Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
RepRap
To learn more about 3D printing and get an alternative perspective on intel-
lectual property, we journeyed to the tall rolling hills of southwestern England
to speak with one of 3D printing's most inluential people, Adrian Bowyer,
creator of the iconic RepRap printer. “Patents do inhibit development—it's
unquestionably the case,” said Adrian. “It's in the nature of patents that they
give a monopoly to whoever holds them for 20 years.”
He continued, “James Watt patented various vital aspects of the steam
engine. Yet, you look at steam engine development and nothing happened for
20 years during the life of Watt's patent. When that patent lapsed, there was a
great laring of steam engine innovation and then the industrial revolution.”
When Adrian and his students created RepRap in 2004, they didn't know
it at the time but RepRap printers would become a game-changing technology
and intellectual property experiment. The RepRap project emerged from the
University of Bath. The ancient city of Bath is near the former home of novelist
Jane Austen. Ancient stone arches built during the Roman era circle the city,
and restored manor houses punctuate the lush rolling hills.
The RepRap open-source 3D printer can make most of the nonstandard components
it is made of, catalyzing its own reproduction and challenging intellectual property
paradigms
