In the future, will we be able to produce any accessory in a few hours, with microwave-like devices? Basically, why in the future, if similar devices already exist today?
The fictional device from the series "Star Trek" is not just a tea machine. He was capable of producing almost any accessory imaginable, from fancy gourmet delicacies to sophisticated guns. He could even create exact duplicates of tools inserted into him. Such an all-powerful replicator is still in the realm of science fiction, but in recent months, engineers at NASA have invented a 'replicator' that works in reality and is capable of reproducing almost any tool made of metal, given the production plan. In the words of Karen Temminger, the technology director of the research project in Virginia, "You start with a sketch of the part you want to build, push a button and the part comes out."
NASA's replicator, known as EBF3, is based on injecting metal into a vacuum chamber. A powerful electron beam melts the metal, which is injected and solidified at the points required according to the drawing. At each step in the process, another layer of metal is formed on top of the previous layer, and all the layers together make up the final product, which is formed on a rotating pedestal. To create a complete object in the replicator, you only need its three-dimensional drawing and the metal suitable for use with the electron beam. It is worth noting that aluminum, a material with many uses in aircraft production, is particularly suitable for use in a replicator, but the device is also able to work with titanium, nickel, stainless steel, various metal alloys, and even to combine two or more metals in the construction of the product.
There are many industrial applications for NASA's replicator, and Temminger already predicts that within a few years, aircraft will be produced that will contain large structural parts realized through the replicator. The huge advantage of the device over the usual production methods is obvious. In today's production methods, a block of material must be carved and carved until the desired shape is obtained. In this way, if we are interested in a titanium component for an airplane weighing 150 kilograms, then we will have to carve it (in a process known as: milling) from a block of titanium weighing 3,000 kilograms. The byproduct will be 5,700 kilograms of excess material, plus several thousand liters of cutting fluids used in the process. The device also enjoys an advantage over similar methods for producing objects, which rely on the welding of metallic powders and require a much higher energy supply.
“With EBF3You can build the same component using only 175 kilograms of titanium, and cut away only 25 kilograms in the finishing process,” Temminger said. "And the EBF process3Requires much less electricity.”
According to Temminger's estimate, the replicator will be able to reduce production costs by roughly $2000 per kilogram, compared to the methods used today. But the advantage of the replicator is not only in reducing production costs. Engineers will be able to pre-plan lighter engines and components, containing internal spaces that do not impair their strength - a task that until now has been very difficult to accomplish. Those components will necessarily be more sophisticated, and will also be able to contain sensors that will be installed in them later in the creation process.
Beyond the variety of applications that will be found for the device on earth, it is likely that a large part of its use will take place in outer space, where the astronauts are limited in the parts they can create. A miniature version of the device has already been assembled and successfully tested in weightless conditions, and the next step is to demonstrate the operation of the device on the International Space Station.
The original replicant from Star Trek was the product of the fertile imagination of science fiction writers, but reality catches any imagination. Already in the foreseeable future, bases that will be established on the moon will be able to use the replicator to create spare parts as required, and will not have to rely on a supply of parts that will be launched from Earth. The astronauts will be able to mine the raw materials from the lunar soil, or even recycle existing parts that have failed or expired. In the more distant future, one can dream of replicators that will be able to combine a wide variety of materials, such as plastic, metals and organic tissues and will be able to produce a wide variety of products - from an inkjet printer, through a juicy steak to a smaller replicator. Those future replicators will certainly not rely on the exact same principles on which the current replicator is based, but as the engineer Charles Kettering said already a century ago, "Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to achieve in the future."
The article originally appeared in Galileo, a journal of science and thought. Thanks to editor Nofer Kidar and scientific editor Zvi Atzmon for their work on the article.
21 תגובות
ever heard of the simple term: version.
the is gen1….
when they get to gen7 you'll be getting higher complexity levels.
crude terms speaking….
What about a combination of gold, diamonds, gas and oil. Ahmadinejad could use the device to duplicate atomic bombs.
Can't fix the glaringly wrong numbers? 3000 for a 150 kg component? And 5700 of 3000 left!! It reminds me of the tracker!
6 You're right, it's more like a duplication of keys than a device that converts atoms into complex matter, which requires unimaginable levels of energy or an unknown bypass!
By the way, an ink printer, even a device that converts energy into matter will not be able to produce because it is a complex machine and not a solid unit! Besides, in the period when such a facility will operate, they probably won't need an ink/laser printer! It's small, but it's definitely a special device and different from what's been sold so far, by the way isn't it desirable that they start with low gram weights? There it is more difficult for the existing equipment to deal with them because of their small size!
It really doesn't come close to the amazing device from the Enterprise.
I agree with comment 6 and comment 15.
On the day when I can take a collection of atoms - throw them into the device and ask for a delicious shawarma in lafa with chickpeas-chips-salad - this article will be relevant.
Roy, thanks for the article.
There are only a few mistakes in the translation of the milling numbers.
Beyond that, it really is a breakthrough if the method catches on. This is a completely different method from all the methods for producing metal parts that exist today (and existed even before.. a long time ago). It is still in its infancy, but if the mentioned advantages do exist alongside it, then surely they will find ways to perfect it and control the various properties of the material.
Joseph M.
Already today it is possible to duplicate food.
You put food in the ground and then it creates a lot more food that can be put in turn in the ground so that each of the new food units will also create a lot of food and so on and so forth.
You can also let the food that makes "mo" eat the above food and then you will have a lot of food of this new type, but for that you need at least two units of food that makes "mo" and both units will be of a different type. The same is true for some of the type of food you put in the ground.
When it is possible to reproduce food, then we will talk and be enthusiastic.
The title is bombastic
for a storm in a glass of water (not even Earl Gray tea)
The idea will really be profitable for any enterprise
And oh how many silver coins can be squandered like that 🙂
I hope there will be a machine for $100 bills soon, before they become toilet paper.
Roy, I see they ruined your enthusiasm a bit.
I saw the 3D printer a few years ago, but it didn't leave an impression on me like the golden thing 🙂
It has tremendous potential and in a few years it will develop much more (I'm sure) - because the idea will be profitable for approximately every enterprise.
Thanks for the good and interesting article 🙂
Shalom Yair.
A. I unblocked the ability to leave comments by mistake.
B. What is the connection between the memory of magnetism and the memory of supposed healing properties to which the followers of homeopathic nonsense refer? Maybe articles about computer memory also confirm homeopathy?
Today the scientist published an article about materials that remember their structure, accompanied by the original article.
It is not possible to respond there, and therefore I ask those who consider themselves experts enough: in the past there was a debate in the scientific and popular press about the question of whether a trace ("memory") of some kind of aquatic mixture is preserved in water, even after the original solution has been diluted thousands of times. The decision at the time ruled out this possibility, but,
Does the new article have a bearing on this question?
But it takes a lot of time!
to 6 I wonder, "to entice readers..." What exactly to entice?!
It also doesn't have a door to the replicator from the Enterprise
Unfortunately, Elon agrees in response 6.
Star Trek's replicator is not similar at all, it is not limited to one type of material, it converts energy and creates any required molecule, of any structural complexity. NASA's replicator is reminiscent of existing developments such as a XNUMXD printer for polymers.
This article is no different from many articles in the press that give an attractive title which has a weak connection to the article. It's a shame that the author tries to seduce readers in inappropriate ways.
When I heard about the XNUMXD printers of plastic polymers I was surprised, now less so
Very interesting, but from the video it does not appear that the manufactured parts have a particularly high level of finish. Is it just because of the specific parts or can you also create parts with sharp and sanded edges.
About 4 years ago I was at a presentation that showed almost exactly the same method how to build crowns for teeth, even then I was not amazed because it is still far from perfect and there is still a long way to go
That it will indeed happen in the next decade.
Short video on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-pTVnj7Swk
They will always be able to make metal casting using molds like 100 years ago...