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Pop!Casts: Adrian Bowyer

Pop!Casts:

A machine that builds itself? Adrian Bowyer, leading researcher at the University of Bath, shows us that this seemingly fantastic idea is not far from becoming reality. The self-replicating rapid prototyper, or “RepRap,” could have dramatic effects on people in developing countries.

(Via The Pirates Dilemma.)

The thought of being able to take any design, and automatically cottage-industry manufacture it for the cost of materials & time feels unbelievably transformative. The possibility of bootstrapping this with a self-replicating machine…

I wonder if IKEA will be the first people to figure out how to let us print out their product at home… though being able to reprint a replacement screw/gasket/washer even if I have to run to the hardware store would be sweet.