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The RepRap project started as a British initiative to develop a 3D printer that can print most of its own components and be a low-cost 3D printer, but it is now made up of hundreds of collaborators world wide. RepRap (short for ''replicating rapid prototyper'') uses an additive manufacturing technique called ''fused filament fabrication'' (FFF) to lay down material in layers; a plastic filament or metal wire is unwound from a coil and supplies material to produce a part. The project calls it ''Fused Filament Fabrication'' (FFF) to avoid trademark issues with the "fused deposition modeling" term. As an open design, all of the designs produced by the project are released under a free software license, the GNU General Public License.〔(http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRapGPLLicence )〕 Due to the self-replicating ability of the machine, authors envision the possibility to cheaply distribute RepRap units to people and communities, enabling them to create (or download from the Internet) complex products without the need for expensive industrial infrastructure (distributed manufacturing)〔J. M Pearce, C. Morris Blair, K. J. Laciak, R. Andrews, A. Nosrat and I. Zelenika-Zovko, "(3-D Printing of Open Source Appropriate Technologies for Self-Directed Sustainable Development )", ''Journal of Sustainable Development'' 3(4), pp. 17-29 (2010).〕 including scientific equipment.〔J.M. Pearce, ''Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs'', Elsevier, 2014.〕 They intend for the RepRap to demonstrate evolution in this process as well as for it to increase in number exponentially.〔〔Sells, E., Smith, Z., Bailard, S., Bowyer, A., & Olliver, V. (2009). Reprap: the replicating rapid prototyper: maximizing customizability by breeding the means of production. Handbook of Research in Mass Customization and Personalization.〕 A preliminary study has already shown that using RepRaps to print common products results in economic savings, which justifies the investment in a RepRap. == History == RepRap was founded in 2005 by Dr Adrian Bowyer, a Senior Lecturer in mechanical engineering at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. The first four official 3D printing machines RepRap project were: "Darwin", released in March 2007, "Mendel", released in October 2009, "Prusa Mendel" and "Huxley" released in 2010, although hundreds of variations exist.〔(RepRap Family Tree )〕 The core developers have named each after famous evolutionary biologists, as "the point of RepRap is replication and evolution", however, other variants are often named after individual designers or names they prefer.〔RepRap Options, RepRap wiki, http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap_Options visited 2.26.2014〕 ; 23 March 2005: The RepRap blog is started. ; Summer 2005: Funding for initial development at the University of Bath is obtained from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ; 13 September 2006: The RepRap 0.2 prototype successfully prints the first part of itself, which is subsequently used to replace an identical part originally created by a commercial 3D printer. ; 9 February 2008: RepRap 1.0 "Darwin" successfully makes at least one instance of over half its total rapid-prototyped parts. ; 14 April 2008: Possibly the first end-user item is made by a RepRap: a clamp to hold an iPod securely to the dashboard of a Ford Fiesta. ; 29 May 2008: Within a few minutes of being assembled, the first completed "child" machine makes the first part for a "grandchild" at the University of Bath, UK. ; 23 September 2008: It is reported that at least 100 copies have been produced in various countries. The exact number of RepRaps in circulation at that time is unknown. ; 30 November 2008: First documented "in the wild" replication occurs. Replication is completed by Wade Bortz, the first user outside of the developers' team to produce a complete set for another person. ; 20 April 2009: Announcement of first electronic circuit boards produced automatically with a RepRap, using an automated control system and a swappable head system capable of printing both plastic and conductive solder. Part is later integrated into the RepRap that made it. ; 2 October 2009: The second generation design, called "Mendel", prints its first part. The Mendel's shape resembles a triangular prism rather than a cube. ; 13 October 2009: RepRap 2.0 "Mendel" is completed. ; 27 January 2010: The Foresight Institute announces the "Kartik M. Gada Humanitarian Innovation Prize" for the design and construction of an improved RepRap. There are two prizes, one of , and another of $80,000. The administration of the prize is later transferred to Humanity+.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://humanityplus.org/projects/gadaprize/ )〕 ; 31 August 2010: The third generation design, "Huxley", is officially named. Development is based on a miniaturized version of the Mendel hardware with 30% of the original print volume. ; First half 2012: RepRap and RepStrap building and usage are widespread within the tech, gadget, and engineering communities. RepRaps or commercial derivatives have been featured in many mainstream media sources, and are on the permanent watch lists of such tech media as Wired and some influential engineering-professionals' news media. ; Late summer/fall 2012: There has been much focus on smaller startup companies selling derivatives, kits, and assembled systems, and R & D results into new related processes for 3D Printing at orders-of-magnitude-lower prices than current industrial offers. In terms of RepRap research, the most notable result is perhaps the first successful Delta design, Rostock, which is maturing slowly and has an initial working solution for experimentation by self-sourcing builders of some experience. While the Rostock is still in an experimental stage with major revisions almost monthly, it is also near the state of the art, and a radically different design. The latest iterations use OpenBeams, wires (typically Dyneema or Spectra fishing lines) instead of belts, and so forth, which also represents some of the latest trends in RepRaps. ; 2013: Hobby friendly machines (e.g. recyclebots) have been made to allow hobbyists and small companies to produce their own filament for 3D printing, thus bringing down manufacturing costs and allowing for small-scale recycling and experimenting with different plastics and materials. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「RepRap Project」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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