US toy and robotics firm WobbleWorks LLC has invented a 3D printing pen – dubbed the 3Doodler – which allows the users to draw in the air and converts their doodles into three-dimensional (3D) objects.

The 3Doodler – which uses the same ABS plastic that is used in most of the 3D printers – looks like a cross between a big-sized pen and a soldering iron. The device is capable of melting coloured plastic, which then flows from its nib end. An in-built fan cools the melted plastic almost immediately; thereby enabling the user to create 3D pictures or structures.

In a video showing the working of the 3Doodler, WobbleWorks has revealed that the pen can be used to make a wide array of objects, ranging from basic objects such as a coiled spring, to more complex things like a small house with smoke coming out from its chimney.

For creating 3D objects using the 3Doodler – which has been developed by WobbleWorks co-founders Peter Dilworth and Max Bogue -, plastics of different colours can be used; and multi-colour designs can be created by reloading the pen.

Noting that the 3Doodler pen can be used by anyone who can "scribble, trace or wave a finger in the air," WobbleWorks said that the pen is a “fun” and “affordable” 3D printing device which can be “used within minutes, without needing any technical knowledge, software or computers.”