Reproduce yourself with a 3D printer

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers around the potential of 3D printing technology, likening it to a Star Trek replicator. Participants express excitement about future advancements, such as multi-material printing and the possibility of home 3D printers. Concerns are raised regarding piracy and the potential misuse of 3D printing for creating weapons. The conversation also touches on the evolution of 3D printing from industrial applications to consumer use, highlighting the need for open-source components and the implications of self-replicating printers.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of 3D printing technology and its applications
  • Familiarity with materials used in 3D printing, such as plastics and metals
  • Knowledge of intellectual property issues related to digital manufacturing
  • Awareness of the current state of consumer 3D printers and their capabilities
NEXT STEPS
  • Research advancements in multi-material 3D printing technologies
  • Explore the implications of 3D printing on intellectual property and piracy
  • Investigate the development of open-source 3D printing components
  • Learn about the future of 3D printing in home environments and its potential applications
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for technology enthusiasts, 3D printing professionals, product designers, and anyone interested in the future of manufacturing and digital fabrication.

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Probably very very very expensive...
 
but very very cool.
 
Now I want to live at least another hundred years to see what kind of cool things there will be. I'd like to replicate a new computer chair, this one is broken.

Prices will go down, they will be dummie proofed. You'll select what you want from an online catalogue and send the design to your 3D printer.
 
Evo said:
Now I want to live at least another hundred years to see what kind of cool things there will be. I'd like to replicate a new computer chair, this one is broken.
Hm. Then you'll just have a broken chair and an identical copy of a broken chair.

You're going to wait another hundred years to be able produce one that isn't broken.
 
DaveC426913 said:
You're going to wait another hundred years to be able produce one that isn't broken.
 
Isn't it more expensive and time-consuming to wait for technlogy to repruudce a chair when you can just buy one?
 
flyingpig said:
Isn't it more expensive and time-consuming to wait for technlogy to repruudce a chair when you can just buy one?
...said flyingpig, stating the obvious, and completely missing the humour. :biggrin:
 
  • #10
Evo, pink,hot. o:)
 
  • #11
It will be interesting when/if 3D printers jump from workshops to factories and then to the home. One of the problems is the restrictions placed on what the printer can make (essentially everything out of one material). What would be very interesting is if a 3D printer came along that was composed of multiple 3D printers capable of printing different plastics, metal sintering, silicon chip printing etc etc. It would be cool to have a system where you download the product from the store and have it either printed in your house whole or if it is too big made flatpack. An even better modification would be if the materials could be easily recycled by other types of 3D de-printers (I know I'm getting ahead of myself here).

The biggest obstacle I see to this jumping into the home is piracy. No matter how copy-right protected and DRM companies make things there will always be a pirate bay available to get a free copy of a product. There's also the slightly disturbing possibility of it being used to make simple but effective weapons, it would suck if we saw a spate of murders perpetrated by people wielding printed crossbows.
 
  • #12
DaveC426913 said:
...said flyingpig, stating the obvious, and completely missing the humour. :biggrin:

said Dave, completely not realizing flyingpig was intending humour too! :biggrin:
 
  • #13
I_am_learning said:
said Dave, completely not realizing flyingpig was intending humour too! :biggrin:
Strange attempt to humour then...
 
  • #14
Ha, 2 days ago I was watching an episode of Numb3rs and someone made a 3D object of one of the mathematicians using a 3D printer and gave it to her at the end of the show. I didn't think this was possible till now. Some amazing stuff here.
 
  • #15
ryan_m_b said:
The biggest obstacle I see to this jumping into the home is piracy. No matter how copy-right protected and DRM companies make things there will always be a pirate bay available to get a free copy of a product. There's also the slightly disturbing possibility of it being used to make simple but effective weapons, it would suck if we saw a spate of murders perpetrated by people wielding printed crossbows.

eh, crossbows are freely available here, and no strings of murders are popping up. nor using things easy enough to make at home like blowguns.

instead of all the DRM nonsense, it'd be nice to see a ton of open-source components and assemblies. this is something the linux crowd would jump all over.
 
  • #16
Should we worry when the 3D printer can print more 3D printers? Self replication.
 
  • #17
IMP said:
Should we worry when the 3D printer can print more 3D printers? Self replication.
Von Neumann would have been proud...
 
  • #18
IMP said:
Should we worry when the 3D printer can print more 3D printers? Self replication.

No more than when factories can build more factories. Or better yet, when people can print more people...oh wait...
 
  • #19
ryan_m_b said:
Or better yet, when people can print more people...oh wait...

Well yeah, but it takes 15-25 years per cycle...

Though I'm sure Canon could get that down to 4-6 (b&w) people per minute... :biggrin:
 
  • #20
DaveC426913 said:
Well yeah, but it takes 15-25 years per cycle...

Well yes but a breeding pair masses 150kg, it would only take them 1100 - 1800 years to consume the entire mass of the Earth! We must put a stop to this grey goo!
 
  • #21
That would really, really suck if you ran out of toner, ink, flesh halfway through and had to wait two weeks for the rest of your clone.
 
  • #22
ryan_m_b said:
We must put a stop to this grey goo!
:smile:
 
  • #23
wolram said:
Evo, pink,hot. o:)

46.jpg
 
  • #25
  • #26
I think the first time I saw a 3-D printer in use, in effect, was about fifteen years ago. It built the replication out of paper, one layer at a time, by cutting it with a LASER. For the first time, this allowed mechanical designers to send actual 3-D representation files by modem - quite the big deal at the time!

This was a customer of mine, so the basic idea has been in practical use for quite a long time now.
 
  • #27
I think it would be cool if 3D printers could use multiple materials to print a single object in the same way that a regular printer uses multiple colors. I wonder how much the replacement cartriges would cost...
 
  • #28
Math Jeans said:
I think it would be cool if 3D printers could use multiple materials to print a single object in the same way that a regular printer uses multiple colors. I wonder how much the replacement cartriges would cost...
I'm sure that many features will become available in the future, and prices will go down. It will be interesting to see where the technology leads.

Unless it starts making dinner, I can't see one for the home, but maybe a booth in a Walmart.. Just think, you broke one of your grandmother's irreplaceable porcelain plates, and it sent her to the ER in shock. Just replicate it from another one in the set.
 
  • #29
256bits said:
And to satisfy your urges of gluttony
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14030720
What the heck does this mean:
Besides producing 3D chocolate, Dr Hao's team wants to go a step further - and take their printer into cyberspace.

He said the next step would be creating a chocolate-oriented website.
Isn't cyberspace a step backward? The whole point of 3D printing is to make the leap from the digital world to the atomic world.
 
  • #30
DaveC426913 said:
What the heck does this mean:

Isn't cyberspace a step backward? The whole point of 3D printing is to make the leap from the digital world to the atomic world.

custom dessert sculptures could be the biggest thing since having your face inkjetted onto a birthday cake.
 

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