4 ms·

endtwist, totally agree. the reduction of cost to that level would make this ideal for consumer applications too, like toys. Could imagine all sorts of uses for

endtwist, totally agree. the reduction of cost to that level would make this ideal for consumer applications too, like toys. Could imagine all sorts of uses for a tool like this, if it can truly produce parts that cheaply. I think the only other concern would be time. if it takes 10 hours to produce a model that is going to be a barrier.

otoburb 18y ago
10 hours isn't a long time, relative to the amount of effort it would take to produce something similar with other materials or older processes.
- replicatorblog 18y ago
  You are right, I'm just thinking about it in terms of production rather than prototyping. 10 hours is nothing in an engineering office, but if you are trying to produce low price point consumer products, or custom packaging, or something along those lines it becomes cost prohibitive.
  - lallysingh 18y ago
    Please don't use something this wasteful (paper) for production.
    - replicatorblog 18y ago
      Lallysingh, I totally agree with what you are saying, but you need to balance the "wastefulness" with the environmental benefits: Lower embodied energy - With personal fabrication machines more products can be produced locally. This reduces the need for transportation, warehousing, returns, and a great deal of scrap. Solid Waste Management - There is a raging debate in environmental circles regarding the use of paper vs. plastic grocery bags. It turns out paper bags have a number of problems. Their recyclability and biodegradability work in their favor though. These things could be composted or recycled. Plastic items for similar purposes will be in landfills for more than 10,000 years.
      - lallysingh 18y ago
        All very good points. Is there a way to do this without the rest of those sheets of paper going to garbage? Maybe if it glues small rectangles together across instead of a large sheet of paper? Some of this reminds me of some of Stephenson's earlier work with raw material feeds being distributed as we do water, with local fabrication at home in a microwave-sized device.

otoburb 18y ago

10 hours isn't a long time, relative to the amount of effort it would take to produce something similar with other materials or older processes.

replicatorblog 18y ago
You are right, I'm just thinking about it in terms of production rather than prototyping. 10 hours is nothing in an engineering office, but if you are trying to produce low price point consumer products, or custom packaging, or something along those lines it becomes cost prohibitive.
- lallysingh 18y ago
  Please don't use something this wasteful (paper) for production.
  - replicatorblog 18y ago
    Lallysingh, I totally agree with what you are saying, but you need to balance the "wastefulness" with the environmental benefits: Lower embodied energy - With personal fabrication machines more products can be produced locally. This reduces the need for transportation, warehousing, returns, and a great deal of scrap. Solid Waste Management - There is a raging debate in environmental circles regarding the use of paper vs. plastic grocery bags. It turns out paper bags have a number of problems. Their recyclability and biodegradability work in their favor though. These things could be composted or recycled. Plastic items for similar purposes will be in landfills for more than 10,000 years.
    - lallysingh 18y ago
      All very good points. Is there a way to do this without the rest of those sheets of paper going to garbage? Maybe if it glues small rectangles together across instead of a large sheet of paper? Some of this reminds me of some of Stephenson's earlier work with raw material feeds being distributed as we do water, with local fabrication at home in a microwave-sized device.