I have begun to build a
Reprap, along with several other people from the San Diego
Hackerspace (Don't look at me like that,
go educate yourself on the real meaning of
hacker.), and I plan to blog the process. But first, what is a Reprap?
A Reprap is an
open source,
3D fabrication machine. If you are familiar with the
Schlockverse, think of it as a primitive fabber. If you know about Star Trek, think of is as very (!) primitive
replicator.
If you somehow are not familiar with ether of those references, I will describe a Reprap for you. In essence, a Reprap is a personal, printer sized machine capable of "printing" plastic objects.
They can make everything from the practical to the complicated to the whimsical. (Images from
Thingiverse.com)
 |
| Practical |
 |
| Complicated | |
 |
| Whimsical |
There are many commercial 3D printers on the market, but the "cheap" ones tend to run in the $25,000 range. A Reprap on the other hand should cost me under $500. While it's true that the print quality is not as fine as a commercial machine would produce, a Reprap is a clear winner in the affordability department.
