What sci fi settings make use of '3D printers'?
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- OgreBattle
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What sci fi settings make use of '3D printers'?
Well, other than star trek but that seems a little too advanced for what I'm getting at.
But things like this:
http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/0 ... d+printing
But things like this:
http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/0 ... d+printing
They are explicitly insanely expensive items and thus very rarely used for any form of manufacturing, with only the megarich having them, which is like the opposite of the whole promise of 3d printers.
Last edited by Surgo on Thu Aug 09, 2012 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I don't remember them saying they were expensive for that reason, but I can't look it up to confirm or deny at the moment :-/ I will take your word for it I guess. I was always disappointed with Shadowrun 3d printers for that reason though -- they never seemed to think fully about what the implications of having them would be. They were just kind of...there, and never appeared outside of the section that introduced them.
Last edited by Surgo on Thu Aug 09, 2012 3:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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In the chaos of Crash 2.0, a large number of patents and other technical plans were released into the public domain, sold off , or otherwise made available. While most of them were decades old and of no great use, one turned out to hold some great potential: desktop manufacturing, a generic term for a new technology that was becoming popular at the turn of the century, before it was bought and buried by the rising megacorporations in order to preserve their own preeminence in manufacturing.
However, while the megacorps were unable to put the genie back into the bottle, they did manage to stifl e any further growth in this technology, so the current forges made by contract manufacturers (usually just one step ahead of the megacorps) are rather primitive, allowing only the production of very simple parts that are useful in modifying or repairing items, but lack the complexity necessary to make anything but the most basic of whole finished items.
Last edited by sabs on Thu Aug 09, 2012 3:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
In the tv series Eureka, in season 5, episode 10, 11, and 12 they use a printer to print human bodies.
Gary Gygax wrote:The player’s path to role-playing mastery begins with a thorough understanding of the rules of the game
Bigode wrote:I wouldn't normally make that blanket of a suggestion, but you seem to deserve it: scroll through the entire forum, read anything that looks interesting in term of design experience, then come back.
Charles Stross's books tend to use 3-D printing. I can't remember the name, but one uses a "cornucopia machine" that basically makes whatever you want and hijinks ensue when one is dropped onto a planet.
Ian Banks' Culture novels basically use them all by default, but it's not terribly explicit. Culture starships basically can make anything.
The same goes for Alistair Reynolds' books. Starships basically manufacture stuff as a default.
Ian Banks' Culture novels basically use them all by default, but it's not terribly explicit. Culture starships basically can make anything.
The same goes for Alistair Reynolds' books. Starships basically manufacture stuff as a default.
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- Josh_Kablack
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Well as near as I can tell, 3-d Printing is not a more efficient process for mass production.
It's great for rapid prototyping where you make several forms for something and then test them to see which one works best - then you use casting or conventional forging to make a zillion of that one.
And it's great for making one-of-a-kind widgets, where it has a lower skill barrier than sculpting by hand and a massively lower cost barrier than using a CNC Milling Machine
But since we live in a society where common tooling and interchangable parts are the norm from the consumer side and the big profits are in mass producing on the producer side I'm really not sure that 3-d printing is having much of an effect on society at large.
And well, stories about revolutionary new technologies that were ignored outside of hobbyists and niche uses just aren't that compelling.
It's great for rapid prototyping where you make several forms for something and then test them to see which one works best - then you use casting or conventional forging to make a zillion of that one.
And it's great for making one-of-a-kind widgets, where it has a lower skill barrier than sculpting by hand and a massively lower cost barrier than using a CNC Milling Machine
But since we live in a society where common tooling and interchangable parts are the norm from the consumer side and the big profits are in mass producing on the producer side I'm really not sure that 3-d printing is having much of an effect on society at large.
And well, stories about revolutionary new technologies that were ignored outside of hobbyists and niche uses just aren't that compelling.
Last edited by Josh_Kablack on Thu Aug 09, 2012 4:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"But transportation issues are social-justice issues. The toll of bad transit policies and worse infrastructure—trains and buses that don’t run well and badly serve low-income neighborhoods, vehicular traffic that pollutes the environment and endangers the lives of cyclists and pedestrians—is borne disproportionately by black and brown communities."
3-D printing is more efficient whenever storage or time is an issue.Josh_Kablack wrote:Well as near as I can tell, 3-d Printing is not a more efficient process for mass production.
For example, the US Army has been developing a 3-D printing process to make tank parts because waiting months for tank parts to arrive at the front and having to store unused parts is really inefficient.
That being said, most of the potential uses for 3-D printing are in personal production and not mass production. The ability to produce personalized goods like custom equipment is far more exciting than producing a million widgets for sale.
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This is just wild supposition, but I had always sort of assumed the military would be interested in some 3d printers because they have lot of equipment that could remain in service longer if it weren't for the fact that maintaining production on replacement parts for aging tech is a gigantic time and money sink.
Last edited by Whipstitch on Thu Aug 09, 2012 6:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.
If that process is still in development, it's probably more accurate to say "is potentially more efficient" rather than "is more efficient".K wrote: 3-D printing is more efficient whenever storage or time is an issue.
For example, the US Army has been developing a 3-D printing process to make tank parts because waiting months for tank parts to arrive at the front and having to store unused parts is really inefficient.
They've been using three truck-mounted models for two years and are building more, so I'd guess that they find them to be useful because the project is being expanded. They've already printed out 100,000 parts.hogarth wrote:If that process is still in development, it's probably more accurate to say "is potentially more efficient" rather than "is more efficient".K wrote: 3-D printing is more efficient whenever storage or time is an issue.
For example, the US Army has been developing a 3-D printing process to make tank parts because waiting months for tank parts to arrive at the front and having to store unused parts is really inefficient.
Even SOCOM wants their own printer for their specialized equipment needs..
On an unrelated note, I think organ printing is the real revolutionary app for 3-D printing. Scientists have already printed out working bladders and wind pipes and I think livers, so the idea that we'll one day just replace worn-out organs is pretty awesome.
Last edited by K on Thu Aug 09, 2012 6:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
That makes me gain weird images of schoolgirls who print out new bodies for every schoolday to stay hip and fresh in some kind of weird future societyK wrote:On an unrelated note, I think organ printing is the real revolutionary app for 3-D printing. Scientists have already printed out working bladders and wind pipes and I think livers, so the idea that we'll one day just replace worn-out organs is pretty awesome.
Gary Gygax wrote:The player’s path to role-playing mastery begins with a thorough understanding of the rules of the game
Bigode wrote:I wouldn't normally make that blanket of a suggestion, but you seem to deserve it: scroll through the entire forum, read anything that looks interesting in term of design experience, then come back.
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I think that one is Singularity Sky. There's tons of Cory Doctorow maker-stories as well.K wrote:Charles Stross's books tend to use 3-D printing. I can't remember the name, but one uses a "cornucopia machine" that basically makes whatever you want and hijinks ensue when one is dropped onto a planet.
Yup, Singularity Sky. 3d printers are also a driving technology in the near-future universe of Rule 34, and I think you can guess what the application is....erik wrote:I think that one is Singularity Sky.K wrote:Charles Stross's books tend to use 3-D printing. I can't remember the name, but one uses a "cornucopia machine" that basically makes whatever you want and hijinks ensue when one is dropped onto a planet.
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