Surgeons in Britain’s Morriston Hospital were faced with a tough problem when a man’s face was severely deformed in a bicycle accident. While one part of his face remained normal, the other was crushed. They are now planning to go in on a surgery they say will fix 70 to 80 percent of the deformity.

A 3-D printer, a machine that was put into production in the 1980’s, is going to be the main tool in this operation. The machine uses a model that is created on the computer, then with the calculations, cuts and shapes plastic until the item is fully constructed.

For this particular case, surgeons scanned the untouched side of the patients face and modeled that on a computer. They created implants from medical-grade titanium that fit the patients face to a T and plan that soon they will start the procedure.

“Effectively, we have done the surgery in virtual reality so that we can mirror this in real life,” lead surgeon on the case, Adrian Sugar, told the Dailymail. “You cannot make a mistake on a face.’

In recent years, there have been a slew of advances made using the 3-D printers. The machines have helped archeologists reconstruct an old dinosaur fossil. Some printers have even been used to help create food out of fresh ingredients.

Companies are getting in on the action too. Motorola Mobility, a telecommunication corporation, has teamed up with a 3-D printing firm to work on Project Ara. The project hopes to produce phones with pieces that are removable, like cameras and displays. It would allow consumers easy customization and upgrades.

While 3-D printers have so far beneficial rather than harmful, some authorities still have their concerns. Last year, a Texan firearm dealer uploaded a video and blueprints on how to create a usable gun on a 3-D printer. This has caused some serious concern over security risks. Such a gun would be able to go through metal detectors and bypass security and if not made with the right type of plastic, the gun will shatter after only one shot.

There are some companies which are focusing on making 3-D printing machines more readily available for the common public, which may cause a rise in a use of plastic guns. For now, with the machines needed to properly make these guns ranging in 100,000 price range, there has not been one case in the U.S with someone using a plastic gun against another.

Surgeons at Morriston Hospital are planning to perform the surgery in a couple of months and hope the reconstruction on his face will help him live a full life. For now, 3-D printers offer up a world of possibility, to not only the professional, but to the everyday individual and will continue to progress into the future.