Hi
I've been looking at fabrication systems, on and off, for the last 20 years. I found out about the RepRap project about 8-9 months ago, and i've been lurking for a while.
It's only now that i have enough money to be able to afford a RepRap machine. Before I build one, I have a number of questions, that fit in two main categories;
- That of dealing with the practical details of building and maintaining a functioning RepRap machine,
and,
- That of the variety of things that we can build with these machines.
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When teaching music through the use of a violin, i found that there were two main limiting factors when my students were learning to play.
- The first was the physical skills that they used when they were playing the violin, which changed the range of sounds that they could consistently produce with the practise that they did.
- The second was the training of the ear so that when they were listening to music, they could hear a greater range of what was possible.
One would constrain how you were able to percieve music, and the other would constrain how you were able to express yourself through music.
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I've been trying to apply this way of understandingsystems to a variety of aspects of my life, not just music.
In the case of the RepRap system, since I haven't had one of these to play with yet, I've been trying to work out what I could use a RepRap system for, and how i could cut my costs so I could afford one. This lead me to think about the energy costs of the whole device, and how i could make this with locally produced items.
So far I've found;
- one ship chandler that has a nice supply of rope work and belting,
- a builder's supply yard that has a large range of nicely seasoned wood, ductwork and made-to-measure copper piping,
- engineering suppliers for;
- iron-working,
- blacksmithing,
- tin-smithing,
- electronics suppliers, for both tools, components, and raw materials,
- and welders who can work up to oil-pipeline grade standards.
While lots of these people can provide the components necessary to build a RepRap system, they are also people who would benefit from the creation of a RepRap system, if we can but make the tools that they need.
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In the same way, if I can make it pay for itself in its normal operation, then one of these machines becomes not a curiosity, but a basic necessity, as it can be used to manufacture the tools that i need to make everything else.
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While I have a vast number of questions about the practical details of getting one of these extrusion systems, I also have questions about the computer systems needed to get one of these machines to function consistently.
The range of materials that we can work, and the physical properties of them is also extremely important, especially if we are to make anything that is going to be used in food production.
I don't want free polymers in my sandwiches, or in the agricultural systems, I'm making to grow my vegetables and farm my fish.
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How much electricity is required to run one of these systems is another question. Power requirements for electrical devices is incredibly important if you use a boat. The battery-based power units can be supplemented by local sub-station drop-down transformers, chemically-fuelled generators, or by local wind generation, but you still need an accurate measure of the power requirements when you're working out how much extra capacity you need.
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Tidal and wave generation would be more efficient, but requires a greater investment in infrastructure to be really effective. With a RepRap system we could create the moulds necessary to shape the ceramics and the concrete that are needed to build them. We'd still need some metal parts, but the local shipyard can handle those.
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Shore Defences to prevent erosion. Use a tough plastic base unit, with locally quarried rock, that's available every time your harbour is dredged. What's the impact limits of the materials you've been using?
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I know of one successful seaweed farmer who used one form of shore defences he was building to alter the amount of seaweed he was growing for his fertiliser. Cut his costs for his fertiliser bill, to 4 days work a year. And note that was physical labour, not having to work to earn money to buy the stuff. Also didn't have to worry about algae blooms in the local environment, as the run-off would just fertilise and feed the next batch of seaweed.
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Manufacturing a basic, but functional, Vertical-Axis-Wind-Turbine is a matter of one day's work, with basic light-industrial scrap
).
The generator takes a little longer, especially if you have to wind your own coils.
Create a battery system that i can print out of plastic, and I can cut my running costs to almost nothing.
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How could we move the RepRap designs that we currently have, up to larger scales of production? Yes, we'd have to tweak the basic control software of the printer head, and the printing platform, but that's just a matter of fine tuning, which you'd have to do anyway when you're building it.
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What's the range of speeds of the possible extrusion rates for the different kinds of plastic?
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I have a whole raft of other questions to ask, but right now I have to work in the morning.
So I'll repeat the original, "Hi, this RepRap thing looks interesting", that i started with when i started this post.
Hope to hear from everyone who can help.
If I can help in any way, please drop me a line.
Bily Smith.