Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
RepRap and the Maker Movement
The RepRap (Replicating Rapid Prototyper) project was started by Adrian Bowyer, a Senior
Lecturer in mechanical engineering at the University of Bath, in the UK in 2004. The Idea
was to make self-replicating machines and making them freely available for the benefit of
everyone. Software and hardware is open source, access and distribution is free for all. The
RepRap blog publishes all new technological development in the project in order to get it in-
to the public domain and make it unpatentable. The RepRap 3D printers are using the Fused
Deposition Modeling technology but it is called Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) in order
to avoid copyright issues with Stratasys. The objective is to make a 3D printer where all the
parts can be printed to make a new machine. Fulfilment of this objective will be way off in
the future because of metal and motor parts.
The RepRap project is closely linked to the Maker Movement which is something of a new
twist on tinkering hobbyists that have always existed. The Makers Movement is a manifest-
ation of the do it yourself tinkerer in the internet age with increasingly easier access to ma-
chinery and parts. The makers exchange ideas and technology in internet communities or in
“hacker spaces” - physical workshops where makers can work on their projects. Inexpensive
RepRap 3D printers fit like hand in glove with this movement. In 2005, as the RepRap pro-
ject was taking off in Bath, Make Magazine was launched in the US. It has become known as
“the central organ of the maker movement”. In 2006 Make Magazine hosted the first “Maker
Faire”. Maker fairs are events that have spread and are becoming increasingly popular in the
US and other parts of the world.
FabLabs (Fabrication Laboratories) was another parallel development. The idea of FabLabs
started in MIT in 2001. The FabLab is typically a workshop with computer controlled tools
like laser cutters, CNC milling machines and 3D printers where a small group of people can
come together in a way of democratizing manufacturing and stepping away from mass man-
ufacturing. Today there is over 100 FabLabs around the world.
The RepRap 3D printers have evolved in several generations, with Darwin being the first
built by Adrian Bowyer in 2007. Darwin was then followed by “Mendel”, “Huxley”, etc. A
key factor on the road to inexpensive 3D printers was the expiration of the FDM patent in
2009. This event was followed by a significant increase of low cost printers on the market.
up 3D printer companies followed in the steps of the RepRap project. Makerbot was foun-
ded in 2009 in New York. One of the three founders, Zach Smith (the others being Bre Pettis
and Adam Mayer), was involved with RepRap and Adrian Bowyer was contributing seed
