User:ElectroXen

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Revision as of 11:50, 17 June 2011 by ElectroXen (talk | contribs) (some teaser links: +more)
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I am new to the RepRap scene, having attended a Makerbot workshop at Site3 coLaboratory, in Toronto, on June 9, 2011.

I am very interested to learn about machine-parts manufacture in microgravity environments, for a general purpose orbital factory, especially using selective laser sintering, of common ceramics and metals (eg: pyroxenes, iron, nickel, which not-only are very common on earth, but represent the bulk of material making up most asteroids). Making spacecraft parts from materials found in space would seem to be a really good idea, because lift-costs from earth are so high.

I find the goal of a fully replicable machine very compelling, and am keen to discuss ideas for printed electronics, replicable motors, actuators, sensors, and power supplies. Curiously, printed motors appear to be ideal for servo application.

Some day, in the perhaps not-too-distant future, RepRap will be brought to nano scale. At that scale, parts nearly always exhibit self-assembly. Research appears to be advancing on multiple fronts: a lock-and-key model of the parts, so that the right parts always fit together in exactly the right way; a process of shape change as the parts come together; nano-scaffold, to grow parts onto larger structures; and designer-enzymes.

If you happen to be in Stockholm on June 19-23, 2011, please check the 12th conference of the european ceramic society for me, and tell me how this went.

some teaser links