The Matrix Begins
New Scientist Breaking News - 3D printer to churn out copies of itselfBrilliant (doesn't require lasers). And generous:
Now Adrian Bowyer hopes to change that by making the first 3D printer capable of fabricating copies of itself, as well as a wealth of everyday objects. He reasons that prices would plummet to around $500 if every machine was capable of building hundreds more at no cost beyond that of the raw materials.
Better still, the machines could evolve to be more efficient and develop new capabilities, says Bowyer. Once he has the software to guide the self-replicating process, he plans to make it freely available online, allowing users to contribute improvements, just like the open-source Linux computer operating system, he says.
Bowyer dreamt up the idea of the RepRap in February 2004. But now he has he figured out how to print conducting materials in three dimensions without using a laser, a key step if the machine is ever to make copies of itself.
* Ray, 3/18/2005 05:54:00 PM
