Fab@Home shows you how to build a fabber on your own

Fabbers, or 3D printers, or prototyping machines, are traditionally used in product manufacturing to get an idea of how a product sketch will look and feel in real life. Just like many technological products, a homebrew open-source community has started up around fabbers -- a new one has just begun at Cornell University, appropriately called Fab@Home. The project, which is already several weeks old, has resulted in some pretty awesome projects, including a fabbing chocolate machine done by a high school student in Kentucky that makes some pretty tasty looking treats. As you'd expect, the group has put together a set of instructions and accompanying software (Windows only, sorry Mac and Linux fans) so that you too can build your own fabber, chocolate or otherwise. No word on if you can make a totally fab Fabergé egg with a fabber, however.

[Via Hack A Day]

[Cobatts Posted Dec 11th 2006 7:33AM]

Is this kind of like a CNC machine?

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 11th 2006 8:03AM]

It's kind of the opposite. A CNC takes a chuck of material and cuts something out of it, this builds it up with silicone (or apparently chocolate if you want it).

[cardbored Posted Dec 11th 2006 8:00AM]

The chocolate things sounds kinda cool other then that seemse pointless for the average person :-\

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 11th 2006 8:57AM]

Theoretically I could use one of these to build an even fabber Fabber.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 11th 2006 11:05AM]

Maybe it can build that house of cards that I can't do.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 25th 2007 4:16PM]

Not to ressurect a dead horse for kicking...but that chocolate idea has potential. Use some decent material that can be "hardened" to different consistancies, artificial flavorings, artificial colorings, and make sure that initial material has the food value of, well, food.

Twala, instant, "low-tech", food replicator.