I'm sure something like this exists... but not completely sure.

Take a regular inkjet printer, and replace two of the inks with a low-viscosity epoxy resin and slow catalyst.

Now print your 3D object onto regular paper, each sheet being one horizontal slice through the object. Alternate sheets are printed with the resin and the catalyst.

The printed sheets are stacked squarely, and clamped together - the clamping force can be tweaked to reach the correct height by compressing the paper stack slightly. The stack is then left, to allow the catalyst to do its job.

Once fully set, the block of paper is submerged in a tank of water and agitated, until all the non-epoxied paper turns to mush and disperses. Gadulka! Your ultra-high-resolution 3D epoxy object is complete and, as a bonus, you can use the removed paper pulp to do papier maché.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 08 2015

3d paper printer http://www.gizmag.c...r-3d-printer/32903/
Very similar concept, done in multiple steps. [tatterdemalion, Apr 08 2015]

//paper is submerged in a tank of water...all the non-epoxied paper turns to mush..//

sp. "set on fire".
-- FlyingToaster, Apr 08 2015


Played with this idea once several years ago. Put a formula together, printed a little ball, put in in the oven and "cooked" the paper so it could be brushed away. Looked like crap but it was the first try. Then 3d printers got so cheap I dropped the project.
-- doctorremulac3, Apr 08 2015



random, halfbakery