Enrico Dini is not a cautious man. In 2005, the Italian adapted a piece of machinery from the shoe factory he worked in and made it print a robotic arm out of sand and resin. Buoyed by his success, the inventor realised that a machine with the ability to print stone objects could have a transformative effect on the housing industry, and started drawing up plans for the world's first industrial-sized 3D printer. Soon after that, he left his lucrative job in Rome, remortgaged his house and stepped into the unknown.

"When I realised that this project should be my life project I sacrificed everything," says Dini, 54. "I left my well-paid job then, because of debt, I ruined my relationship with my wife [who he later divorced] and that meant spending less time with my son. Then I had to sell my family apartment and I now have nothing left, I am really poor.

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Source: http://www.scmp.com/