Bath's 3D Printer RepRap Underway
RepRap or the "self replicating 3D rapid prototyper" is under development at the University of Bath in the UK.
The 3D printer transforms a blueprint on a computer into a real object by building up succession of layers fused again using a laser or by using alternating layers of glue. This process is called "rapid prototyping"
Though it first emerged way back in mid1990 the prediction that there would be one in every home proved wrong with an enormous cost of $25,000. So Adrian Bowyer have volunteered to realize the goal. He hopes to make the first 3D printer available capable of fabricating copies of itself and other everyday objects making possible a cheaper printer of $500 for every househould. Not only that ,he also plans to share it to the world online.
Bowyer dreamt up the idea of the RepRap in February 2004. But now he has he figured out how to print conducting materials in three dimensions without using a laser, a key step if the machine is ever to make copies of itself.
