RepRapper Forrest Higgs designed an interlocking beamed structure that could be 3D printed — thus advancing the RepRap’s stated purpose of someday being able to print new RepRaps. Currently much of the support structure cannot be printed. But what if printable girders could be stacked on top of each other? Higgs’ project may not be the final word but it’s definitely an interesting development. [via The RepRap Blog]
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That’s not the coolest part of this design – the idea is to post tension the structure using threaded rod through the centre and wingnuts at each end. You end up with an incredibly strong member that’s potentially able to replace a lot of the non-printable structural elements of the current reprap designs.