Scary! Robots will start replicating themselves and take over the world!

I wonder what it would take to take the same lay out and increase the size to something that could support a person? Or better yet a sensor platform. you could use carbon fiber for the frame/appendage and aluminum for the gears.

@bothersaidpooh you’re going to be waiting awhile for that printed motor. None of the 3D printing systems so far invented have anything like the resolution necessary to print a bearing, nor the ability to print two surfaces that are in contact yet not bonded together.

A $1.75 a cc? I’ll pass on that.

>A $1.75 a cc? I’ll pass on that.
(Does it help that shipping is included?)
That makes my robot arm cost $16. I suppose one would consider it expensive, compared to a similar mass of injection-molded plastic from walmart. I just think of the hours/days I saved from having to hand fabricate little gears and a housing at a 0.4mm detail level. On top of that, the ability to dream up anything, draw it up on the computer, and have it in your hand in 10-14 days makes it so worth it. There are some tips and techniques (like hollowing out a model, or making holes in large surfaces) that can make even large models affordable. Take a gander through the model gallery or the shops on the Shapeways website to see what can be done, and what it costs.

Personally I think it could be quite useful in the hacker community where so many projects are one-time, custom-made affairs. A lot of projects could look really slick with a designed assembly base to hold the components in just the right locations without resorting to glue or ducttape, or a project box with precise port holes and an imprinted logo.

No mention of how to break in the gears, I would think that a printed surface would have a high friction.

If you used a belt (toothed or V-belt) it wouldn’t matter as much.

Neat idea, it could be used as the assembly case in a lot of projects. Or for prototyping purposes, as this shows.

@kris

Yes, but non-aluminumized plastic is much cheaper. If you want the sintered aluminum look, one can use textured spray paint.