Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Inception Printer?!?!


Hey guys, you can print a 3D printer with a 3D printer!
WHAT?!?!

Yusuf is right, there is such a thing as a 3D printer that prints another 3D printer. It is part of the open-source project called RepRap. The project, started in 2007, already has thousands of users, but as with many open-source projects it is mainly used by hobbyists making it the Apple I of 3D printers. This project has been good for getting the small-scale 3D printer movement going, but it is not for the faint of heart because the coding is very technical. 

Prusa Mendel, one of RepRap's basic models
Mendel model "parent" with two of its "children"

Since the founding of RepRap there have been many companies that have been founded, or decided to start a project, to develop more consumer friendly 3D printers, but because it is free RepRap still reigns as one of the most used.