Need a prototype of a new invention? Wondering how you are going to get a part to that old lock custom made? Fab@Home to the rescue! This project is dedicated to making home ‘fabbers’ - machines that can make almost anything right on your desktop.

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1. If you find fab@home impressive you might also want to take at look at the RepRap project out of the University of Bath in the UK…

   http://reprap.org

   Their soon-to-be released machine is also open source, has a proper plastics extruder presently qualified for polycapralactone which can make usuable, hard objects. Whereas the fab@home machine costs $2,400 for parts, the RepRap Darwin is on track to cost no more than $400.

   A spinoff of the RepRap project, Tommelise, is focussed on the American parts environment and uses somewhat different technology and a different control strategy. It’s open source specification will let anybody with a few hand tools and primitive woodworking skills bootstrap themselves into 3D fabrication for about $150. Tommelise’s extruder is qualified for polycapralactone and is presently being qualified as well for both high density polypropylene (HDPE, the stuff your plastic cutting board is made of) and polypropylene (HPP, the stuff your coffee maker and plastic electric kettle is made of). You can keep an eye on the Tommelise project at…

   http://3dReplicators.com

   Have fun!

   Posted by Forrest Higgs on

   January 12th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
   
   

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