The Pirate Bay Offers Downloads of Physical Objects

If The Pirate Bay has its way, users in the future will be able to get any physical item they want — such as car parts, shoes or even their lunch — by simply clicking their computer's print button.

The controversial Swedish file-sharing Web site this week began offering a new category of downloads called "physibles," or data files that deliver real, physical objects to anyone with a 3D printer. The site currently has a dozen physibles available for download, including a 3-dimensional model of a 1970 Chevelle Hot Rod, a whistle and a "tabletop wargaming robot model" (pictured above).

"We believe that the next step in copying will be made from digital form into physical form," a blog post at The Pirate Bay states. "We believe that in the nearby future you will print your spare sparts for your vehicles. You will download your sneakers within 20 years."

The site said it was considering temporarily renaming itself "The Product Bay," but added "we had no graphical artist around to make a logo. In the future, we'll download one."

is still in its infancy, though there has been an explosion in the variety and use of such devices, largely spearheaded by startups and DIYers, with some big companies like HP starting to get involved. 3D printers can be used to build physical objects from scratch—or rather, from a 3D file—out of a variety of materials, including plastic, metal, ceramic, or glass and even and even foodstuffs like cheese, icing, and chocolate. The material is laid down, layer by layer, to form the physical item.

HP, in partnership with Stratasys, has introduced color and monochrome Designjet 3D printers priced at approximately $17,500. The past couple of years have also seen the appearance of more affordable 3D printers, such as the , which retails for $1,749 and can make shower curtains, rings, bath plugs, door knobs and more.

Meanwhile, The Pirate Bay, which was founded in 2003 and boasts 32 million users, is known as one of the largest enablers of illegal downloading in the world. The site and its creators have faced a myriad of legal troubles over the years. Earlier this month, a Dutch court two Internet service providers in the Netherlands block customers from accessing the file-sharing site.