Liav Koren hauls his creation onto a table and connects it to
his laptop, taps a few buttons and suddenly the squared-off
metal arch the size of a bar fridge springs to life. With a
mechanical hum, a nozzle affixed to a white metal bar begins
slowly pouring out molten blue plastic as the platform beneath
shifts back and forth, tracing the same path over and over
again. Slowly, the shape of the letter “N” begins to rise from
the platform as the machine pours layer after layer over the
same imprint. Known as the PandaBot, the prototype three-
dimensional printer was built by Panda Robotics, a Toronto-based
startup at which Mr. Koren serves as lead designer. While 3D
printers have existed for years inside research labs, home
workshops and design studios — with price tags ranging well over
$100,000 — companies like Panda Robotics are now looking to
bring 3D printing technology to the masses, a seismic shift in
computing that could change the way we think about manufacturing
and consumer products. The process of 3D