The stone industry might only just be acclimatising to CNC robots and waterjet cutters, but an architect in London has now established a company using 4m x 4m x 2m 3D computer printers to produce bespoke 'stone' products in just about any shape required.

3D computer printers were in the news earlier in the year for being able to print out serviceable and undetectable hand guns. Now, it seems they can even reproduce 'stone' – or at least some version of engineered stone.

Exactly what the mixture used to make the 'stone' is remains a secret, although Sam Welham, an architect who has established a company in London called D-Shape to sell the stone element manufacturing services of a German-made Voxeljet printer, says the stone is created in a similar way to the way nature makes sedimentary stone – only quicker… obviously, as nature's products are normally millions of years old.

Sam says the printer currently is too low a resolution to produce fine masonry work. It builds up the finished product in layers of 10-30mm thick. He also says it is too slow to be commercially viable for most work yet, although a piece has been produced for an unusal shopfitting in London.

There is more about this and other trends in natural and engineered stone in the August issue of Natural Stone Specialist magazine.