Replicable project
Introduction
The Project Reprap is a project with the objective of creating a self-replicating machine that can be used for rapid prototyping and manufacturing. A rapid prototyping machine is a 3D printer that is capable of manufacturing three-dimensional objects based on a computer model.
The author of the project describes self-replication as the ability to produce the components necessary to build a copy of itself, this being one of the goals of the project. Self-replication distinguishes the RepRap project from other similar ones such as the one called Fab@home.
Due to the machine's self-replication potential, the creator envisions the possibility of distributing RepRap machines to people and communities, allowing them to create (or download from the Internet) complex products and objects without the need for expensive industrial machinery. Additionally, RepRap demonstrates evolution and growth in large quantities. This gave RepRap the potential to become a disruptive technology, similar to others that have anticipated low-cost manufacturing technologies.
Intentions
The main goal of the RepRap project is to produce an authentic self-replicating device not for the project itself, but to put it in the hands of individuals anywhere on the planet with minimal capital investment. This would allow the development of a "desktop factory system" that would allow anyone to manufacture objects for their daily lives.
The self-replicating nature of RepRap could facilitate the viral dissemination of the printer, in addition to favoring a revolution in the design and manufacturing of products, from the commercial production of articles under patent to the personal scale, based on free licenses. Opening up the ability to design and manufacture products to anyone should greatly reduce the work cycle for product improvements and support a greater diversity of product niches beyond the current production capacity of factories.[1].
From a theoretical point of view, the project attempts to test the following hypothesis "Hypothesis (scientific method)"):
Background
Dr Adrian Bowyer, a professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, was the founder and inventor of RepRap, and leader of the project team.[3] The project uses an additive manufacturing technique, and is available under the GNU General Public License, a free software license, which allows other researchers to work on the same idea and improve it.