In January, the global technology company Hewlett-Packard agreed to sell 3-D printers manufactured by Stratasys. Stratasys has made 3-D printers for years. Last year, it introduced one for less than fifteen thousand dollars.

More companies are using 3-D printing to directly manufacture some products. For example, Freedom of Creation, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, prints furniture and art. Bespoke Innovations in San Francisco, California wants to design and print artificial limbs. Co-founder Scott Summit says these prosthetic limbs can be designed exactly for a patient’s body for less money than existing products.

An assembled Makerbot product

But 3-D printing still has limits. For example, metals are more difficult to print than plastics. However, airplane maker Boeing prints some airplane parts. And printers are being used to create some rare parts for old machines.

For people interested in new technology, a New York based company, Makerbot, sells kits to people who want to build a small 3-D printer. Some kits cost less than one thousand dollars.

And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. For transcripts and MP3s go to voaspecialenglish.com. And follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and iTunes at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.