In a world of mass production and faceless automation, the diligence of 14 tabletop 3D printers whirring away in private homes throughout the metro area is a quaint idea.

Perhaps that's why DIY isn't just a marketing tool for the dozens of people that belong to the Portland 3D Printing Lab Meetup group. The fact that they can make prosthetics, a 3D representation of an actual person's heart or simply a cool piece of art is a matter of "why not?" and not what for?

Most of the members are hobbyists. They geek out on these tabletop 3D printers, going as far as building their own 3D printers with a 3D printer. But the applications are endless.

Their latest "why not" project is half a life-sized cow, made of 99 pieces printed on 14 separate 3D printers representing 700 hours of printing. It's in collaboration with Urban Farmer restaurant, who will add an interactive, multimedia component and display the cow in their front window, showcasing the different anatomy of the various meat cuts.

Matt Christianson, Executive Chef at Urban Farmer, says he and General Manager Jeff Brown see this as a natural extension of their push to advance food technology.

"How do we take our food systems to the next level?" Christianson explains. "We don't just work with ranchers, farmers and guests, but with technologists."

The cow represents the intersection of art and science according to Shashi Jain, the organizer of the 3D printing Meetup group.

3D printer users aren't overly philosophical, they just do. Art is about creating and 3D printers are a futuristic tool accessible to people who have a few hundred dollars. Someone who might not have an artistic bone in their body or lacks an engineering degree can still create intricate, beautiful objects with these printers.

Campaigns such as the prosthetic-building enablingthefuture.org or a young boy's desire to help his grandmother see the world show that 3D printers are putting control in the hands of the masses, cutting costs and barriers.

All you need is an idea, and this Meetup group has plenty, says Jain.

"We have maybe 10 minutes of operational talk at meetings, then the rest is 'we could do this, we could do that.'"

He goes on to talk about one day working with edible materials on the 3D printer, such as marzipan, pasta or chocolate.

"Yes, we should try it," Jain emphasizes. "Pushing boundaries...asking why not instead of why."

"We found kindred spirits with Urban Farmer. They appreciate what we are doing and we appreciate what they are doing. Let the imagination run wild for a little bit."

Paul Consani, all of 11-years-old, was on hand recently to help assemble those 99 printed blocks of white, recyclable/compostable plastic material into the cow relief. Consani, with the blessing and financial support of his father, took a class at Hedron that provides a kit and instruction on how to build your own 3D printer.

Jain thinks that is right in line with 3D printers' ethos.

"The desire to see things and not see barriers," he says, still amazed at Consani's youth.

Another Portland 3D Printing Lab member, Rose Moore, appreciates the instant gratification of these printers.

"It's way more affordable, $20-30 per roll of material, AND it's ready in a few hours."

Moore, an artist with a degree in game design, was tired of waiting six weeks for turnaround while using an east coast 3D printing lab for her own projects. So, her partner Ben Grove built her a 3D printer by watching YouTube videos and helping a friend build theirs. Now, with her CAD background, she can turn her drawings into jewelry and have something in her hands that day.

Moore donated her time, everyday for two months, to design the #crowdcow collaboration, using 3D modeling software to virtually sculpt the specific breed of cow that Urban Farmer sources.

The excitement of having something come together for the first time is always rewarding no matter what the medium.

"It's cool to see it come alive," she says.

--Stephanie Yao Long

syao@oregonian.com

@stephyaolong