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> flying car... Flying cars have always been bogus. Why spend much more energy on hovering a little above the ground, when we already have a well developed lan

by polshaw 14y ago

> flying car... Flying cars have always been bogus. Why spend much more energy on hovering a little above the ground, when we already have a well developed land-road network?? And if you want to get from A to B without the road network.. well, we have had flying vehicles to do that for a long time. The fact that, say, a helicopter doesn't meet the criteria for a flying car almost implicitly recognises that travelling along the ground is, at least some times, preferable. As for 3D printing, it is going to have growing pains (anything with moving parts is going to require assembly, at least for the forseeable future), but it will surely go far.

nooneelse 14y ago
> (anything with moving parts is going to require assembly, at least for the forseeable future) I don't understand this statement, unless you count brushing/rinsing off, and tapping with a hammer as "assembly" (which is a rather wide definition), then it doesn't seem true. Gears can be printed on their axles and with their teeth already inter-meshed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eojAdYMT0g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eojAdYMT0g. Ball bearings can be printed with the balls inside: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7h09dTVkdw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7h09dTVkdw. Hinges can be printed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xr-H4dH71k http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xr-H4dH71k. Interlocked chain-mail can be printed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys8v1UqOBl0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys8v1UqOBl0. Using those as elements in larger designs seems to allow for things with moving parts to me.