It's a 3D printer, and 3D assembly station! 🖨️ The Functgraph developed at Meiji University starts as a regular 3D printer but upgrades itself into a mini factory. It can print parts for its own tools, pick them up, clean them, and put them together, all by itself. Think... of it like a robot that can 3D print a spatula, assemble it, and then use it to flip pancakes. 🥞 Instead of just printing objects, the Functgraph can actually perform physical tasks, like folding laundry or slicing vegetables, by using printed and assembled tools. It’s a step toward the idea of a robot that can download "apps" as physical skills, much like your phone downloads software! 👀show more

so wait, all the rest of the plastic is waste..... :(

My printer in 5yrs:

can it make a version of itself? that's some exponential growth

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cool! only if i can even get thru a long print without lifting 🤦

Fascinating!

It's possible to argue that the printing downtime used for assembly would be much better utilized for printing those parts without printing the jigs for assembling the parts. + Is it going to print a new set of parts without printing a new set of jigs for assembling the parts?

+ There are printers already capable of printing working assemblies without requiring assembly after printing. Very clever implementation though.

drone-production facility even in wild times..

Impressive work

It’s an idea, for sure… but wouldn’t it be better to pair a regular printer with a computer vision / robot arm combo? This demo smells of “attempt 356” - so many things can go wrong in production, and this does not account for any of them.