The Printer That Prints Itself - The end for the patent?
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Currently the project remains some way short of that holy grail. Bowyer estimates that Darwin can replicate about 60% of itself, and he even extends the Darwinian evolutionary metaphor to this figure. According to the RepRap website, "this is an interesting coincidence: we can make 60% of our proteins." The remaining parts are specifically designed to be cheap and widely available. Once again the whole project is constructed to reduce barriers to entry, supporting Bowyer's contention that he has no desire to gain financially from the project.
"The only sensible thing to do with a self-replicating machine", he says, "is to give it away for free." In another of his many philosophical articles he compares the possible impact of RepRap to that of digital music, suggesting that in time it could be as devastating to the idea of the patent and intellectual copyright as the MP3 and file sharing have been to musical copyright. He argues convincingly that "there is - in reality -- no copyright in recorded music any more," going on to suggest that as the cost of 3D printing falls it will largely replace conventional manufacturing processes in the same way. The outcome? "When everyone can print almost any device or machine the same will happen to the idea of patents as has happened to music copyright."
At this formative stage, the future of the project is difficult to predict. Bowyer suggests that just 100 functioning RepRaps are in existence worldwide so far. However, the project is doing all the right things to lay the groundwork for further development. Alongside its own online retail store, at least two other outlets are dedicated to supplying RepRap parts and raw materials. The project web site carries full and detailed documentation on how to build, configure and commission a RepRap of your own, and the software side of things is also comprehensively documented.
Two lively and well-populated blogs back all this up, one dedicated to build projects while the other hosts more general discussions about more general topics such as electronics, material recycling and software considerations. And underpinning it all is the almost-evangelical belief of the project's founder. If limitless enthusiasm counts for anything, the world domination of RepRap is all but assured.
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