Poetry in Plastic

Last night I received some of the parts for my extruder:

These parts are extra special because they themselves are 3D printed, by one of the resident gurus at my hackerspace. To me there's something supremely poetic about printers printing other printers. Although that may just be the alliteration...

Creating a self-replicating machine is one of the stated goals of the RepRap project. To me it's a fascinating and inspiring vision - one of those points where science fiction meets real life. We're not there yet. Most 3D printer components are still made of materials that you simply can't manufacture on a hobbyist machine. But there are some highly innovative people in the RepRap community, so it could happen some day. The latest step is the invention of this printable stepper motor:

What a time to be alive.