Senior Editor Andrew Rosenbloom’s annual sojourn to SIGGRAPH always ends with a list of technological gems to editorially explore and ultimately share. Indeed, he’s spent the past year cultivating a select group of articles inspired by the 3D hard copy technologies he’s experienced over several conferences and will be a presence again at SIGGRAPH 2005 (July 31–Aug. 4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center; www.siggraph.org/s2005/index.php). The developing field of 3D hard copy takes a big step beyond 3D on-screen virtual imagery to rapid prototyping systems that make it possible to create a physical prototype, spare part, or scientific models. Such tangible copies are themselves complex visualizations, mathematical forms, sculptures, and industrial components. This section presents many of the pieces of this 3D puzzle, including 3D printing, solid free-form fabrication, 3D layered manufacturing, software challenges, and potential problems protecting proprietary physical designs from being copied and pirated (a part of the story that motivated this month’s cover).