[ExI] 3d printers for sale

[Anders Sandberg]

On 26/08/2012 18:03, Adrian Tymes wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 6:25 AM, Charlie Stross
> <charlie.stross at gmail.com> wrote:
>> There's more than one way to build a 3D printer, and I suspect our first fully self-reproducing ones will actually consist of a whole bunch of specialised printing tools that each have different tasks.
> Agreed.  Rather than a single omnitool (which most 3D printers
> seem to be modeled on), a more viable approach might better
> resemble a miniature automated machine shop, similar to the
> approach used to make a CNC lathe.

I wonder about the pricetag. The nice thing about current 3D 
manufacturing devices is that they can do a lot of things with no need 
to add multiple heads, which keeps complexity down a lot. Adding 
multiple tooltips sounds like it would not just baloon the complexity of 
control, but also require a lot of tool-tool interaction. Laser cutters 
do not play well with heated foundations for squirting plastics.

> Alternately, accept oversized components in the 3D printer so
> that the 3D printer can print them.  If the central processor is
> a conductive-ink-on-paper thing half a meter on a side, rather
> than a thumbnail-sized silicon-and-wires chip - can it still
> handle the computational load at reasonable speeds?  If so,
> then fine, the 3D printer itself is less portable, but mobility is
> not its primary function.  Those and the motors seem to be the
> elements that 3D printers have the most trouble printing.

There are economies of scale that I suspect will beat 3D printers on a 
lot of domains. They are good for unique goods or ones where 
manufacturing time is of little issue: they rely on cheap high-precision 
stepping motors that are likely best made in large batches by a 
specialised factory. Or maybe a device that can be 3D printed to make 
them? Full closure doesn't need to imply that the replicator does 
everything within itself, it might make symbiotic machines that make 
special parts for it. A bit like an insect queen (general assembler) and 
the different castes (specialized in providing particular parts).


-- 
Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Faculty of Philosophy
Oxford University