Justin Young, a fourth-year electrical engineering student, makes his selection to print, and the device starts humming loudly as the extruders dance back and forth across the plate, adding layers of hot plastic in a calculated design.

The 3-D printer, which Young and his fellow students have been using for a little more than a year, can create parts in the exact shape and size that engineers need using a computer program, Young said. Anyone on campus can use it, as long as he or she pays 10 cents per gram of plastic.

After about five minutes, the machine stops, and Young plucks the product off the plate with a pair of small metal tongs. It’s a small, plain gray button. But he explains that it is used in clocks to make them tick.

“When you’re trying to get people to be creative, (using a 3-D printer) is the perfect way to do it,” he said.

So far, the engineers have made a wristwatch, a holder for a camera on a small robot and several other devices for assorted projects.

Eventually, humans may be able to print anything they can think of, but there are still limitations on the process, including the angle, material and resolution of the prints, Young said.

Compiled by Yael Levin, Bruin senior staff.