The world's tiniest 3D printer is smaller than a match

When you think of 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, you tend to think big and fast, like the construction of the world's largest printed neighborhood consisting of 100 homes and the production of a school in Africa in a record 18 hours.

But sometimes in life, you need things to be small and even slow. This video illustrates the world's smallest 3D printer, which is tinier than even a match or a microchip. How can something so small print, you might ask? You have to watch the clip to find out.

We will give you some hints, though. The printer is so small that the material it needs to print its structures has to be added with a needle. Yes, you read that right: a needle. That's how small this 3D printer is.

It takes some time to produce the final form, but the printer finally showcases a tiny figurine of a man. At first, it seems like the printer is not doing much of anything (just going up and down with no end result). But surely enough, after several minutes, the printing head pulls up, and the figurine is introduced. You have to see it to believe it.