While the iPhone 5 still commands the spotlight, the Android smartphone operating system has something that Apple never will: an adorable mascot, the Droid.
The popular little robot figure has inspired plush toys, artwork and key chains. Now 3D Systems, maker of the $1,300 home Cube 3-D printer, is using its technology to let people imagine their own variations and print them as figurines.
Here's how it works. Go to Cubify, the company's site, to create what it calls a Bugdroid. There an unadorned green Android awaits for your design.
A menu lets you choose options like costumes, insignia, poses and colors. You can then drag accessories to the drawing, like a selection of hats, ties or serge ant stripes, or print what you want on it. The company says there are more than eight million possible combinations.
The objects are then made on a $45,000 or $70,000 industrial printer that can achieve much higher resolution than home desktop machines. In 3-D printing, higher resolution means smoother transitions between the thin layers deposited to form the object.
The custom figurines have a slightly rough texture. They are made of a combination of gypsum powder and binder, so if dropped on a hard surface they can break like pottery.
The price of the Android statuettes vary by size. The $30 one is 2.5 inches tall, the $35 is 3 inches, and the $40 is 3.5 inches.
If you lack imagination, or the time, to construct your own figurine, the company provides a library of predesigned figures like graduates and card dealers, 2.25 inches tall, for $22 each.
