A self-replicating 3D printer that spawns new, improved versions of itself is in development at the University of Bath in the UK.
The "self replicating rapid prototyper" or RepRap could vastly reduce the cost of 3D printers, paving the way for a future where broken objects and spare parts are simply "re-printed" at home. New and unique objects could also be created...
Now Adrian Bowyer hopes to change that by making the first 3D printer capable of fabricating copies of itself, as well as a wealth of everyday objects. He reasons that prices would plummet to around $500 if every machine was capable of building hundreds more at no cost beyond that of the raw materials.
Better still, the machines could evolve to be more efficient and develop new capabilities, says Bowyer. Once he has the software to guide the self-replicating process, he plans to make it freely available online, allowing users to contribute improvements, just like the open-source Linux computer operating system, he says.
3D printers = totally totally rad, obviously! I remember seeing some art exhibit where the artist did 3D scans of some skulls, distorted and warped the images in some fairly straightforward ways, then printed them on a 3D printer and hung them around the space. It was optically confusing/exciting to see that 'stretched image' effect you see in 2D all the time in 3D, and the artistic applications for these things are mind-boggling enough to consider before you even start on the actually useful things we are already doing/will do in the future with equipment analogous to the (constantly jamming, perennially toner-low, generally buggy) primitive printer I've got by my desk.
These things currently cost about $25,000 apiece and are mainly used to "develop parts for devices such as aircraft engines, spaceships and hearing aids," but they're undoubtedly a harbinger of a Universal Assembler-in-every-home future. I should ask my industrial designer bro (K-Mac, turning 24 this Friday, represent!!) if he has any experience/inside info on this kind of stuff.