A 3D printer

A more generalized consumer certainly could use a 3D printer like the Replicator, or 3D Systems' more affordable Cube. You could make holiday ornaments for your entire office. You could print out 100 toothpicks topped with a tiny bust of your spouse for a birthday party. If your child loses a key Lego piece, just print out a new one.

One barrier to wider adoption might be price. The fully-featured Replicator, the model with dual extruders for printing two-color objects, costs $2,000. The monocolor Cube costs $1,300. Spools of ABS plastic, the printers' chief consumable, go for $50. Those figures aren't entirely out of reach, but they do put 3D printing out of Wal-mart.