Using an ‘additive fabrication’ technique, a lecturer from the University of Bath has created an open-source machine that ‘prints’ three dimensional objects.

RepRap, short for replicating rapid-prototyper, works a bit like a printer, but rather than squirting ink onto paper, it puts down thin layers of molten plastic which solidify. These layers are built up to make useful 3D objects. So far the machine has produced everyday plastic goods such as door handles, sandals and coat hooks, and has also succeeded in copying all its own 3D-printed parts. These parts have been printed and assembled by RepRap team member, Vik Olliver, in Auckland, New Zealand, into a new RepRap machine that can replicate the same set of parts for yet another RepRap machine and so on ad infinitum. While 3D printers have been available commercially for about 25 years, RepRap is the first that can essentially print itself.

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