![]() |
Science Fiction
Dictionary Latest By
"...a market economy is essentially a genetic algorithm for solving resource allocation problems..."
|
![]() |
![]() This is the earliest description of what we now call a flexible 3D printer that I've ever seen; it works differently from the ones that deposit a layer using tiny blobs of material.
Here's a description of the machine in action:
A cable led to a table at the side of the shed,
where vivid lights showed upon drawings
pinned in the vision-range of scanners.
The arm made clumsy but precise gestures, following the drawings off to one
side. It had begun by putting a blob of magnetronic plastic on a stout upright at the end
of its steel track. Then, for a while, it made
gradually enlarging circles about that spot.
The result was rather remarkable, because plastic flowed through the hose to the
end of that moving arm, and as it came out
of the end it was shaped and hardened. It
formed a cone. The forming-arm, in fact,
simply poured out plastic as it described a
circle, and the plastic was hardened as it
emerged.
A cone resulted when the circles widened,
and the arm drew back. The process was
exactly that of an insect spinning a cocoon,
save that the result was no mass of gummed-together threads, but a solid wall of glass-
hard plastic, strong as steel, but vastly lighter. It was, moreover, practically a non-conductor of heat and electricity.
Presently the shape became more complex. The growing object ceased to be merely
a cone. Guided by drawings under the harsh
light of scanning-lamps, the constructor
built on. The cone swelled and curved.
The movements of the moving arm became
more complicated. It sealed off the cone with
a solid wall. Interior walls started from that.
There were openings in some of them. In
three hours, fifteen feet of the length of a
rounded hull had been made.
Braddick stopped the constructor and
fitted items of machinery into place. The
constructor took up its task again and sealed
the machines in as it built on further. The
hull swelled still more. Its interior design
became more complicated and more detailed.
The forming object grew more slowly. It
took six hours to make the second fifteen
feet. But the interior fittings and supplies
were in place for all the completed section.
From then on, the hull grew more slowly
still.
This video shows a prototype device that is an earth-bound version of a plastic constructor. Contour Crafting (CC) is basically a "house printer;" when supplied with the proper instructions, it will "print out" a complete shell of a house. Technovelgy readers should be familiar with the work of Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis from a previous article (see Contour Crafting: 3D House Printer for additional details on how the technique actually works).
(Robotic Contour Crafting Video ) Compare to the idea behind the cosmic express from The Cosmic Express (1930) by Jack Williamson, however, for an early version of 3D printing as part of a teleportation idea. Compare also to Deposition (3D Printing) from Assassin (1978) by James P. Hogan. Thanks to Eric for submitting this item, with quotes! Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
resources: Plastic Constructor (3D Printer)-related
news articles:
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
|
![]() |
Science Fiction
Timeline
'Courier Commons' By Tomorrow Lab, From Karl Schroeder (and Bruce Sterling?)
'The pokkecon rang again. *The coffee’s for him?* Tsuyoshi said.'
Jetson-Style Clockwork Robot Nail Salon Coming To Target Near You
The Jetsons imagined so much future.
Mechanical Horse Sculpture Gallops In Place
'Rod placed the brain inside the panel... the horse raised its head, wiggled its ears, blinked twice, gave a tentative whinny.'
'Make Sunsets' Tweaks Climate By Atmospheric Alteration
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
Hotels Turn To Robots As Human Workers Regroup
'Chain of hotels that specialized in non-human service.'
Changesite Mineral To Be Mined On Moon By China
'But then... not every bulldozer operator works on the Moon.'
Tongue-Controlled Tong Wearable Mouth Computer
'Griff found the white and pink map distracting and switched it off using his tongue mouse.'
|
![]() |
![]() |
Home | Glossary
| Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact
Us | FAQ | Advertise | ![]() Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™ Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved. |
![]() |