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Large scale 3D printing
#5
Very nifty stuffSmile

Regarding the issue of working with something other than concrete - smaller 3D printers have been made to work with all kinds of stuff, including peanut butter, so it seems likely that something could be figured out.

One idea that comes to mind (that we might incorporate into OA) would be 'biocrete', basically some sort of biological adhesive (there are some very strong ones out there), that lets you stick raw sand together as something as tough as concrete or nearly so. If it could be produced in bioreactors incorporated into a 3D printing machine, then you might have a tech that could rapidly produce buildings as is described here, but without all the CO2. Just a thought.

On a somewhat different note, I had a notion today (which we've sort of kicked around before) about combining 3D printing with nanotech. Imagine a nanoforge that creates cell sized devices of some kind in one part of itself and then uses a technique similar to tissue printing to rapidly lay them down in 3D shapes. As they come into contact with each other they bond together to form a substance that is not as strong as pure nanotube or diamondoid but which might be as strong as wood or bone (or a good bit stronger) and which is filled with computronium and/or other useful nanogadgets. It might also be laid down not just as rigid solids but, like a tissue printed heart, be able to configure as fibrous structures like muscle that could flex and bend (while also incorporating very unbiological type techs inside itself.

Looking at this from the timeline revision, I think this sort of 3D printing could definitely fit into both the early timeline, eventually incorporating nanotech and then merging with it but also could be used in the development of space bases and colonies around the early solar system (or even later in the timeline).

Todd
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Messages In This Thread
Large scale 3D printing - by ai_vin - 11-18-2013, 05:55 PM
RE: Large scale 3D printing - by Rynn - 11-19-2013, 12:33 AM
RE: Large scale 3D printing - by ai_vin - 11-19-2013, 08:06 AM
RE: Large scale 3D printing - by Worldtree - 11-19-2013, 10:12 AM
RE: Large scale 3D printing - by Drashner1 - 11-19-2013, 10:54 AM
RE: Large scale 3D printing - by Rynn - 11-19-2013, 11:21 AM

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