RepRap – The Movie

I can just see the movie trailer now…  Picture a team of scientists in full body biohazard suits commenting on the development of the Mendel after the Darwin.

  • Dr. Buxom: “But, professor…  it’s mutated.  I’ve never seen anything like it.”
  • Professor McSternly: <grimly >”I have.”
  • Dr. Buxom: <now breathless> “Professor!  This is amazing!  Where?!”
  • Professor McSternly: “And you have too.” <stabs at a minority report style globe/map of the world>
  • Dr. Buxom: <puzzled> “I don’t understand…  North Africa?”
  • Professor McSternly: “Not just North Africa…”  <looks into camera>  “Egypt.” <cue music BUM BUM BUM!  Takes off glasses.>  “The pyramids.”  <BUM BUM BUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!>

Oh jeez…  Did I just write the first RepRap fanfic?

Take two of these and call me in the morning

There’s now both a RepRapMap and a MakerBot Map.  In a very small way the MakerBot Map is slightly more interesting.  Since each MakerBot is numbered and we can check the numbers against the batch numbers, it’s possible to get a rough idea of the growth of this type of RepStrap.

Now, if both maps had each ‘bot labeled with it’s date of first operation (date of birth?) we could watch the viral progression of the project. 1  Or, would it be more interesting to see the date a RepStrap first made a set of RepRap parts?

Either way…  infectious ideas defy innoculation!!!

  1. The NY Times had a really great Outbreak style map that you could push back and forth through time, but I can’t find it right now. [↩]

If wishes were fishes…

…we’d all cast nets.

There certainly seems to be enough people wishing for RepRap/RepStrap parts.  RepRap forums, MakerBot Facebook  page, and various other forums/pages have a lot of posts from people asking for RepRap parts or expressing a desire for the fundage for parts or kits or promising some sort of exchange of goods (at least one offer of “services”) for parts/kits.

I wonder how many people out there want a set of Mendel parts.  I also wonder how many people out there want sets of electronics.  Now I wonder just how many RepStraps there would be in the world today if everyone who wanted one had one…

Seems like only yesterday

While searching up a link to the eD’s first sketch for the Mendel I realized that post is about a year and a half old.  That made me wonder how long I’ve been interested in the RepRap projected.  I first read about it in a SlashDot article back in April 2008.  I remember thinking that a DIY level 3d printer was just a fantasy.

Now, I’ve got one sitting in the next room and objected printed with it all throughout my home.  (Several window latches, a sugar packet holder, various little toys, etc).

What’s even funnier is realizing that I’ve been boring my friends and family with RepRap talk for more than a year and a half as I enthusiastically gushed about the possibilities of printing ANYTHING on a homemade printer than can make copies of itself.

RepRaps in the wild

When I hear about Darwins, Mendels, and Makerbots “in the wild,” I always picture these robots as if they were deer roaming about on the plains, carefree, feeding and migrating with the changes in seasons.  Frolicking in the sun, relaxing next to a lagoon, and hunting for roots and grubs.

Then I think about them in a “RepRaps Gone Wild” video – partying on a yacht, heedless to the shame they will heap upon their families and the permanence of digital media. 1

  1. Oh my god…  it’s, it’s, it’s…  replicating… right there in the street…  Ew…  It’s so horrible I can’t look away! [↩]

Enney Meaney

It occurred to me today that a lot of people are using their RepStraps to build Mendel parts.  Then I wondered, “How many Mendels are in operation now, anyhow?”

I would guess a dozen or so – with far more on the way.  What I find interesting is the seemingly large proliferation of Mendels (or, at the very least, blogs about Mendel parts and construction) versus the dissemination of Darwins within the prior year.

If this is the case (and I really have no evidence of this, just my impressions), is it something about the RepRap project that has suddenly taken hold?  Something about the Mendel over the Darwin?  Is it the increased RepRap documentation, more YouTube/Vimeo videos?  Is it the availability of parts on eBay, plastic/resin parts from molds, or something else?  Is it MakerBot?  Thingiverse?  Facebook, Twitter, MakerFaires, or MakerTweetBook?  More mainstream coverage in the media?  Was is health care reform, killer bees, or the loss of the Mars rover?  Is it subliminal messages embedded in the MakerBot website?  Have we been plugged into the Matrix?!?!

I know someone is going to say “a combination of these things” – but really, if you had to pick one thing, what would you say it is? 1

  1. P.S. I’m voting for the killer bees. [↩]

Fair wages for Robots!

Several hours ago I posted about two eBay auctions for full sets of Mendel printed parts.  I just checked on them to check out where the two auctions ended.  One ended at $446 (actually, at 330 Euros, for a seller located in Ireland) and the other at $455 (seller located in Ohio).

Why, then, would an auction just two days ago go for $630 (rather, 420 pounds)?  A sale at 420 pounds implies someone else was willing to bid 415 pounds.  I’m guessing it’s a combination of factors that went into a $600+ sale – perhaps because the English really want RepRaps, people wanted to support Adrian Bowyer, anyone who bought RepRap parts from Adrian himself can basically be assured they’re getting quality parts.

This tells me $450 seems to be the going rate for a set of Mendel parts (for now).  This raises an interesting conundrum.  Will the prices go up as more people become interested in RepRap?  Will the prices go down as people start printing and making available more RepRap parts?

Either way, suppose the going rate is $450 for 60 ‘bot hours.  That’s $7.50 an hour.  This is less than the minimum wage in California!1  This means if human help is required at all in the production of RepRap parts, the entire process is taking longer than 60 hours and the hourly rate is even lower than $7.50/hour!

I’m not saying RepRap parts should cost more.  I’m just saying I was really getting used to the idea of a gnome sitting in my living room earning above minimum wage while I slept.

Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to take solace in running a robot sweat shop.

  1. $8/hour right now [↩]

Optimal RepRap sizes

To my thinking there’s basically two optimal RepRap sizes (in terms of build area):

  • A small RepRap with a build area just large enough to replicate it’s largest part, one at a time
  • A large RepRap with a build area large enough to print all of it’s own parts in a single print job

Random tangent:  wouldn’t it be cool if all RepRaps came with the designs for their own printed parts already on board?  Just fire it up for the first time, calibrate, and start printing replacement parts.  (I realize this isn’t quite feasible – in order to be ready-printable the files would need to be in S3G format and the machine would have to run the STL’s through it’s own Skeinforge settings).