RepRap – the DIY, Open-Source Fabricator achieves self-replication!
From the RepRap site:
RepRap achieved self-replication at 14:00 hours UTC on 29 May 2008 at Bath University in the UK. The machine that did it – RepRap Version 1.0 “Darwin” – can be built now – see the Make RepRap Darwin link there or on the left, and for ways to get the bits and pieces you need, see the Obtaining Parts link.
This is neat-o! A key step forward for the Future. Generation One of the People’s Fabricator has arrived!
Now to improve upon it, and distribute the means of production world-wide.
Oh, sorry, should I knock-off the Neo-Marxism, and tell you more about this beauty?
RepRap is short for Replicating Rapid-prototyper. It is the practical self-copying 3D printer shown on the right – a self-replicating machine. This 3D printer builds the component up in layers of plastic. This technology already exists, but the cheapest commercial machine would cost you about €30,000. And it isn’t even designed so that it can make itself. So what the RepRap team are doing is to develop and to give away the designs for a much cheaper machine with the novel capability of being able to self-copy (material costs are about €400). That way it’s accessible to small communities in the developing world as well as individuals in the developed world. Following the principles of the Free Software Movement we are distributing the RepRap machine at no cost to everyone under the GNU General Public Licence. So, if you have a RepRap machine, you can make another and give it to a friend…
From here, it will continue to get more and more interesting! Excellent work RepRap!!!
via mech_angel
WANT!
It looks like I’ve got all the technical know-how to build this, though I’ll have to do it in bits as €400 is a bit more than I can afford all in one go. Imagine though, with one of these every time some flimsy plastic thing breaks in a crucial stress-point where superglue just wouldn’t cut it (I can think of half a dozen things I’ve broken in the past couple of years like this, like sunglasses arms and the cheapo security-thingy for my car stereo…) you could just fab up another one. So gonna start this this summer….
FEED ME!
If you’re interested in following the news on 3D Printing and digital fabrication, you might consider reading our blog at Fabbaloo or http://fabbaloo.com
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