It's really sad to watch a good idea in its infancy stage before it is taken over. Printers were a good idea, then the ink became almost as expensive as gold is by weight. Currently, an author will have to pay almost $20 U.S. worth of ink to print one copy of a decent length manuscript. Nothing to brag about as a technological accomplishment.
The same will eventually happen with the price of "Plastic" and any other materials used with the RepRap and future machines. The rich will always get richer.
This may be very well truth, however, plastic can be made from scrap plastic and also from wood (bioplastic), that can be grown at home. All the input needed - sun and CO2.
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Will see how this develops. I heard about Rapid Prototyping in my design course 3 years ago. Ever since I have been wondering, how could I acquire one.
It's open source and free, so it can't be taken over. Companies can make it and sell it if they want (and some already do), but they can't stop anyone else (including private individuals) from making it for themselves. And the plastic it uses is polylactic acid, which is made from starch. So anyone who can grow a few plants can have the plastic for free...
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The same will eventually happen with the price of "Plastic" and any other materials used with the RepRap and future machines. The rich will always get richer.
Seriously Sad,
The exiled Edward Francis Rose
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Will see how this develops. I heard about Rapid Prototyping in my design course 3 years ago. Ever since I have been wondering, how could I acquire one.