It's a popular internet joke: the danger of 3d printing is that once you have a 3d printer, you can just print out more 3d printers. This would be a concern to 3d printer manufacturers. But if you've spent some time with 3d printers, you know that this is nowhere close to becoming a reality.
For now.
But you can print parts for a 3d printer and many people have (I've printed out a spool holder for a 3d printer using the same 3d printer). Instructables member redhatman and his roommate were curious about how much of a functional 3d printer could be created using only printed parts. He did this because he and his roommate bought a 3d printer together and had to decide what to do with it when they parted ways. King Solomon was not available to provide a solution, so they resolved to duplicate their printer.
It was successful! Redhatman and his roommate were able to build a 3d printer that successfully prints objects, including this dragon figurine. He suggests eventually developing self-replicating printers, which isn't necessarily just a crazy concept from Star Trek.
Comments (3)
--TwoDragons
I know what MY answer to that question would be! ;-)
--TwoDragons
I can't catch the world as beautiful and wonderful as you do. I would like to, but I can't.
We are part of a chemical chain reaction that started eons ago when RNA was first produced in the primal earth. We are here just because some materials react with others. We follow light, food, sex... And for most of us is so hard to get some or all of those.
We are just worms with a bigger brain and our consciousness is the worst damnation. I simply can't forget I must die, every day, every five minutes I spend iddle I remember I must disappear and never have existed. I would like to belive in god. All I do is keep my hands busy.
This sadness, this fear, this small world, this body, that will bury me and delete the whole universe from existence. This who I am, takes away from me the people I most wanted to be near. Every year is the same year, every day is the same day...
Yes we are that small. I'm that small and I can't smell the roses without remembering it.
I'll admit, I'm a very devout Christian. Perhaps that colors my perception of the world around me, and how even a small thing like myself exists in it. But even before I converted, I always looked at the universe around me and delighted in all its marvels--and felt like an honored guest at the most incredible function in existence. I just can't look at all this, and believe it happened by simple chance.
But that's a debate for another time... ;-)
--TwoDragons
I just work all day.
Enjoy those moments, hon. When they hit two, you'll be really glad for your powers of memory recall... ;-)
Yayo--Work...oof. Did you have to use that awful four-letter-word...? *shudders*
--TwoDragons