3D printing has made rapid prototyping routine, but most printed parts still come off the build plate with support structures that have to be removed, cleaned up, and thrown away. In this week's What We're Watching, designer and TED Fellow Schendy Kernizan has a different approach: printing objects directly inside a tub of gel.

The gel, which Kernizan compares to the consistency of hand sanitizer, holds the material in place as the print nozzle moves through it. Because the gel supports the part from all sides, the nozzle can build in any direction instead of layer by layer from the bottom up, with no support structures to remove afterward. When the print finishes, the part is pulled out of the tub and rinsed under water, and the gel can be reused for the next build.

The video focuses on plastic parts, with applications in medicine, fashion, and space travel. For manufacturers, removing supports means less material waste and less post-processing labor that slows down prototyping. Over time, the technique could make it faster and cheaper to produce prototype parts and molds for fabrication.