Is this possible?????

[Combwork]

Originally Posted by merrylander

Pretty much what a modern CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine does today. The operator provides alphanumeric input to describe the part and the machine will grind them out until stopped. The chief difference is that a CNC machine has to be provided with "blanks" either metal, polymer. etc. so it does not create the part from whole cloth so to speak.

I take your point Merrylander. Because CNC measures real movement rather than what the control dial tells the operator, machines with good beds but worn lead screws can cut very accurately.

What I'm asking is whether an object with moving parts could be replicated in the way the video shows. You'd not only need to scan the outside shape in 3D, somehow you'd have to scan internal parts. Could this be done through solid metal like an adjustable spanner? And even if it could, how could the copy be formed in such a way that the jaws on the spanner could move as normal? Maybe what the machine does is make accurate copies of every single part, leaving the assembly to a human

Alternatively it could be a two stage process. The parts would go from the replicator to the assembler, then packed automatically and ready for sale. But with everyone laid off except the computer programmers, no-one could afford to buy them.

But it has a bright side; everyone lying in bed all day replicating themselves