Croquet/RepRap integration

Hi folks, I want some serious dev. answers to this question, however I
also feel that it is of interest to the wider Croquet userbase as
well, so I am submitting it to both lists...
---
I have been thinking about writing some sort of driver to enable
Croquet to control a RepRap - http://reprap.org - or similar open
source 3d printing technology.

The approach that I was thinking would be sensible was to firstly
porting the RepRap control software to squeak (it is currently written
in java) in a form that could be used by non-Croquet systems, such as
the OLPC platform (I assume that the OLPC box is not going to be
powerful enough to run Croquet properly, please tell me if I am wrong
in this assumption).

Next a Croquet application would be created that sends 3d data to be
printed to this generic squeak control software and gets data back
from it on things like the proposed route of the print head, errors
due to non-printable geometry (sealed hollow objects, for instance)
and how the print is progressing.

Also, the Croquet application should have a couple of main ways of
using it. In the first, the print is automated (possibly with a few
options for things like alternate internal structure strategies) and
is left mostly up to the discretion of the control software. In the
second, the control software reports back it's proposed tool route to
the Croquet application in the form of a 3d path, which can then be
manually tweaked in Croquet by more advanced users who want that level
of control.

By creating this software, users would be able to directly print any
object they have access to or have created, which would extend the
concepts of object creation, visualisation and sharing out of the
virtual realm and into the physical.

What do people think of this idea and can they see any major problems
with the approach I am suggesting, or ways of doing it that might be
better?

Cheers, David.

--- "deadgenome -.,.-*`*-.,.-*`*-"
<[hidden email]> wrote:

> ...
> ---
> I have been thinking about writing some sort of
> driver to enable
> Croquet to control a RepRap - http://reprap.org - or
> similar open
> source 3d printing technology.
I saw such printers at San Antonio siggraph, but, with
something
like Croquet, it could a telepresence machine shop.
A use of Maya, long ago, was involved with remote
third world surgery
(teleprescence)
from some medical school in New York City.
My reading of the above url caught the spirit of every
man his own free factory.
I've got to read more on this.
I make stuff.
I have an iPhone rack on my bed to watch lectures
lying down
made of styrofoam. I have a hat with optics to watch
same.
I imagine that with industry capital base, such a 3D
printer
would be for prototyping to demo to capital the worth
of a master tool builder
making a factory part to make it, but this stuff
aborts factories and industry
capital making it very interesting for do it
yourselfers like me. I think you are right. OLPC uses squeak and croquet is
a version of squeak.
Somebody might correct that croquet is not a language
but some sort of metaphor.
I would revise to get whatever you call it into
croquet you have to translate
to the subset of squeak in croquet or expand the
croquet frameworks
and class libraries to squeak and publish that image
bug free.

;-) I got last Xerox came to talk of their 2D printers
that there are cpu's
in printer and computer sending out printing. They
evidently talk in packets
to each other.

So, different things might talk to each other squeak
to croquet.

I wonder if their is postscript licensing for 3D.

;-)

>...
> What do people think of this idea and can they see
> any major problems
> with the approach I am suggesting, or ways of doing
> it that might be
> better?

I think printer drivers are heavy stuff involving 7
layers of communication
like internet stuff.
I have a librarian, Susan, who studied such stuff.

Breaking out doable pieces of that big stuff will
bring courage.
It is surprising how breaking out a simply piece can
bring great joy
when you'd, at first, like to throw in the whole ball
of wax.

The concept of open source ware and free factories,
one factory per person,
in the third world might be doable because there are a
whole lot of people out there
to contribute man hours. You don't have to find the
simple doable yourself
to get it all done, just to inspire them!