Basically it’s a 3d printer that is being prototyped to print more and more of its own parts, I plan on building one this summer when I find a job and save up the ~600$ to build one
Basically it extrudes a thin plastic line into patterns and you can manufacture things out of plastic.
There are what seem to be subtle anticapitalist motivations from some of the people on the project but that isn’t what this is about, and it seems like it would be a fun hobby to get into.
There are also plans in the works to use the Cartesian bot technology to print buildings.
“Self-replicating machine” claim is false. To be self-replicating, it needs to be able to reproduce itself entirely, that is, all its parts without exception.
I have thought there might be a market for rapid turn-around web-request-based automated 3D print prototyping. You submit a design (maybe have a Java applet that can do this right on the webpage) and then wait for a day for it to be fabbed and then shipped to your address. The key is cost. I can imagine a hobbyist who wants a plastic part of very unusual specifications willing to spend $20-$30 for a one-off print. But if the price goes higher than that, you leave the realm of hobbyists and you’re back in the realm of specialists again, in which case, the web-request system doesn’t add much value.
We had a new 3D printer (can’t remember the name of it) in my drafting class. It’s nice for when you are doing 3D modeling and want to see the finished project. Yet, from the looks of what’s on the site, ours was the height of a vending and almost as wide. When I looked up pictures of 3D printing they are showing me what looks to be the size of a fax machine (compared to our industrial sized one).
What’s interesting about this is that in 20 years when they could become affordable to the public, in some way, and if you have the programs like AutoCADD you could make your own prototypes and products from your home.