In last week’s episode of Scorpion on CBS, 3D scanning and printing was at the center of the plot.  In the episode called “Djibouti Call“, the characters used 3D printing to try to take down a group of bad guys by disrupting their funding which came through selling artifacts.  By switching the real thing for a 3D printed fake they could wreck the groups reputation in antiquities and cut off their money.  According to TV equals recap:

It involves sneaking into the basement of a nearby building, scanning an ultra-valuable bowl they have stashed there, and returning to base, where they will use the printer to manufacture a fake, which they will then go back and replace the old one with the fake one and then get the hell out of Dodge.

Although some things like print speed and ease of modifications seemed a bit unrealistic, it’s good to see 3D printing being mainstream enough to be a plot on a popular TV show.